PVC's and palpitations?

I would trust your doctors. It is always a neccessity to have a check up by a doctor before starting physical exercise and your case seems to be why this is recommended. Your conditions may have been determined by your md to be non-life threatening or you would be on a pacemaker and other medical stuff. Some folks can have heart murmers and skipped beats and have no problems (I for one ,which make me nervous but the docs say it is normal for me.)
Obviously stay on top of this, stay in touch with the docs, but most of all the health and welfare benefits of triathon are really tremendous to living a full life.

I also think trust the docs. Keep caffeine to a minimum. Keep stress controlled. I assume you don't smoke?

What testing have you had? EKG, labs? How long has this been a problem?

Interesting....keep us posted!

Hi. Thanks for your response. I haven't had caffeine in about 2 years (when it fist started), never smoked. I had an overactive thyroid during my last pregnancy (3 years ago) which then became an underactive thyroid but it now appears to be functioning normally for a year or so. I've had full thyroid panels, EKGs, holter monitors and a sonogram of my heart. Its been funny b/c the thyroid doctor says its probably stress, the cardiologist says its probably the thyroid, my family doctor said probably stress. I'm a really "no medicine" type of person so I'm not interested in any stress meds. I'm happy the doc's all say I'm ok, but its really unnerving to have your heart skip a beat and then "whoosh" so hard to make up for the skipped one. And similar to what Ron mentioned, it usually happens at rest time or when I don't think that I'm stressed. I don't seem to have any problems during workouts except last week when I was running and it was really hot out. The whole thing just makes me nervous and I've never done anything this strenuous before. I have another check up coming in May so hopefully it will ease my mind. It certainly helps to know that there are others in this sport that have similar symptoms at times and have had to problems with it.

Thank you!!!!

- Rosemarie

Good luck with it Rosemarie. Probably would be a good idea to keep track of when it happens, especially when it occurs during workouts. Then you would have some data for your appt in May. Sounds like you are doing everything you can to prevent it!

Hi!

As someone who works in the medical field I can tell you that pvc's/palpitations for women are very common. One of the biggest factors is a woman's changing hormone levels. If your physicians are telling you that it is nothing to worry about, I wouldn't worry about it. Have you worn a holter monitor? Did anyone in your family die of cardiac disease at a young age? Are you getting enough sodium and potassium? Are you staying well hydrated? Just some questions to think about!

Good luck and stay well!

Ann :-)

Sugarsnap- you don't say how old you are- and that makes a diff.Sounds like you've had the full "at rest" workup..and that the episodes are self limiting- go away without symptoms of shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, etc...which all indicates it's probably a "variant of the norm" kind of condition. The only consideration I would think is that none of these tests have examined your heart under stress/exertion. (Like a true exercise stress test would do) ....but if you are of a fit enough base that you are attempting your first tri in June you have been gradually building to this challenge.Do you train with aa HRM ?

Ann, You're the first medical person that ever told me that it could happen due to hormone levels. I find that very interesting b/c my hormones are usually wacky without bc pills and when this whole thing started happening I was breastfeeding my youngest but trying to switch over to bottles. I'm guessing my hormones were trying to get back together b/c I wasn't on bc pills for months at that point. I could definitely see that as being a reasonable explanation as to why this started happening to me. Also, I do occassionally miss a pill here and there (not frequently though). Maybe there's a correlation here. I'll have to check and monitor when it happens during the month.

Thank you so much for the info!!!!

Isis,

I'm 33 and I don't know of any young heart related deaths in my family. My grandfather died of a heart attack but he was about 60. He had a fairly unhealthy diet from what I understand. I do try to make sure I'm hydrated and take my vitamins. Never had a stress endurance test but might consider it if it happens again during exercise. Thank you so much for your response and help.

- Rosemarie

Hi, Sugarsnap. I'm 25 and also training for my first triathlon, and I've had occasional arrythmia since I was a kid. My doctor also said it's nothing to worry about, although it scared me half to death the first couple of times it happened. One thing I have noticed is that it seems to be a LOT less frequent when I'm getting regular, high-intensity cardiovascular exercise. And similarly to what a couple other people have said, I usually experience it during rest. Working out seems to control it fairly well, which is nice. So, I know it can be scary, but hopefully you'll also find that more training helps!

Angie

It sounds like you've done all the right things (seeing your doc plus a cardiologist)...have you ever worn a Holter while exercising??? It might be something to think about...as a critical care nurse I can tell you that almost EVERYONE has some PVCs here and there, but we worry when we have more than a couple in a row. Although I have never worn a Holter I am sure I have PVCS, especially when my HR gets up there. I HIGHLY recommend getting a treadmill stress test with a cardiologist if you've never had one. This way, they can monitor you closely while exerting yourself to see exactly which arrhythmias (if any) you are having (there are many different types). Hang in there and make sure your electrolytes are in balance (it's amazing how drastically these affect your cardiac rhythms)! You can also get a second opinion if you don't feel comfortable, ultimately you need to make your own decision regarding exercise levels.

Sandy

Hi Sandy. Thank you for the good advice. I've never worn the Holter monitor during exercise - just normal everyday stuff. At the time that I wore it, I was too scared to exert myself for fear of bringing on PVC's. I think I'll check with the cardiologist though. I'm sure they'll do this if I want them to.

One question though that probably seems silly...How do I keep my electrolytes in balance? I really don't know much about this stuff except from reading that Gatorade helps to replace electrolytes. How do I figure out if my electrolyte balance is off?

Thanks for your help!

- Rosemarie

Hi!
Yes, Gatorade is a good way to replenish electrolytes...the main ones having cardiac effects are potassium, magnesium, sodium, and calcium. You could get baseline electrolyte labs drawn to know where you normally fall (for example, my potassium runs on the lower end of normal). The main thing you can do is eat a balanced diet, drink plenty of fluids (but don't overdo it), and eat plenty of fruits and veggies. Bananas are an excellent source of potassium. I use Gatorade mainly when training, simply because I like the taste and am therefore more likely to drink it.
I would also ask your cardiologist about doing an exercise treadmill test, it is a very valuable tool and will show if you are having arrhythmias during exercise.
And...stay away from caffeine and smoking (which I believe you said you were!). Also, stay away from any nutritional supplements containing ephedrine, ma huang, or other stimulants! All of these can cause arrhythmias.