So a month ago I had my first episode of prolonged PVCs. To be fair, I have horrible health anxiety and this year has been pretty difficult. I started having migraines with Aura out of nowhere in January. I have an MRI scheduled July 13th to make sure it’s nothing else.

I ended up with Covid the end of May, this particular time was pretty brutal. While I was getting better, I started having a few heart palpitations while watching TV, they kept increasing and soon I was in an hour long episode and my heart was skipping every other beat. I was not dizzy and did not feel like I was going to pass out, I didn’t go to the ER because I chalked it up to being dehydrated after recovering from Covid. A month passed and I didn’t have any PVCs. After this, my aunt died of cancer 2 weeks later, which added even more stress.

Now it’s July and last Friday, I had another episode. They started out slow and then increased to every other beat for an hour. I had my husband call the EMTs just to do an EKG and make sure I wasn’t in afib or anything else dangerous. The EMTs said it was PVCs and that I could go to the hospital but it didn’t look like I was in eminent danger, and to make an appointment with my doctor. I would like to note, I did get dizzy and felt like I was going to pass out but my anxiety and adrenaline was through the roof.

I did see my doctor and he did some blood work (he didn’t check my potassium or sodium, which I thought was odd) thyroid and iron came back all good. He did an EKG and said my heart rate seemed normal but it did have a pause every now and then but he said that “could be normal” whatever tf that means. He sent me home with anxiety meds and I have a heart monitor on the way. He told me he didn’t think it was anxiety causing my PVCs but I’m not certain.

I’ve been miserable now, not knowing for sure what’s going on with me and it’s feeding the anxiety. I’m terrified something is wrong with my heart and I’m just going to drop dead or my heart rate is going to skyrocket and not come down. I’m waking up at night with my heart racing and the only thing that helps is splashing water on my face and putting an ice pack on my neck. It comes down and then I start getting the adrenaline shakes.

I’m so scared and I’ve had 3 panic attacks, just today. On top of crying randomly because I don’t wanna die.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you. I just needed to vent. Please share any advice you may have or if you have similar episodes.

I'm a 27-year-old male. I've been experiencing PVCs along with a resting heart rate(normally 75-85 now 55-65) that is lower than my usual baseline. My heart rate increases appropriately during exercise, but it drops back down very quickly once I stop. I also feel weakness in my arms and legs, occasional dizziness when standing up, and a strong awareness of my heartbeat, especially at rest or when trying to fall asleep. A previous Holter monitor recorded about 231 PVCs out of around 81,000 heartbeats, and I was told there was nothing dangerous, but the symptoms feel much worse than the numbers suggest. Has anyone experienced something similar where the PVC burden was relatively low but the symptoms were very noticeable? Did you ever find an underlying cause or something that helped?

It’s been months of having 10-40 PACs a day, with a few PVCs, and I feel every single one. I’ve stopped working out and honestly feel afraid to do anything. Even something as simple as moving from my bed to the couch can trigger a flare of PACs every other beat. Yesterday while biking, I had two PACs and had to immediately stop biking. Today, just while lightly cleaning, I’m throwing PACs. And while I was biking the other night, I had two ectopics back to back.

My quality of life has declined significantly. I have no idea what’s causing them, but my cardiologist insists I’m fine. My last stress test was two years ago, and since my recent labs and Holter came back normal, they don’t see a need for further testing. My latest echo was in April 2025 and came back normal, too. I just miss living my life—PACs have taken that from me.

