Ectopic Beats

Ectopic beats

by Dixie Chick 65 - 2023-06-30 15:54:33

I have a dual chambered pacemaker and I have occasional PVC's. My doctor had me wear a 24 hour monitor to see how frequent they are. I'm already on Metoprolol and Lisinopril. The monitor showed less than 1% PVC's in a 24 hour period. My doctor said they are very common in the general population. He also said they're not a problem unless you have lots of them. Some people can have 1000's a day. Also he said that some people can "feel" every one. I rarely feel one. As a result, I don't worry about it.

PVCs

by Lavender - 2023-06-30 19:52:35

I had a lot of PVCs when I first got my CRT-P device. It's been two years and I notice them now and then but not every day like it used to be. The cardiologist wasn't concerned at all. 

PVCs

by AgentX86 - 2023-07-01 02:01:13

I get a lot more than a thousand a day and, yes, I feel every one. At a minimum it feels like I exhaled before inhaling (not exactly SOB).  It sucks. It's not as bad as bigimini (every other) PVCs but it's no fun.  It'll be every third to tenth beat, at times.  I recorded eight in the 60-second Kardia trace, yesterday.

No, pacemakers detect them but generally ignore them. Even "normal" people get them.  It would be impossible to record every one.  My pacemaker will only flag them if there are more than five in a row (without a normal beat). That's the minimum setting.  It can be set higher, or turned off altogether.

I have an appointment with my cardiologist later in the month.  I'll see if anything can be done this time.  Five years ago, he upped my rate from 70 to 80bpm, instead of lowering it to 60 as planned. That's no longer a solition (80 to what?). Very strangely, it doesn't seem to happen at night when my rate goes down to 50bpm. I would be SOB if it were permanently set at 50.

A "lot" of PVCs is something like 30%.

Ectopics

by piglet22 - 2023-07-01 07:08:20

Hello

I'm six months into newly developed episodes of ectopics after 18-years of no trouble.

Mine are causing real trouble now and I've had one lights out blackout plus numerous falls due to low blood pressure.

It's got to the point that I'm checking my pulse before I get up from sitting.

They might be common, but they can be plain dangerous too. The last fall narrowly missed the shards of glass and crockery as I hit the floor.

My 50-mg dose of Atenolol daily was reduced to 1.25-mg Bisoprolol daily (50-mg Atenolol is equivalent to 5-mg Bisoprolol according to the consultant).

About five days ago, I was admitted to A&E with a heart rate of 220-bpm. That was knocked on the head with 5-mg Bisoprolol. The ectopics are worse now, so I was told to split the 5-mg dose into two daily. My serum Troponin was 16-ng/l (upper range limit 14).

The consultant is talking about atrial breakthough. I'm thinking he's switching focus from the original problem to this new one. Plus anti-coagulants are in the conversation.

I can't get a straight answer to why am I getting BPMs in the 30's and an IPG  setting of 70?

All I get is the pacemaker is working mantra.

It can't be beyond the wit of medical device manufacturers to come up with something that maintains a default, safe pulse rate even with ectopics going on.

He's got me down for an urgent PM interrogation, but right now, I'm not feeling confident at all.

Getting information out of these people is like pulling teeth.

Put your PVCs into perspective

by Gotrhythm - 2023-07-04 17:14:06

Sorry. There is no cure for PVCs. That's the bad news.

The GOOD NEWS is that you don't need a cure. 8-10 PVCs a day will not kill you. I have more than that a day, probably 40-50, and I have had them for 20 years or more. Sometimes I've had more (40,000) sometimes fewer (8-10). Many, many other Pacemaker Club members also have PVCs--some have many more, some less. [Hey Gemita! There's an idea for a poll!]

PVCs  are extremely common even among people who don't have pacemakers or any heart problem at all.

I may be off-base here, but I suspect the PVCs worry you because when they happen it feels like your heart stopped. So you think "OMG! My heart just stopped. What if it stopped for good? What if it stopped and the pacemaker couldn't start it up again?"

But those are just things your mind has made up to scare you.

To deal with your worry about PVCs what you need is some real, true information. It does feel like your heart stopped but that is not what is happening. I suggest you watch the Youtube video: Dr Joshua Cooper PVCs in Plain English. I don't have the URL but typing that into your browser will find it. It's easy to understand and it will remove much of the mystery and fear about what exactly is happening.

You will understand why doctors consider a PVC a normal heartbeat, and why a few of them, or even a lot of them, aren't a cause for alarm.

Can a pacemaker detect PVCs? Yes. Dealing with PVCs is all in a day's work for a pacemaker. Remember, a PVC is a normal heartbeat. All day long the pacemaker is adjusting its timing to include PVCs and other arrythmias.

But can a pacemaker prevent PVCs? Not really, although sometimes changing the settings can  help some.

SGRT85 I urge you to get some perspective about the PVCs you are experiencing. I'm sure you find them unpleasant. I'm sympathetic to how very unpleastant they can be, but 8-10 a day don't need to be threatening to your peace of mind.

If PVCs appear life-threatening to you, it's possible you need to seek help for anxiety that's gotten out of control.

Brady - yes it can help

by Gemita - 2023-07-08 17:35:55

Yes it is known that by increasing our base rate, ectopics both from the upper and lower chambers may be reduced.  Unfortunately though it is not always helpful and certainly doesn't always help everyone.  

I for instance have had my base rate set at 70 bpm and yet it still doesn't always help.  Also atrial ectopic beats that come in very fast can develop into Atrial Fibrillation or other atrial tachyarrhythmias.  Thank you though for your research.  Definitely I am in a much better place now because of my pacemaker and a higher base rate setting.  

PVCs and PACs, together with other arrhythmias can come from many different sites in both the upper and lower chambers of the heart which is why they can be so difficult to stop