PVC's?

Yeah, I know - I shouldn't, BUT-------  I cut my daily metoprolol to 50 mg from 100 mg. Today, I re-instated the 100mg dose. Why? BP device reported 105/64 Pulse 42.  I've had this symptom in the past: Strong beat, weak beat, stong beat, weak beat, strong beat, weak beat, and so on. BP device does not pick up the "weak" beat. I can check with my finger on my carodit artery. PVC's behave like this - with a pattern?  Tiredness is my main symptom. I always thought PVC's were just an extra "early" pulse that occurs at random.  Whatever these "weak" pulses are, are they overiding my PM?  (I'm a full time pacer - AV Node's been ablated.)  Thoughts?

--Dave--


4 Comments

you said it

by Tracey_E - 2018-10-29 15:29:31

Don't mess with your dosage! It tends to make the heart cranky. 

Yes, pvc's can behave in a pattern. Or some beats can be stronger than others, that's not necessarily pvc's.

With regular av block (as opposed to via ablation) the sinus node is setting the pace so no the pvc's won't mess with the pacing, it will still pace the ventricle when the atria beats. It'll work differently for you depending on why you had the ablation and what your heart is doing now. Your doctor is really the only one who can answer what's normal for you and what your rate really is when it feels like 40.  

PVC's

by ROBO Pop - 2018-10-29 16:07:29

you should get a good lawyer and sue the guy who convinced you to cut your Metoprolol dosage for malpractice and practicing medicine without a license. Duh

Metoprolol

by DAVID H - 2018-10-29 22:01:51

Hey ROBO - I was fiddlin' with my meds to see if I could zero in on what was making me kinda tired feelin'. Metoprolol was the only one I could zero in on, BUT I'm back to my usuall 100mg dosage. However, I 've found one item that'll create fatigue - along with a mighty sore arm - the new shingles shot!  Had my 1st a couple days ago, and laid in bed the entire next day. The second shot is now due from between 2 months and 6 months from now.  I had a case of shingles when I was in my 30's, and I KNOW it's something I don't want to experience again!

--Dave--

A short...

by donr - 2018-10-30 00:33:16


I wrote this several yrs ago.  I have 40 comments in them - this one tells you how to recognize them.

Donr

Advanced Primer on PVC's

by donr - 2014-03-02 08:03:15 Edit

MOE: Tracey gave them a name & a description of what they are. Justin case you cannot recognize one when it hits, I'm going to try.

For starters, A-Fib is nowhere near the same as PVC's. A-Fib is an arrhythmia that is FASTER than the normal HR. A PVC takes place at the same same rate as your normal HR, but the ventricles contract just a tad too soon - hence their name.

To start, let's confirm that you can sense a true PVC.

When you feel your heart beat, it's the Ventricles contracting. The Atria do not contract strongly enough for you to feel it. The only way to sense Atrial contraction is w/ a stethoscope & it is noticeably weaker in sound than the Ventricles contracting. I believe the "official " medical description is "lub-DUB" where the DUB is the ventricular contraction. (If I'm backwards, someone will call me on it!)

When you are just sitting there doing nothing w/ your mind in neutral, what you will feel goes something like this:
ThumP, ThumP, ThumP, thump, pause, THUMP, ThumP, ThumP.....

ThumP = a normal beat
thump - a wimpy beat - the PVC!
pause = a short pause that surprises & scares you
THUMP = a heavy beat that really catches your attention

The wimpy "thump" is because the ventricles contract prior to being full, so there's not enough blood in them for it to be noticeable - MOF, you may not feel this beat at all - some people do not, giving them a full 1 second or better sensed lack of a beat.

The pause is a compensating thing to help the heart get back on track into a Normal Sinus Rhythm.

The THUMP is the ventricles contracting when being slightly more full than normal, due to the pause.

It is the disturbance in regularity of your rhythm that catches your attention.

Single PVC's are harmless, but are disturbing. Consistent, long runs of them can lead to other problems, more serious in nature - like V-Tach or V-Fib. But I am evidence that singles are benign - w/ my monthly count by my PM.

Someone else said it - the PM can only take care of LATE or MISSING beats - in other words, speed things up. It cannot slow things down.The rest of your questions are not mine.

Hope this helped some on your PVC's

Donr

You know you're wired when...

You have an excuse for being a couch potato.

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