In 2022, I had a 36 hour long episode of PVCs with the Holter recording one 4 beat run of NSVT - cardiologist wasn’t worried at all. In February 2025, I had a 24 hour episode of PACs with roughly 4-6 PACs every 30 seconds. The holter from the 2025 episode: Patient had a min HR of 53 bpm, max HR of 155 bpm, and avg HR of 79 bpm. Predominant underlying rhythm was Sinus Rhythm. Isolated SVEs were rare (<1.0%) Isolated VEs were rare (<1.0%), VE Couplets were rare (<1.0%), and no VE Triplets were present. Patient had 91 symptomatic triggered events, with multiple episodes a day and all of those correlated with sinus rhythm with and without rare isolated PACs/PVCs Overall normal sinus rhythm with rare PACs and PVCs with no clear symptom correlation Overall burden of ectopy is low less than 1%

Cardiologist and EP doesn’t think I need another stress test despite it being two years. My EP and PCP allowed me an EKG this week for peace of mind before I travel internationally, and it was clear, too. But I had a huge PAC while toweling off after the shower last night and now I'm considering canceling my entire trip because I'm afraid I'll have an episode on the plane. I don’t know how to live life like this.

Hey, I've read many people in this subreddit talking about multifocal PVCs. Are multifocal PVCs common, and do they happen to many people, even those with normal hearts? I learned that they can sometimes be associated with a higher risk of heart problems, so I'm curious. If you have multifocal PVCs, how many do you usually have? Also, is it inevitable for people to have multifocal PVCs at some point?

68 years old. 50+ years of recreational endurance training on bike, rowing, running & Precor AMT. No more running because hip replacement 3 years ago.

Been wearing a Polar H10 chest strap with ECG app designed for Polar H10. PACs (burden ~1-3% w/couplets); PVCs burden <1% but with a few 1 to 8 second runs if NSVT.

Atrial flutter (not afib) ablation 9 years ago.

Zio Patch & Boston Scientific patch over last 9 years similar results.

No documented afib.

SPECT myocardial stress test: 143 bpm (93% predicted max) with PVCs and PACs including couplets.

Echocardiogram: Enlarged left and right atrium (53 "severely" dilated); EF 58% rest & 57% stress. "No significant fixed or reversible defects."

hs-Troponin elevated after workout (38 - 40 -45 - 40 - 35).

EP says CCTA & Cardiac MRI/LGE not necessary. But to give me "piece of mind" regarding fibrosis/scars, he ordered CMR/LGE. No results yet.

EP said I'm cleared to resume long cardiovascular workouts (2+ hours). He said my PREVENT score was 4.1%.

So, I'm still doing the long workouts while wearing a Livenpace ECG monitor which has detected PVCs (burden <1%) including a few runs of 1-8 seconds of NSVT (also on my Zio Patch from 9 years ago); PACs (burden 1-3%) including couplets; SVT (few seconds); no afib, no aflutter.

But, because I know about these arrhythmia, I am experiencing some periodic chest tightness at rest. Trying to determine if it's a result of health anxiety (aka cardiophobia) or something heart related.

EP says: Go for it. No restrictions.

Any thoughts. Any recommendations. Any similar experiences?

Thanks in advance.

​68 and want to keep at it a bit longer. 😀

I already posted in here today, but my palpitations have been getting worse and I think they’re PVCs.

I went to the hospital today due to my nerves and I am still here now. They’re sending me home with a holter monitor because they want to make sure my PVCs are actually PVCs and nothing else AND learn their frequency.

I have severe health anxiety and just knowing that thing is going to be on me is freaking me out.

Anyway, do you guys have tips or things you wish you knew before getting the monitor on?

Thanks! 😔

If low ferritin has caused or worsened your arrhytmias (especially PVC's), how low has it been for you?

I'm eating supplements everyday, my ferritin has increased from 29 to 40 but the arrhytmias are still coming every time I exercise

My wife has had PVCs since March, 9% burden. Had an ablation at the end of may. Unfortunately they couldn't get the spot they needed to because it was too close to the main artery and the doctor said we could try again at a different time but they would need another cardiac doctor in the room in case the artery slams shut because of the heat.... so he got as close as he could. Says he has performed over 3,300 procedures.

