Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Readers Wednesday

This is a call to anyone who reads this blog and would like to share about their own experience with heart palpitations.

How long have you had them?
Do you have any tips for long time sufferers?
What do you do when you get a bad case?

I would looove to hear back from any of you!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, I just stumbled upon your blog today and wow is it good to read about someone elses experiance. I have had PVC's for about 5 years now...I am still trying to learn how to cope with them. They come and go and never at a consistent time. It seems like they just show up when they want stay however long they want and leave when they want. Nothing I do makes them better, they just have to run their course. I call what I have "episodes" but I dont know what other people call them. I could have one flip flop and nothing for months or I could have a flip flop every te beats for weeks... Even though I have had my heart checked out over and over and over by several differant cardiologist and they all tell me they are benign and harmless I cant seem to rap my head around it and stop my anxiety when they start happeneing. I tell myself all the time-
"Okay next time it happens I can handel it I will just go on like noting is wrong" then they start up and I say "okay where is the nearest hospital I am going to die, what if this time is differant what if the PVC gets stuck ot turns into something else"...It has gotten to the point now where my PVC's control my life. People think I am insane because of the anxiety and panic that I get from them. They just dont understand. Your blog is so helpful and I am going to enjoy reading it. Can I ask though what do your PVC's feel like? Mine feel like my heart flip flops or jumps in my chest very quickly (it doesnt race or go to slow) just skips along.

Anonymous said...

I also have another question, do you take any medication for your PVC's like a beta blocker or anything like that. I am a little converened after reading about your cousin and how weaning off beta blocker could have played a part in her death. Do you know what beta blocker she was taking? Icurrently take a beta blocker and now am wondering if its safe???

Ali said...

Hi Alice,
I'm so sorry it has taken me awhile to get back to you. Having a 2 year old prevents me from getting on the computer as much as I would like. To answer your first question, yes my heart palpitations feel like flip flops. People refer to heart palpitations in many different ways (such as racing, feeling the sensation of your heart beating, etc.) but usually when I'm referring to heart palpitations I'm specifically referring to PVCs. If you've ever had the supreme pleasure of watching your heart palpitate while hooked up to an EKG, you'll see something similar to the EKG pict I have at the top of my blog. So what you are feeling is very real. The heart's pacemaker prolongs a beat, then the heart has to fill up with blood, and then WHAM you usually feel the next normal beat. So yes, they feel like skips but your heart is not actually skipping beats.

One of the things I saw while reading your post is when you said "Okay, next time it happens, I can handle it" and then when they start up, you say "okay, where is the nearest hospital?" As soon as you say that, you just COMPLETELY voided all your positive thinking and have just set yourself up for extreme discomfort and agitation. The hardest thing about having heart palpitations (despite the suckiness of how they feel) is the MENTAL game. You can't do the "What Ifs." Whatever you do, don't let your mind go there. Get up, take a jog, breathe deeply, distract yourself, talk to a friend, keep reminding yourself "this too shall pass." And if it doesn't pass right away, that's okay too. Don't set yourself up for failure.

Ali said...

Finally, to address your question about medication. That was going to be a blog topic of mine, but I never got around to it. I hope to soon. I don't currently take medication. But please don't fret over what you are taking. If you are in the hands of a good doctor, please discuss your concerns with him or her. The truth about my cousin's death is nobody knows exactly what happened to her. But her heart's electrical system had a lot more going on than just PVCs like what we experience. In fact, if she had something like long QT, the beta blockers could have been actually SAVING her life. And when she weaned off, she literally weaned off her heart's life support. Beta blockers are generally very safe. If they are working for you, I say keep it up. Like I said, I hope to write about this important topic in the future.

Anonymous said...

Hi Ali, I've been reading your blog, it's very interesting for me because I've had PVCs for a year now, they started when I went through mild anxiety and depression but I can't believe this was the trigger. I don't get lots but they happen every sigle day and it's very frustrating. I try to accept them and deal with them but they still cause me anxiety, especially the big ones. Was wondering how many you have per day, is it several or hundreds and whether you have considered ablation? Thanks, Maggie

Ali said...

Hi Maggie! I'm so glad you found my site. I'm sorry you experience them and your situation sounds just like mine. I try to accept them, but when those big or frequent ones rear their ugly head, it's sooo hard! I have several hundred every day but fortunately I don't feel all of them! And some days, I'm sure I don't get many at all. The ablation procedure is something I'm currently not interested in only because I have a history of a family member whereby it didn't go so well. I think you can search in some of the early blog posts I made where I discussed my cousin Beth. I make no medical claims about the ablation. I know it can do wonderful things for many people including most recently Queen Rania of Jordan! But my family's history has prevented me to personally want to do it. I'll try to blog more about this in the future. Thanks for visiting my site! Best wishes!