I have PREMATURE VENTRICULAR CONTRACTIONS (skipped heart beats) . . .?

Question

I have been told to cut down on drinking caffiene (or even to eliminate it from my diet).

What I would like to know:

Has anyone else had this problem, or knows of someone who has, and what did you or they do to eliminate it?

How much caffiene does decaffinated coffee have?

Is there a website that can tell us how much caffiene is in the beverages that we drink?

What are the serious consequences from PVCs?

Thank you,
Pauley

Answer 1

http://www.medicinenet.com/premature_ventricular_contractions/article.htm

Premature ventricular contractions in healthy individuals without high blood pressure and heart diseases do not pose any health risks. Premature ventricular contractions in patients with heart diseases (heart attacks, heart failure, diseases of the heart valves) are associated with increased risks of developing ventricular tachycardia. Ventricular tachycardia is a sustained run of rapid ventricular contractions. Ventricular tachycardia is life-threatening because: 1) it occurs suddenly with no prior warning, and 2) it frequently develops into ventricular fibrillation. Ventricular fibrillation is a chaotic rhythm where the ventricles quiver rapidly in a purposeless fashion. The heart with ventricular fibrillation cannot pump blood effectively to the brain and the rest of the body. If untreated, ventricular fibrillation can be fatal within minutes. An estimated 250,000 Americans die in this way each year.

http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database/

long list of products and caffeine content

Answer 2

Wow you had this question answered to death. Luckily the average opinion is you are not actually going to die anytime soon.

It would be useful to know what sort of coffee etc. you drink. Here in Canada Tim Horton's coffee is very popular due in part to a high caffiene content I am pretty sure.

I would recommend improving your diet and exercise habits, and continue to enjoy the caffiene. Perhaps a decrease in dose may be in order if you are 6-10 cup a day java junkie.

I work in health care and drugs are not the answer with the possible exception of low dose aspirin as the side effects are very small like the pill.

The most recent research has come to the conclusion that if your immediate relatives have heart attacks and strokes it is wise to look at treating you or at least gettting some testing done. Seems like a no brainer, though it is nice to see the science backs it up. Sometimes the obvious turns out not to be so, don't ya know.

If your dad or mom has dropped of a massive attack get a check up.

Answer 3

Treating PVCs from web

How Should PVCs Be Treated?
The answer to this question would be easy if we had antiarrhythmic drugs that a) successfully suppressed PVCs, and b) were safe.
Unfortunately, we don’t have antiarrhythmic drugs that fill these criteria. Most antiarrhythmic drugs are relatively poor at treating PVCs (though they often reduce their frequency.) And, all antiarrhythmic drugs can make dangerous arrhythmias more likely. In addition, each of these drugs has its own unique toxicity profile – some more ominous than others – that render these drugs, as a group, among the most toxic used in medicine.

Thus, both doctors and patients should always be very reluctant to treat PVCs with antiarrhythmic drugs.

On occasion, eliminating caffeine intake, as well as tobacco and alcohol usage, may reduce the frequency of PVCs, and these measures should be tried.

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For some patients, using beta blockers (drugs that block the effect of adrenaline) might reduce arrhythmias.
Since beta blockers are generally well tolerated and do not make the irregular heart beat worse, they are also often worth a try. Also, patients with palpitations should be checked thoroughly. If the patient was without symptoms until the physician’s expression of alarm at seeing PVCs, there is a good chance that a heightened state of anxiety is exacerbating the patient’s palpitations.

In these cases, carefully explaining the benign nature of the arrhythmia may be enough to reduce symptoms to a tolerable level. At the end of the day, however, most patients who have PVCs will continue to have them, and some (fortunately, a small minority) will experience intolerable palpitations.

If PVC-induced palpitations truly are disruptive to a person’s life, then trying to suppress the PVCs with antiarrhythmic drugs becomes a reasonable consideration. Before undertaking this endeavor, however, both parties (the doctors and the patient) should agree on several points:

Both parties should explicitly acknowledge their understanding that the PVCs themselves are not dangerous, whereas the antiarrhythmic drugs potentially are. Thus, both parties must explicitly accept that a certain amount of risk is inherent in using these drugs, no matter what precautions are taken. Then, having agreed on this point, both parties should agree to take every possible precaution to avoid significant problems with the drugs.


Summary:
While PVCs are not dangerous themselves, sometimes they are a marker for underlying cardiac diseases that are dangerous. Thus, if your doctors find a PVC, he or she doctor should evaluate you for possible undiagnosed heart disease. If such disease is found, then instituting optimal therapy often reduces any risk of sudden death.
Patients who have benign but strongly symptomatic PVCs often have a difficult choice to make – living with the PVCs and the palpitations they cause, or trying frequently ineffective and often toxic antiarrhythmic drugs. If drug therapy is chosen, then appropriate precautions can reduce (but not eliminate) the risk of irreversibly bad outcomes.