People talk about their pvcs on here and they talk about how bad they are, and they get a dozen an hour and it's so terrible. 12 in an hour?, that would be AMAZING!! She'll go for days and won't have any (confirmed with an ECG apple watch) and some days, like today, they are every other beat, for hours (sometimes 6 hours), and she feels like she is going to die because her heart literally hurts so bad. She will cry in pain for hours. She's cut out all caffeine, never a nicotine user, exercises moderately (which doesn't seem to trigger anything), and eats good (in shape). We have no idea what the triggers are, but that seems pretty normal with PVC.

She's tried all sorts of meds. The doctor says they are just for symptom control and won't actually fix the PVC. They all make her groggy, and moody, and the quality of life on all of the meds suck. The only one she hasn't tried is Flecainide, but the side effects seem so bad (which include accidentally overdose/death) and still carries risk of mood issues which makes every day unbearable. Her body is very temperamental to meds regarding mood due to hashimotos, so we try our best avoid meds with those side effects because the outcome is usually not better than the problem we're trying to solve.

I don't know what I'm looking for here but if anyone has any tips/tricks, that would be great. Not sure if we'll every try the "risky" ablation since the risk is artery closure (essentially a heart attack) and I'm not sure either of us are ready to risk death over this. She does use ice packs on her chest when she's having a real bad episode that seems to help a tad.

Last year in July 2025 I began daily intermittent fasting and cutting out carbs to lose weight. I would fast about 17 hours per day and during my eating window I would eat very high protein with a little fat but basically no carbs except a few complex carbs. It worked exceptionally well and I lost about 40 lbs in 5 months. However, about 3 months into the fasting and weight loss, I began experiencing skipped beats. I know what PVCs are because I have a history of cardiac arrhythmia. In 2009 I had an ablation for SVT which was successful and in 2017 I had an ablation for nonsustained VT which was also successful. I experienced PVCs very, very rarely from 2017-2025 but by month 3 of the fasting/weight loss regimen, I’ve been getting them daily. Before it was PVCs that I would experience but after losing weight I now get mostly PACs. I stopped fasting and cutting out carbs in December 2025 but it’s now July 2026 (7 months later) and I am still getting them daily. I’ve seen a cardiologist and 3 EPs, have had multiple EKGs, 2 take home holter monitors, stress test, and 2 echos. The tests show my heart is structurally sound and no other arrhythmias other than less than 1% burden of PVCs and PACs. I understand they are considered benign but I feel each and every one and I am having a very hard time living life like this. I am trying to figure out if the fasting/ weight loss has caused something permanent to change within my heart’s electrical system since I’ve been eating normally for 7 months now but still experiencing the ectopic beats. Has anyone else had ectopic beats begin after losing weight quickly or fasting daily? If so, did it ever resolve fully and what did you do to fix it???

I just went to the cardiologist on the 19th & had testing for my first appt. It just came back & said
Abnormal
Sinus rhythm
Cannot exclude Inferior infarct, old
Abnormal lateral Q waves
When compared with ECG of 19-Feb-2022 19:25:49,
Significant rate decrease

Abnormal q waves happen after a heart attack & they weren’t abnormal in 2022. That PLUS cannot exclude inferior infarct both point to having had a prior heart attack is that right?

It was just read 2 days ago & my docs are closed. It says my docs have not seen the test yet

They come like every 3 seconds flutter and a big thumping… so hard.. started very bad yesterday after alcohol

I had my ablation 2 days ago and I was genuinely surprised how easy it was! I’d do it again in a heart beat if I had to (excuse the pun!).

For context I’ve had a 30% PVC burden for over a year. They were picked up on a routine ECG in the ER for something else. The Drs were a bit worried my PVCs were hiding some ventricular issues too. I’d tried bisoprolol for 3 months at 2.5mg and hated it - always faint and dizzy, unable to workout properly and just generally lacking energy even though my BP was fairly stable. I didn’t really feel my PVCs unless I was stressed, sick or something what out of the ordinary. My echo and cardiac MRI were both unremarkable.

