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Question:
I have frequent bigeminy and trigimeny. Are these common? Dangerous?
I am a 49 year old female, and have a 25 yr. history of PVC's, to include episodes of bigeminy, trigeminy, etc. In the past 20 years, I have probably had at least 25 EKG's, a stress test, two EP study's, thallium test and so on. My last Holter showed about 1000 PVC's and PAC's in 24 hours with a few salvos. My problem is with the anxiety caused by my sensitivity to the PVC's, especially when I am in bigeminy or trigeminy. I have tried to do everything on my part to ignore them, but I have found that it is impossible for me to do so. Is my situation uncommon? Are the PVC's dangerous, especially the bigeminy? I desperately need some reassurance, as this situation has really affected the quality of my entire life, at a time when I just want to live life to the fullest. Can you please give me some advice?
submitted by Kathy from Calgary, Alberta, Canada on 3/9/10
Answer:
by Texas Heart Institute cardiologist, J. Alberto Lopez, MD
PVC's [premature ventricular contractions], if they occur in structurally normal hearts, are almost always benign heart rhythm abnormalities, and treatment is only advised in patients with significant symptoms. That said, the EP doctor should evaluate the ECG to determine origin of the PVCs, and rule out some diseases that may only show PVC's but are signs of something worse (e.g., right ventricular cardiomyopathy). In some cases, antiarrhythmic drugs are prescribed or ablation is performed. Again in patients with normal hearts, PVC's are not a significant problem.
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Updated March 2010
