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PVC's (Read 171 times)

    So i've been having noticeable PVC's for about a week now.  Just sporadically throughout the day.  Some are hardly noticeable other ones are like a really strong heartbeat.  Sometimes i'll hear my heartbeat in my head, one time I could see my pulse in my neck in the mirror (that was weird) I've had a couple of sensations of being light-headed a couple times in the last week as well.  Nothing serious but just something I noticed.

     

    Back in June I was having regular spells of light-headedness and noticed an irregular heart beat after a run one day.  This lasted for about 3-4 weeks before it went away. I got a blood panel and everything was "normal".  I got referred to a cardiologist but didn't get to the appointment until Dec and had a full ECG and EKG and everything "looked great" Of course by the time December rolled around I was not experiencing symptoms anymore and hadn't for half a year.  The episode in June I sort of just chalked up to stress as we were selling our house, moving, building a house blah, blah, blah.  But now that this appears to be coming back is this something I should worry about?  Should I get re-checked out or just go with the assurances I had before from the cardiologist.  Do I keep running (never had any symptoms while running) The symptoms are a bit different this time around so is it something different all together?

     

    Any thoughts or experiences with this stuff out there?


    Latent Runner

      A few random thoughts in no particular order:

      • I have a slow heart beat and it isn't at all unusual for me to be able to see my pulse in my neck when looking in the mirror.  Is this normal for most endurance athletes?  Don't know.
      • We had an unusually warm and humid summer up here in New England last year, right when I was ramping up my mileage to unprecedented (for me) levels, and during my daily runs I had occasionally experienced minor periods of arrhythmia.  Then one very hot and humid day about six or seven miles into my run I sprinted up a fairly steep hill, and as I crested the top I experienced a sudden arrhythmia of such magnitude that I felt faint and needed to come to an immediate halt and sit down.  It passed almost as quickly as it came on, and I got up and continued my run as if nothing happened.
      • I told you the above to say this; after asking around a bit I came to the conclusion my electrolytes were pretty out of whack due to the considerable volume of water I'd been consuming and how much I'd been sweating from my daily runs.  The next day I went out and bought some "Endurolytes FIZZ" from Hammer Nutrition, and for the remainder of the hot weather, I had no more recurrences of arrhythmia.

      I have no idea whether you are running low on your electrolytes or not, but it might be something to consider.

      Fat old man PRs:

      • 1-mile (point to point, gravity assist): 5:50
      • 2-mile: 13:49
      • 5K (gravity assist last mile): 21:31
      • 5-Mile: 37:24
      • 10K (first 10K of my Half Marathon): 48:16
      • 10-Mile (first 10 miles of my Half Marathon): 1:17:40
      • Half Marathon: 1:42:13
      Trent


      Good Bad & The Monkey

        Noticeable PVCs? You run around connected to an ECG?

        Tim_Easterday


          I get weird heartbeats when I've been overtraining. I just back down the mileage & intensity for a week and it usually goes away. And get plenty of sleep.


          Feeling the growl again

            Noticeable PVCs? You run around connected to an ECG?

             

            DW had no problem feeling her PVCs back when she had them while running.....not that you know for sure what it is without the ECG.  I'm guessing that is what you meant.

            "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

             

            I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

             

            LedLincoln


            not bad for mile 25

              How's your caffeine intake these days?


              Walk-Jogger

                I'm 58, and I've had significant and very noticeable PVC episodes for several years now. After one ER visit in the middle of the night and a few rounds with my  GP and a Cardiologist who said everything they could check using my insurance looked normal, I just live with the PVC's now and ignore them as much as possible.

                 

                They can be very annoying - when one has a strong heart and not much body fat, as I do, they will often cause me to literally bounce a bit when laying in bed at night, sort of like getting thumped on the chest. Or if I'm standing and have a "big" PVC thump, it will sometimes cause a small, sharp exhale of air that produces a gasping sound.

                 

                The one time I don't seem to ever have them or at least don't notice them is when I'm running. Sometimes it seems like my PVC's are related to something in particular that I've eaten or been drinking, but I haven't pinned that down for certain. Things that I've consumed prior to some of my PVC episodes were dried ginger, cinnamon schnapps, and garlic.