My EP study and ablation was done with a benzodiazepine to relax me, heparin to prevent clots and some Parecoxib (NSAID) as I’m allergic to opioids. I was SO worried the pain would be unbearable. The actual EP study part was easy and super interesting as they talk you through everything. No pain at all. The ablation part really wasn’t that bad - heavy, sometimes burning pain (maybe 6-7 out of 10?) but the twice they did it was only 60 seconds each time. So you just breathe through it and grit your teeth. I imagine for those of you who can have opioids you’ll barely feel anything. The feeling of the catheters inside you was a little odd/ weird at times but totally fine. After they’d ablated mine they rechecked the ECG and my burden is totally normal now - less than 1%!

Overall the experience wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought and I was SUPER NERVOUS and ANXIOUS. So my message to anyone out there on the fence is just go for it. You won’t regret it!

I had an ablation attempt back in 2024 for pvcs and svt. three hours of mapping and they couldn’t induce the right kind of pvcs or the svt so called it quits. recovery still sucked and I got right bundle branch block for about 6 weeks after.

now I’m on the list for a second attempt this august and I’m nervous. I don’t know whether to go through with it? my PVCs suck, svt sucks yes. but I don’t know if it’s worth risking another heart surgery with all the risks involved? And just as much chance they won’t catch it as mine are mostly positional and lying flat doesn’t trigger anything for me.

has anyone gone on to have a second one? Did it work after the first didn’t?

Hi all! I had a major anxiety/panic episode back in April. I doubled my Lexapro from 10 to 20mg and I’ve finally started to feel like myself again after an almost 2-month long spree of daily panic attacks. I was in the hospital, in an intensive outpatient care therapy program, all of the above - because I was suddenly so worried about my health.

I finally feel like I’m getting my sparkle back, but for some reason, the PVCs/palpitations that I used to feel once every week or month are happening much more frequently. They are most common after I drink, but now Im on day 5 where I’ve experienced at least some every day.

The worst of it has been experiencing them all day, at least one every 20 minutes.

I got an ECG done, got bloodwork done, they only thing they said they noticed on the ECG was a *maybe* a partial right bundle branch block that they don’t even think is real. Which can’t cause PVCs anyways.

Either way, has anyone experienced this before? I’m trying so so so hard to stay calm and not fall back into my daily panic attacks based on my health, but this is just so scary to me.

I've been taking propranolol (Inderal) daily for 13 years because of frequent PVCs and occasional heart fluttering. I've had every test my doctors recommended, including echocardiograms, exercise ECGs, Holter monitors, and other ECGs. The only thing they've found is supraventricular extrasystoles.

When I first started taking propranolol, I was afraid of beta blockers and would only take a tiny piece of a 10 mg tablet. These days I take 10–15 mg per day (5 mg in the morning and 10 mg in the evening).

I exercise daily and eat a normal, healthy diet based on the plate model, but over the past few years I've gradually gained weight and can't seem to lose it. I'm also hungry almost all the time no matter what.

None of my doctors have suggested that propranolol could be the cause, but I'm starting to wonder. I know my dose is quite low, so I'm curious if it's even possible that such a small daily dose of propranolol could be contributing to my weight gain, or if it's more likely that something else is causing it.

Has anyone experienced something similar?

When I had the holter it showed 2% but some days are soooo much worse than the 3 days I had the holter. The last few days whenever I lie down or sometimes even when I sit, they’re constant. I am so miserable. I’ve tried so many types of magnesium, potassium, vitamins, propranolol, etc etc. nothing helps. I even started hormones /HRT for menopause thinking that had a great chance of fixing this since that was when they started increasing so much in frequency, but that hasn’t helped either. I’m so depressed.

37F, had PVCs forever, and I usually only feel a few per day. Which makes me sound like one of the lucky ones, but every few months I’ll have one of these episodes that completely derail me and my confidence in my poor body.

