[dr461]

Here are some of the answers that cardiologist David Richardson gives to people asking about PVC's. Remember, these are people who had had the appropriate tests and been told by their own doctors that they are ok. Palpitations should always be checked out just in case.

"Dear Matt,
PVC's are normal cardiac activity; normal in the senses that about half of us have them, that they are easy to understand as normal from knowledge of the heart's electrical system, and that they don't mean you have heart disease or will in the future develop heart disease or any catastrophe. PVC's are no threat to life or health. Please ignore them.
Don't hesitate to write back if this note doesn't answer all your questions.
David Richardson

Dear Holly,
Premature heart beats are normal cardiac events. They don't mean you have heart disease or will in the future develop heart disease or any catastrophe. About half of us have them. You need not be scared of them. YOUR HEART WILL NOT STOP! They usually last about ten years and then fade away.

Dear Stephanie,
No matter how frequent, even every other beat, PVC's are benign for someone with normal echo and EKG. Try not to be scared. You'll be o.k. ablation for PVC's is tricky and doesn't always work. Drugs like flecainide are very safe and quite effective in lessening the frequency of PVC's. They will subside, though it make take years even a decade or two.

Dear Carrie,
PVC's are normal cardiac events that do not lead in the future to heart disease or sudden death. They're a nuisance but no threat to life or health even if they occur every other beat. Only people with abnormal structure or function of the heart need to fear PVC's and your heart structure and function are normal as shown on the echo.
Coffee makes PVC's more frequent in some people. Fear, anxiety and neosynephrine, may make them more frequent, as does lying down. Exercise makes them less frequent, but just during the exercise, not during rest after exercise. Moderate alcohol doesn't affect PVC's in most people.

Well, I think the biggest change in life style you can make is to ignore the PVC's as not harmful but normal. Reducing anxiety will decrease the PVC's, but even if it doesn't, at least you wont worry so much.

Dear Kathy,
You need not be concerned. A PVC every other heart beat is o.k. So are 2 or 3 or even 5 PVC's in a row. I think even 50% of total heart beats is o.k. With a normal echo you have no concerns about PVC's."


I hope this is helpful - if you look at All Experts cardiology you will see that many, many people suffer with PVC's and the answer is invariably that they are harmless and benign in those with a normal EKG and echocardiogram.

[CMoore416]

You would think with so many ppl suffering from them - they would study them more, have More answers and even an effective medicine by now. I thinks it's the food we are eating and the incredible stress of life that has us all wacky!

Anyway thanks for sharing! I needed it today! I just had a couple pep talks from from some friends and read this and have some strength to finish my day! Thank you

[Cheers]

Thanks David...those are helpful...

[tom]

exactly what is "Normal Heart"? 70% of people have tricuspid regurgitation, Mitral Regurge is quite common, mvp is very common, all are "abnormalities" on an echo report, so is a Normal Heart a perfect heart, or just one without serious tissue/valvular disease and/or some form of heart block ?? I don't know... any insights, anyone ?

[dr461]

Tom, a normal heart is when your Cardiologist says "everything is in normal limits. Don't worry, and go about your business." We're not talking 100% perfect, as nobody is 100% perfect ( my cardiograms always show "slightly off axis -25 degrees). My doctor said "Ignore that, it is meaningless. " So, I believe him. A normal heart IMHO is one that does not require treatment for anything, and you can go live your life and not worry about it.

[shellylabelle]

Thank you David for always trying to present the best info possible. It is very difficult knowing what is true and what is not! I ordered the books that Jodie recommended.

[Dragonfly2756]

I LOVE Dr. Richardson!! Always makes me feel better to go to allexperts.com and read his stuff!

[erbssr]

David Richardson is THE MAN!!!!!!!!

[Susie]

I have not heard of him, but, I love what you posted, he sounds like a great person.

[tom]

DAVID

Originally Posted by dr461

Tom, a normal heart is when your Cardiologist says "everything is in normal limits. Don't worry, and go about your business." We're not talking 100% perfect, as nobody is 100% perfect ( my cardiograms always show "slightly off axis -25 degrees). My doctor said "Ignore that, it is meaningless. " So, I believe him. A normal heart IMHO is one that does not require treatment for anything, and you can go live your life and not worry about it.

well my heart is not normal, (leaky valves, diastolic relaxation issues, enlarged, significant bradycardia) yet my PVC's were determined to be benign by virtue of a 24 hour holter ruling out non benign issues (I wont mention) and the key finding was when I did the treadmill stress test and got my heart rate up to 70 (resting is 42, ambient is 55) the PVC's dissappeared. I was advised to go back to a somewhat vigorous exercise program (I am an ex marathoner), so I do 4-5 miles every day at a pace that keeps my heart rate above 70% of MHR (bad knees not withstanding). Sure enough the PVC's stopped, even at rest. However I was told that over time, very frequent PVC's can lead to a condition called PVC induced cardiomyopathy especially considering the enlarged heart gratis all those years of running, but to be reassured that many treatments are available should that condition begin to show up. So if one is having thousands of PVC's day after day, I would not just dismiss it because ones heart is normal at present. Find the cause, be it diet, lifestyle, anxiety, stress, etc. and eliminate it... especially if worrying about it is the root cause. Also of importance is the percentage of PVC's to total heart beats in a day Since I average 72,000 beats on a day i don't run , 7,000 PVC's is about 10%.