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Posted by jacki on December 08, 2000 at 23:05:44:
In Reply to: PVC's posted by Frank on December 08, 2000 at 14:44:49:
: I am a 30 y/o male and on Tuesday 12-5-00 I had some excruciating chest pain that caused me to have to be transported to the ER.While there,they ran the blood tests,ekg,and chest x-rays which appeared normal.In retro,I had been having "minor" pains for about a week before where it felt as if someone was hugging the inside of my chest,but I just passed them off as maybe a cold or something.They made me fill a prescription of nitroglycerin to take if there were any further pains.
: On Thursday 12-07-00 while at work (I am a foreman and just walk around making sure the jobs get done) I was walking from one side of the warehouse to the other and about half way across,I felt as if someone punched me in the chest and pulled me to the ground.The pain was such as I have never felt before and the "squeezing" and "pulling" lasted about 3 minutes (it had brought me to my knees it was so bad".I was helped to a sitting position and put 1 nitro tab under my tongue.After a few minutes the pain was not relieved so I placed another under my tongue and the pain began to ease a bit.An ambulance was called and I was transported to the ER again.On the way to the hospital my b/p was 168/124 at first and when taken a little later in the trip it was down to 158/104.The paramedic sprayed some nitro under my tongue even though the pain was less persistent and actually,I did feel better.I could still feel the beats sort of skip or as I described to the cardiologist,I could still feel a slight "squeeze and release,sort of like a spit ball stuck in a straw and then finally being forced out by a strong blow".
: I was admitted overnight for observation and placed on a heprin drip,oxygen,regular b/p checks and a tele-monitor.A stress test and echo was done this morning and the cardiologist did notice the irregularities in the beats while on the treadmill and they were more prominent with exertion than at rest,though they were there at rest.
: What he has told me is that what is occuring is PVC's and at this time he does not see any heart disease or anything but with the extensive history on both my mom and dad's side of the family (they both have heart disease) he gave me an event monitor to wear and also prescribed Toprol ance a day to see if the PVC's can be controlled.They happen at a rate of 6 to 8 per minute with some being rather strong and some are noticable but not as strong.
: To rate the pain,the initial pain on Tuesday on a scale of 1-10 was about a 6 and the pain on Thursday was about a 9.The strong pulsations I feel rate about a 4 or 5 with the less noticable being about a 2 or 3.He wants to discuss some of the tests with 2 more cardiologists and see me again in 2 weeks.
: Is there anything I should expect to find or even not find or worry about from all of this?Should I worry about the PVC's or learn to just live with them?What causes PVC's and why have they just shown up "all of a sudden" in me?Any help either posted here or e-mailed to me would be appreciated,especially from those with similar experiences and doctors.
: Thanks,
: Frank
hello frank---i just left a message above yours. I too have PVC's never felt a stong pain like you did, however, i sometimes have them 2X in 1 minute--some are very strong and some not. Unless you find a good arrythmia drug to take, you probably will have to just deal with them as I have done the last 5 years. As long as you know they are harmless, you can go on--however, if they become bothersome you might try taking an antidepressant like I am on--my cardiologist told me that I probably have anxiety--who wouldn't be anxious about these!!!!dah. i feel for you because i know we have no control over them--don't know what brings them on. Just remember there are hundreds of people out there that have this and you are not alone. hope these can reassure you. jacki
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