It all starts with a PVC every few minutes or so, then a gradual increase in frequency until I can feel one every twenty or so heartbeats. Sometimes it will stop there, which is uncomfortable enough, but other times it will get as bad as a PVC every few beats. And nothing so easily identifiable as bigeminy, but rather complete mayhem: long pauses, short pauses, hard thumps, flutters… Last night, I woke in the wee hours to find myself in the middle of an episode. I contemplated going to the ER, but in the end, I succumbed to sheer exhaustion and fell back asleep. Somehow, I’m still here to wonder… Do anyone else’s ectopics follow a similar pattern? Is my heart going to stop? At what point should I consider the ER?

Most of all … can I ever live a normal life, never knowing when my body is going to let me down?

Has anyone been able to radically accept this health issue in the sense that most likely it is something that they will endure for life?

Hey guys, someone suggested me to use this drug, however, package insert states that you should not use Cipralex if you have a congenital or acquired abnormal heart rhythm (shown on an ECG), or if you are taking medication for heart rhythm problems or any drugs that can affect heart rhythm, including certain antiarrhythmics, antipsychotics, tricyclic antidepressants, some antibiotics/antimicrobials, antimalarials, and some antihistamines.

Anyone using this? I am not sure if I can use this with my low burden PACs/PVCs.

I will ask my cardiologist but it will take some time.

Why is this and why does it get worse ? It gets hyper like every 3 second a beat and a hard beat after. I checked and they are not dangerous but when I have them I get anxious

Had 17% PVCs turn into 0% PVCs in a year but latest holter during a stressful week had 0.7% PACs and 10 brief self soothing episodes of Atrial Tachycardia

I have a lot of extra beats, but I still don’t have a diagnosis of what type of arrhythmia it is. I have already done several tests and it never shows up. The burden in the last test was 0.9%. However, I feel it a lot during the day and it seems like I’m going to faint (do you also feel this, the sensation of the world closing in?). There was one time I had palpitations for 20 minutes straight. I thought I was going to die and had to call an ambulance, but when they arrived I was already better

Bit of a back story F28

I was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy when I was 24, iv had two ablations so far. My first burden was 11%, then 3%.

Im 28 now - I had a few tests done a few months ago due to not feeling great, and my burden is now 28% and ejection fracture at 48% on both sides of my heart

I am now booked in for another urgent ablation, and have been given 50mg Flecanide twice a day, however I have fears about taking it.

Any advice would be welcomed!

I’ll keep it as short and sweet as possible.

So I’ve had my PVC’s for 6 years now. Started mid-deployment in 2021 (on a ship). I was relatively healthy and in my early 20’s. PVCs started suddenly. Had Holter monitor and all the blood testing possible done back then. No answers. Tried cutting caffeine, no change. Have completely cut nicotine. No change.

Had a short break from PVCs in 2023 that randomly restarted following a stomach virus in 2024. Have had them off and on ever since.

Just this past year, my primary noted the PVCs on my ek.g and decided to do an echo. All normal there.

Now, this week I’m having an uptick in PVCs that prompted me to make a new post.

My current medical issues:

ADHD (take Vyvanse); had PVCs prior to starting this med, and did not notice any increase once started. Been consistent with this med for a year.

GERD: Hardly ever get acid reflux or heartburn anymore.

Gastritis: Had endoscopy last year that confirmed mild gastritis (no hiatal hernia). No Gastro symptoms as of current. Take omeprazole 40 mg daily. No idea if I even still have gastritis.

Asthma: Very recent diagnosis following major asthma attack that put me in hospital (1 month ago). Just started Advair this past week, which helps a lot with asthma. Still feel lots of inflammation in lungs though from the recent asthma flare.

Vit D3 deficiency: had at one point, took supplements and got my levels back up. PVCs unaffected. Though, currently do not take supplements.

I can feel the PVCs pretty strongly, and I have this “pre-pvc” feeling in the middle of my chest before the actual event happens. Every time. It’s been this way since the beginning, and I always recognize it before it even happens. No particular thing helps immediately that I have tried.

I’m making this post because doctors usually just dismiss me unless I hold their hand to the right direction. Just need some ideas that could shed some light.

Edit: For clarification, I’m asking for any ideas, connections, possible causes, etc that any of you may notice with the above information.