How a VC Can Affect Your Heart

PVCs are common and may be experienced by a wide range of people without causing any problems. However, if they happen frequently, PVCs can weaken your heart muscle and increase the risk of heart failure.

The heart's rhythm is controlled by a group of fibers that are located in the upper right-hand corner of your heart. This is called the sinoatrial nerve, or SA. Electrical signals travel to ventricles, or lower chambers of the heart.

Causes

PVCs happen when the electrical impulse that typically initiates your heartbeat in a region known as the sinus node (also called the sinoatrial or SA node) does not. Instead, the impulse is generated in another area of your heart, the ventricles, and causes an untimed beat. These extra beats are also called ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. They may feel like the heart beats faster or feels fluttering. They can happen infrequently and not cause any symptoms, but they may occur frequently enough to affect your standard of life. If they happen frequently or cause weakness, dizziness or fatigue, your doctor may treat them with medicine.

PVCs are generally harmless and don't increase the risk of heart disease. Over time, frequent PVCs can weaken the heart muscle. This is especially true if the PVCs result from conditions like dilated cardiomyopathy and arrhythmogenic right ventricle cardiomyopathy that can lead to heart failure.

The signs of PVCs include a feeling that your heart beats slower or is fluttering, and you feel breathless. The fluttering may be more apparent when you exercise or have certain drinks or food items. People who suffer from chronic anxiety or stress can have more PVCs, window cleaning service and some medications such as amiodarone, digoxin, and cocaine can increase the chance of developing them.

If you experience occasional PVCs Your doctor may recommend lifestyle changes and condo Window repair medicines. If they are a frequent occurrence, you may need to avoid some drinks and foods like alcohol and caffeine. You can also lower stress by taking enough rest and working out.

If you've got a lot of PVCs, your doctor may recommend a medical procedure referred to as radiofrequency catheter ablation. This procedure destroys the cells that cause them. Electrophysiologists are the ones who carry out this procedure. It is generally successful in treating the PVCs and reducing symptoms but it doesn't stop them from recurring in the future. In certain cases, it may increase the risk of having atrial fibrillation (AFib) which is a condition that can cause stroke. It is not common, but it can be life-threatening.

Symptoms

Premature ventricular contractions or PVCs, can make your heart seem to flutter or skip the beat. These extra heartbeats are harmless, but you might need to see your doctor when they occur frequently or if you experience symptoms like dizziness, or fatigue.

The normal electrical signals start in the sinoatrial area, which is located in the upper right-hand part of the heart. They then travel to the lower chambers, or ventricles, where blood pumps are located. The ventricles expand to push blood into the lungs, and then return to your heart to begin the next cycle of pumping. A PVC begins in a different place in the Purkinje fibers are located in the left-hand side of the heart.

When PVCs occur, they make the heart pound or feel like it skipped one beat. If you only have just a few episodes and no other symptoms are present your cardiologist may not treat you. If you have a lot of PVCs and your doctor might suggest that you undergo an electrocardiogram (ECG) to monitor your heartbeat for a period of 24 hours. The doctor may also suggest wearing a Holter Monitor which tracks the heart's rhythm and count the number of PVCs.

If you've suffered a heart attack in the past or suffer from cardiomyopathy -an illness that affects the way that the heart pumps blood should be aware of their PVCs and consult an expert in cardiology about lifestyle changes. These include avoiding alcohol, caffeine and smoking, reducing stress and anxiety, and getting enough rest. A cardiologist may prescribe beta blockers to slow down the heartbeat.

Even if you don't have any other symptoms, you should still get PVCs checked by a cardiologist if they happen frequently. These heartbeats that are irregular could indicate a problem in the structure of your heart or lungs and if they happen often enough, can weaken your heart muscle. However, most people suffering from PVCs do not experience any issues. They are interested in knowing if the rapid heartbeats, or the skipping of heartbeats is normal.

Diagnosis

PVCs can be akin to heartbeats that are fluttering especially if they are frequent and intense. People who experience them regularly might feel faint. Exercise can trigger PVCs, but a lot of athletes who suffer from them have no heart or health issues. PVCs could show up in tests such as an electrocardiogram (ECG) or Holter monitor. They have sensors that record electrical impulses coming from your heart. A cardiologist can also perform an ultrasound echocardiogram to examine the heart.

Often, a doctor will be able to tell whether the patient is suffering from PVCs from a patient's history and physical examination. Sometimes it is possible that they only be able to detect PVCs when they examine the patient for another reason, like following an accident or surgery. Ambulatory ECG monitoring systems can also help detect PVCs and other arrhythmias, and can be used when there is a concern of cardiac disease.

If your cardiologist concludes that your heart is structurally healthy, reassurance might be all you need. If your symptoms are causing you discomfort, or cause you to feel anxious, avoiding alcohol, caffeine and over-the drug decongestants and reducing stress may aid. Regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight and misted drinking enough fluids can all help to reduce the frequency of PVCs. If your symptoms persist or severe, speak to your doctor about medications that may be able to reduce the symptoms.

Treatment

If PVCs aren't causing symptoms or occur rarely they aren't usually in need of treatment. If you are frequently affected, your doctor may want to check for other heart conditions and suggest lifestyle changes or medication. You could also have an intervention to get rid of them (called radiofrequency catheter ablation).

When you have PVCs the electrical signal that causes your heartbeat begins somewhere outside of the sinoatrial node (SA node) in the top right side of your heart. This could cause it to feel like your heart skips beats or has extra beats. It's not known what causes these symptoms, but they're common in people who have other heart problems. PVCs may increase in frequency as you age, and might occur more frequently during exercising.

If a patient experiences frequent and painful PVCs doctors is required to perform an ECG and an echocardiogram to rule out heart disease that is structural. The doctor will also likely perform an exercise stress test in order to determine if the additional heartbeats are related to physical activity. A heart catheterization or cardiac MRI or nuclear perfusion study can be done to look for other causes of the additional beats.

Most people who suffer from PVCs do not suffer from any problems and can enjoy an ordinary life. However, they may increase your risk of having dangerous heart rhythm issues especially if you are suffering from certain patterns of them. In some instances, this means that the heart muscle gets weaker and it is more difficult to pump blood throughout your body.

A regular, healthy diet and regular exercise can help reduce your risk of developing PVCs. You should avoid foods that are high in fat and sodium, and you should also restrict your intake of tobacco and caffeine. Sleep and stress are also important. Some medicines may also increase your risk for PVCs. So if you take one of these drugs it is important to follow your doctor's recommendations about a healthy diet, exercise and penthouse window repair taking your medication.

Studies of patients with a high amount of PVCs (that's more than 20 percent of their total heart beats) found that they had a higher risk of arrhythmia-induced cardiomyopathy. Some patients may require an organ transplant.