. Hope this helps

Answer 4

Here's a table of caffeine in various beverages, including decaf coffee:

http://wilstar.com/caffeine.htm

The main risk with PVCs is that you could be at higher risk of having a major heart rhythm problem called ventricular tachycardia. That can lead to ventricular fibrillation, which can be fatal in minutes.

In addition to avoiding caffeine, you should avoid alcohol, not smoke cigarettes, don't abuse drugs, and don't use over the counter sinus meds like pseudophedrine.

Here's some more info on PVCs:

http://www.medicinenet.com/premature_ventricular_contractions/article.htm

Answer 5

One thing that often helps folks who feel PVC's is to realize that EVERYONE has PVC's. If you hook anyone up to a cardiac monitor for long enough, you will find some PVC's. For this reason, PVC's are considered part of a normal heart rhythm.

Some people, however, tend to feel or otherwise notice their PVC's and when they do and find it troublesome, we often recommend reducing stimulants. The reason is that stimulants can increase the number of PVC's.

The most common stimulant is caffeine so patients are often advised to cut back on this. The Mayo Clinic has a useful web page with caffeine contents of common drinks - it's at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeine/AN01211. Note that decaffeinated coffee has only 2 mg of caffeine which is practically zero so this should be OK for you.

Other common sources of stimulants are energy drinks and weight loss pills.

Interestingly, adrenaline is a stimulant all by itself so the more you worry about PVC's, the more adrenaline you'll make, and the more PVC's you'll have, the more you'll worry, etc etc. So being at peace with the fact that everyone's heart has PVC's tends to be very helpful as well.

Good luck!

Answer 6

PVC can be caused by a number of things including caffeine. Some people get them and they go away but it sounds as though you might have them on a regular basis. Having PVC's can be pretty normal. Most people have the occasional PVC without any side-effects but you want to be wary if they start to occur in greater numbers or more frequently. If you notice they have increased you should see you doctor right away. (Especially if you have more than 6 PVC's in one minute)

Treatment for PVC's can range from lifestyle changes (like changing diet or stress levels) to medication to the implantation of a combination defibrillator/pacemaker unit.

These websites list the amounts of caffeine in beverages:

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caffeine/caffeine_info1.shtml
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeine/AN01211

Some beverages will list the content on the label.


Also a PVC is NOT a murmur. A PVC is where the ventricles contract prematurely without stimulus from the atria.

Answer 7

I also get skipped beats several times a day for years now. It used to really bother me, but now I've kind of gotten used to it. I don't know about the exercise part of your question, but would be curious to know as I'm thinking of joining the gym. I also take antidepressants called Efexor XR and am pretty sure this has only been happening since I've been taking them. What type do you take? and I wonder if there could be a link there

Answer 8

I don't know about you, but I have Atrial Fibrilation and I
didnt know I had it until I was 75 years old. I'm now 84.
I did have a heart attack about 12 years ago. I don't think about it. I had Angioplasty then. No problems. I Take 2-4
asperins a day.

Don't listen to me. Go to a Doctor.

Answer 9

I have it. I have had it for years. I saw a cardilogist and wore a heart montitor. End result PVC. PVC is not a skipped heart beat at all. It just feels like one. What actually happens is the electronic signal our body sends out to make the heart beat misfires and the heart makes a double beat. Most everyone has some of them according to the cardiologist but most people never feel them. I felt and recorded every single one when I wore the monitor. It feels as if my heart jumps in my chest. The cardilogist says it is a benign conditon. In other words its harmless. I have had it for 15 years. Caffine has notihng to do with it in my case. You're wasting your time with that in my opinion. Further I have come to a conclusion about the cause of it. Remember I have lived with it for 15 years. Doctors don't think laymen know jack about nothing. Fact is, doctors are often too smug in their own limited knowledge of the human condition. Its not been that long since they refused to believe that ulcers were often caused by bacteria. They are.

My conclusion is that my PVCs are the result of nerve irritation or damage in my back. If I get really tired or really nervous or really tense with muscle pain then the PVCs increase dramatically. Often to several a minute. I do not often have them early in the morning when I am relaxed and rested. Most happen late in the day or at night when I lay down to rest. You would think doctors would all know this. When I first contacted my doctor about it my heart was having a PCV at regular intervals. I told him my heart was missing about every 4th beat. He told me to move and see what happened. I did and they stopped. Come see me tomorrow he says. Just shift your back a bit and they often stop. Sounds to me like something agitating a nerve. Isn't it obvious?

Answer 10

If you are asymptomatic (no discomfort felt), it probably won't need treatment.

If you have symptoms or dangerous forms of PVCs, treatment depends on the cause of the problem.

PVCs can lead to more serious arrhytmias that make the heart work harder and tax the heart eventually. PVCs also decrease cardiac output, which again make the heart work harder.