[ctcsmith]

So the weird beats I felt yesterday where 4 PACs in a row... awww, kinda scary now!!! She said it's fine and not dangerous but kinda makes me feel scared a bit!

[Jeff]

Do you know that almost all PACs are in fact full, complete, perfusing heart beats? They just happen a little early? That if you were to line up your 4 PACs in a row against 4 normal heart beats from when you were exercising and your heart rate was elevated, you wouldn't be able to tell them apart?

[dr461]

Originally Posted by Jeff

Do you know that almost all PACs are in fact full, complete, perfusing heart beats? They just happen a little early? That if you were to line up your 4 PACs in a row against 4 normal heart beats from when you were exercising and your heart rate was elevated, you wouldn't be able to tell them apart?

Yupp, and it is normal. My doctor said it is nature's way of compensating for stray electrical impulses--it isn't a skipped beat, but a slightly premature one, so really not an issue--unless you have diagnosed heart disease.

[ctcsmith]

i can def. feel it!

[DaniRae]

I think that is the problem... that even though they are not harmful and the docs say it's all good, it still is not totally "normal" and that is what scares people. It's the fact that you have a funky heart beat no matter how safe they are. That is what you have to accept and trust your heart.... That is the hardest part.... Not always thinking about "what if it gets to be something worse.... ."

[Jeff]

@Susie - please follow the roughly 80 links to PAC info in this thread. PAC PAC PAC You'll see a PAC and how it in fact results in a full heartbeat.

[dr461]

Originally Posted by DaniRae

I think that is the problem... that even though they are not harmful and the docs say it's all good, it still is not totally "normal" and that is what scares people. It's the fact that you have a funky heart beat no matter how safe they are. That is what you have to accept and trust your heart.... That is the hardest part.... Not always thinking about "what if it gets to be something worse.... ."

I agree, but I would still say that it is more normal than one thinks. 90% of the population has some ectopic beats. The people here, myself included, are more somatically aware--either through being nervous and anxious in the first place, or just more aware of our bodies. My doctor takes the "it's normal" attitude about PVCs and PACs, unless there is some significant organic cause, and very few people with those two types of heartbeats have abnormalities. Now, someone predisposed to more serious rhythmic irregularities might be in a different situation, but both of my doctors (cardio and family practice) call it straight out normal.

[Susie]

Originally Posted by Jeff

@Susie - please follow the roughly 80 links to PAC info in this thread. PAC PAC PAC You'll see a PAC and how it in fact results in a full heartbeat.

Thanks for the info, I read it, now, I understand a little more. I sure wish that my doctors would explain things this way.