Are you suffering from PVC's or an ectopic heartbeat?

Have you ever felt like your heart skipped a beat? Or perhaps that your heart actually beat an extra beat? Whether it was an isolated incident or has become a regular occurrence, PVC's (premature ventricular contractions -- also know as ventricular premature beat (VPB), ectopic heartbeat, or extrasystole) can be extremely unsettling and downright scary for those who suffer from them.

The good news is that PVC's are almost always harmless. Nevertheless they tend to feel dangerous to those who have them and it can be hard to cope with the cycle of fear, which leads to stress and anxiety, which often then leads to more PVC's.

So while this group may not be a cure for PVC's, I hope that it will be a useful tool for educating each other and learning to cope with this sometimes extremely uncomfortable heart arrythmia.

Friday, July 31, 2009

PVC's: Another Kind Of "Night Terror"

A little over a year ago my PVC's started to bother me more at night than ever before. Unfortunately, this trend has not changed and I continue to struggle with sleepless nights because of them. It's not every night, and sometimes I can get lucky and go for weeks without a sleepless night. But every now and again I get a really bad bout of them and may have several bad nights in a row. The PVC's are bad during the day as well, but more manageable. At night, probably because I'm lying still and otherwise relaxed, they are much more bothersome. They are also different, as I get more of a sensation of my heart stopping. The pause between the extra beats seems longer and I sometimes literally jump up in bed as a natural reflex response to feeling like I'm dying right there on the spot, not to mention the jolts from the PVC's themselves.

Last night was another bad night. I decided to not just stay in bed and get more frustrated, so I got up, had a snack, read for a bit, even though I was exhausted. Still, though, sleep was elusive until about 4 am. I had to get up before 6 am for work, but was so exhausted that I had to call in sick.

I know this latest episode will pass. They always do. But it's tough physically and mentally when my sleep is cut short. And of course, fatigue only leads to more PVC's and it can make it even more difficult to get out of this round of them.

Can anyone relate? Any tips?
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