PVCs with a Punch - Heart Disorders Message Board

willdogs · 03-10-2008, 04:04 PM

I am new to the board, but I am glad to see so many people using it. Maybe someone will be able to share some information with me. I am 52 years old, slim and have been a jogger for the past twenty years. I have had PVCs for over 10 years and they have been under control for the majority of that time since I started taking Lopressor/Metoprolol. Like many of the people I have read here, it's been a long time since I haven't felt my heart beat - especially those extra ones. They used to give me quite a scare.

Over the past couple of months, I have felt PVCs now and then that actually hurt. My heart feels as if it is being blown up like a balloon and then returns to normal just as quickly. It only lasts for a fraction of a second, but I never know when it is going to happen. There is pressure and some slight pain along with it, but it is gone as quickly as it appears. I've recently had a nuclear stress test and a treadmill test, but I'm told that there are no blockages and my heart is structurally quite sound. I even went to the ER one morning a couple of weeks ago because they were occurring so frequently. They did a blood test and found that my potassium level was at 3.0 - which was quite low. Again, I was told that my heart was structurally sound, but was prescribed a temporary potassium supplement.

I can live with the PVCs I used to have, but these sudden bursts where my heart feels like it is going to pop for a split second is frightening. Has anyone experienced this? If so, I would like to hear from someone. My cardiologist does not seem to think it is serious, but I'm not used to these things and I am uncomfortable with it.

I'm beginning to wonder if stress is beginning to take a toll on me at 52. I'm a video producer with deadlines to make, but everyone is under some kind of stress, so I feel stress is relative. I'm wearing a monitor for a few days and was able to record one of the events, so I hope some answers may come from that. I am taking a 99mg potassium supplement once a day (plus a banana or two) along with a magnesium pill, but I can't really tell if they are working because I still feel the jolt now and then.

If anyone has felt this "PVC with a punch," please let me know what you did about it. Thank you. Maybe I can be of some help to someone else someday.

hopesprings2 · 03-10-2008, 08:48 PM

it should get better with the postassuim
however it could be the same as before the medication just might make the heart beat stronger so you feel it stronger
however im no doctor if you are real worried see one of course

Mileena42 · 03-11-2008, 04:49 AM

I haven't had what you are discribing, but have you considered acid reflux? When my reflux gets bad it can cause heart pain and discomfort....or at least is SEEMS to be heart pain. The reason I think that is because it sounds like movement of air/gas.
The first time I had a major reflux attack I thought I was having a heart attack. Recently, my reflux has been causing me pains in different areas, sometimes even my back.
Sorry I can't be of more help. Good Luck to you.

Mileena