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.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

The Breathe Easy Program

Just wanted to make all of you PVC sufferers aware of a program that has worked for some people who suffer from ectopics. Make sure to check out "The Breathe Easy Program." I have nothing to lose, since nothing else has worked for my PVC's, and Stewart (the creator of the program) has been great at e-mailing me and answering my questions. I know it's going to take time and some effort, so it may be a while before I can post my results here.

In the mean time, feel free to post any questions you have here and hopefully Stewart can answer them for you.

15 comments:

chzekhai said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Steve Logan said...

I'm curious if you've had any luck with this yet?

juan said...

it's 4am now, and reading a whole lot of comments from an older post has calmed me down a lot. I'm new and confused, still thinking I might have something grave yet rationally knowing it's mostly panic, that profound fear you all have felt. I'm 23, but I feel like a 5 year old kid when I'm scared like that

I havent yet had a holter exam. Until then I don't even want to claim I have one thing or the other. But it's been months now and without a doubt sleep comes hard. And this past week, i suspect, it would not have come at all if it wasn't for you kind strangers

Thank you

Sam said...

HELP

Anonymous said...

This post really helped me out and gave me some peace of mind. It was written by a doctor
http://pvcgroup.webs.com/palpitations.htm

knittingtheblues said...

I don't know if you are still responding to comments on this blog, but am curious to hear if you tried the Breathe Easy program and what your results were if you did.

Claudia said...

Sorry for the delay, guys. I seem to have trouble keeping up with all the comments here. Unfortunately there are many PVC sufferers out there!

Regarding the Breathe Easy program, I didn't follow it too closely because my PVCs seemed to subside significantly on their own. I still have them, but they're not very intense and I barely think about them. Crossing my fingers that it stays that way, but expecting another flare-up someday.

I highly recommend joining the Breathe Easy Facebook group. If any of you have any concerns about the program or Stewart Gatenby being legit, I can assure you that he is. He took the time to answer all of my questions promptly via e-mail. So if you have any questions, I'm sure he'd be happy to answer them.

Claudia said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joe Dietz said...

Hello Everyone,

I've been dealing with ectopics for 15+ years but they got worse the last 5 years. I purchased the breathe easy program last January (2011). It was a little difficult for me to really understand how to do the breathing exercises. Stewart does a great job of answering emails promptly. I ended up finding some good information on normalbreathing.com. The information on this website is similar to what Stewarts program teaches. I ended up purchasing the Do It Yourself breathing device manual and made my own device and used it for a while, but I have to say that I used it more sporatically and didn't stick to a routine. I plan on trying to get back to doing that. However at that same time I started taking Magnesium (Natural Calm brand, about 400 mg daily) and this seems to help a lot. I also take vitamin c (1800 mg daily) this helps with blood pressure. I always seemed to be able to "feel" my heart beating, especially when I layed on my left side, the vitamin c has seemed to help with that. I also take hawthorn berries supplements as well as a multivitamin. The combination of these has seemed to work really well. I have much, much fewer ectopics and less anxiety and less noticable feeling of my heart beating. The success of these supplements with me is why I haven't been diligent with the breath program. I do intend to start again because I believe it will help me even more. Hope this helps everyone!

Claudia said...

That's great news, Joe. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us!

Unknown said...

Hi, this is my first blog.

I am having horrible ectopics at the moment. They seem to come in runs but since losing my job at Christmas, my anxiety levels have been bad, and now I am getting ectopics again. I have had a lot of stress recently but they happen out of the blue, when I am looking forward to something, or when I am nervous about something. Also I get them when I am hungry, or feeling very empty inside.

I have been taking beta blockers for 18 years now, after being diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia in 1996. I have had recent heart tests and all is apparently normal. The cardiologist told me he and his wife regularly get ectopics and that they are nothing to worry about. Trouble is I DO worry about them as they are SO scary and cause me panic attacks. I am thinking of trying the Breath Easy programme that I have just come across. Can anyone vouch for it? Also does Magnesium and Calcium help with ectopics? I am really desperate as I am becoming housebound for fear of going out and collapsing! Mary

Anonymous said...

From Alberta I bought the program,and when asked for clarification on some things, I was told I have to pay extra for him to answer e-mails. Even though in the first program he writes on page 103 that he is re-writing the program in a more clear manner. His reason for asking for more payment is that answering extra e-mails cuts into his family time. Well asking for clarification cuts into my time.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone thinkbthat too much salt in a meal can cause the PVC to start?? I have beeb wihout them for months and now they started up again..been up since 5 am...Scares me very much..I take SLO MAG MAGNESIUM PILlS 2 a day and a beta blocker 25 mg 1 at night and 1 in the morning....Xanax can help calm me down as well..Low dose 0.25 mg...its just hard to understand how they start out of the blue...I worry every night b4 going to sleep..I don't think this is very helpful but I can't control the fear...Appreciate any ideas or suggestions u can offer...

Unknown said...

I have has PVCs now for 25 years,been on beta blockers for 4 years (nebivolol 5mg)Seem to go for some time with very few ectopics then all of a sudden they start up again.I have tried all sorts,gave up coffee and tea 5 years ago,stopped taking salbutamol for asthma and went onto a steroid,stopped eating wheat art year but nothing seems to work on a long term basis.This year had a really bad episode and ended up on coronary care,had numerous test but nothing shows out of the ordinary,in fact,I really ought to be the fittest person in the country as all tests had excellent results,quite low blood pressure,pulse of 60 bpm etc. but had another episode yesterday
Saw the advert regarding the breathing program and wondered if anyone had used it with success.Also can anyone recommend any type of vitamin supplement that works for them,just bought some flaxseed tabs.with omega in,some vitamin E and some garlic tabs,and going to try these,can anyone recommend anything else that would be worth a try?
Regards
Nick

Anonymous said...

Hi there
I've recently been diagnosed with bigeminy.
I get palpitations racing heart missed beats most days for most of the day.
my question being does bigeminy have side affects as I seem to feel very breathless, light headed and it makes me incredibly tired after it goes on for long periods (which is most days) I'm also not sleeping very well as the pounding keeps me awake.
I'm feeling pretty down as my consultant sent a letter with diagnosis basically saying ignore it.
been to docs today and he said bigeminy does not have any symptoms apart from the palpitations and fobbed me off with a week of sleeping tablets.
does anyone else know if these symptoms are from bigeminy or does anyone have the same symptoms.
Feeling fed up!