                 

                At times I've gone for weeks or a month or more without noticing any major PVC episodes, but these days about 50% of the time when I'm sitting or resting, if I check my pulse, I can't go for a full minute without at least one PVC, often 4 or 5. When they get bad (rarely), it's every other heart beart "skipped".

                 

                First time that happened was in the middle of the night, and when my resting pulse dropped to a 30 count for a full minute with lots of adrenaline at the time (usually 46 or so at rest)  I got up and drove myself to the ER. By the time I got there the PVC's were starting to clear up, but I decided to have it "checked out" anyway since I was there, and I do have insurance. That was a bit humiliating, because as soon as you  mention to the ER check-in person that your heart is . . .  They don't listen to another word, they set off some kind of alarm in the ER, and a lot of people come running with a gurney and machines and I found myself in the ICU for the next 8 hours hooked up to an IV and all kinds of flashing and beeping machines. As I said, the PVC's were about gone by that time, so I really just wanted to run out of there and make my escape, but they "required" me to stay until a cardiologist arrived later that morning to look at my charts and clear me to go (it was a Saturday and I think he had to finish his golf game first). It was a slow Friday night otherwise for the ER folks ( this is a small town), and they were all very nice, I will give them that much.

                 

                So anyway, that's my experience of living with PVC's. They probably don't mean much of anything other than we are getting older. I'm just really happy  that they don't seem to interfere with my running in any way.

                Retired &  Loving It

                pedaling fool


                  I get weird heartbeats when I've been overtraining. I just back down the mileage & intensity for a week and it usually goes away. And get plenty of sleep.

                   

                  I was thinking the same thing -- over doing it. Back off a little bit (don't stop) just take it easy, at least that works for me. I've had those light-headed dizzy spells, especially when I bend down or stand up quickly.

                   

                  Do you know what your normal resting HR is? I've found that I can't get to my normal resting HR for a couple days after going all out; even if I only hit it hard for only one day, but I'm talking really hard, like sprint after sprint. However, I also get the same negative results if I've been just overdoing it a little bit, but over a longer period of time.

                  L Train


                    Noticeable PVCs? You run around connected to an ECG?

                     

                    Canadian health care.

                     

                      Noticeable PVCs? You run around connected to an ECG?

                       

                      Like other people have said just more like a thump in the chest.  I don't think it's the actual PVC that I feel but the heart beat afterwards.

                       

                      I get weird heartbeats when I've been overtraining. I just back down the mileage & intensity for a week and it usually goes away. And get plenty of sleep.

                       

                      I just don't think i've been training that hard. And when I had it in June same thing nothing crazy training wise.

                       

                      I have no idea whether you are running low on your electrolytes or not, but it might be something to consider.

                       

                      This could be something. I've been running a lot on the treadmill of late which means I've been sweating a lot. All i've been drinking is coffee, milk and water.

                       

                      How's your caffeine intake these days?

                       

                      I drink coffee like it's my job (5-6 cups a day) but at the same time this nothing new. I've been drinking coffee like this for 10 years now.

                       

                       

                      Canadian health care.

                       

                      Indeed.

                       

                      Thanks for the input all, apparently this is something quite common. I'll try getting some electrolytes in me consistently and see if that balances me out.

                      Nevrgivup


                        Kmark- I am a nurse and I also get PVC's pretty regularly. Not like everyday, but a few times a week. I can bet they are from either electrolyte imbalances, dehydration, and the caffeine intake. Try drinking more water and decreasing the coffee and you should see a decrease in them. I know there was a time where I finished a long run and than had a coffee. I encountered like a half an hour of them. It was quite scary and I think because I noticed them it made it worse because I was anxious about it. PVC's will not kill you, but if they are happening on a constant basis than I'd just mention it to your doctor. I once had to DNF a HM last year because they came about and would not go away. That freaked me out and it hasn't happened since. You can take medication to regulate your heartbeat if its really serious. Good luck!

                        Running is my mental-Ctrl-Alt-Del.