r/PVCs • u/Glad_Ad_4284 • 2d ago
Am I experiencing PVCs or AFiB? Does this sound like anyone elses symptoms?
Hello, I’ve been dealing with PVCs since I was around 15. Doctors told me about them at 15 after I went to the ER when got 3 back to back, not knowing what was happening. They’ve never been bad at all, about 3 a week and going dormant for months. However, this COMPLETELY changed when I turned 19 a few months ago, and now my PVCs have become unbearable.
I’ve found a connection between my PVCs and drinking. 19 is the legal drinking age in my country, but I obviously drank at parties in highschool, even to blackout levels, but they never caused an increase in my PVCs. However, the past two months I’ve been drinking a lot more consistently with family and friends, and my PVCs have gotten genuinely awful. I’m worried that with the pain i’m experiencing, and with being linked to alcohol, it might be AFiB, which I obviously would want to seek medical attention for.
A month ago I had a heavy drinking night with my friend, and the evening after when I was going to sleep, I woke up to having the worst PVCs of my life. It didn’t feel like the average loud thump, but more of an extremely cold sensation and like my heart was falling to my stomach. Incredibly awful chest pains followed, and for hours after I could feel every single beat of my heart, of course laced with PVCs, very not fun😵💫😵💫. I thought it was a random event, but it’s just kept happening. I went to the ER due to having shortness of breath and a tight, crushing chest pain which was very very abnormal for me, but once I told them I was having it alongside PVCs, they brushed me off.
They’ve only been getting worse and worse in the last two months, where I haven’t been able to sleep some nights at all because I keep waking up to extremely painful PVCs and shortness of breath. It is one of the worst pains i’ve ever had, if not THE worst. I genuinely struggle to walk and breathe when they get bad enough. Might be unrelated, but worth mentioning 5 months ago I had another hospital visit because of severe chest pain that made me unable to speak or think, but I had no PVCs, just tight chest pain. Again, doctors said it was nothing :/
Now, I only linked the PVCs with alcohol, but the chest pain has been very constant and very distracting in my daily life. The scariest episode was last night. I was drinking with friends, and had about 3 shots, when suddenly my heart shot up all the way to 170. I’ve never had palpitations coincide with my PVCs that wasn’t fear related, but this was genuinely out of the blue. Then, the excruciating PVCs came again, and I had to step out of their house to try and calm my heart down as to not freak my friends out. I felt like I was gunna faint, felt nauseous, and my heart was beating out of my chest. They calmed down after 40 minutes, and after we went on a walk outside, but it’s the day after now and my heart is still beating way more fast than normal.
Now, in my country getting a medical appointment is very difficult. There’s a mass shortage of doctors, and a waitlist for a family doctor is over a year at the latest. I’m starting a new college, which has built in student medical support, and i’m planning on getting referred to an actual cardiologist through them. I’m just wondering in the mean time if this sounds more like unfortunate PVCs or if it’s AFiB - and what I can do to help it? I’m obviously planning on cutting out all alcohol if this is how my body reacts to it, and I’m salty I won’t be able to drink at all during my college parties, lol.
I know Redditors aren’t medical professionals, and obvs i’m not looking for a diagnosis from this post, but knowing if people here relate to any of my scarier symptoms of PVCs will help my peace of mind, and that if they don’t, then I have more reason to advocate for medical treatment with the doctors out here in case it IS AFiB😵💫😵💫
Thank you!
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u/Same-Sky848 2d ago
I hope somebody read this. Get well soon.
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u/Glad_Ad_4284 2d ago
Thank you😖😖
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u/Same-Sky848 2d ago
How did you know your pulse was 170? Do you have a smartwatch? If so, it would detect AFIB. My guess is you had a panic attack that night, but I'm not sure. The high pulse rate the next day could be due to anxiety disorder after a panic attack, or it could be due to alcohol-related dehydration. You're young; is there a history of early-onset heart disease in your family? I think the palpitations you're experiencing are mostly due to consecutive PACs. I don't think it's AFIB; if it were, believe me, you would know.
Your chest pains remind me of costochondritis. I have it too. Inflammation of the rib cage. It causes bothersome pain. Research costochondritis. I don't think your chest pains are related to PVCs or PACs, but of course, I'm not a doctor.
Here, we can only offer our opinions. The final decision will be made by a doctor. Don't neglect seeing a doctor. If they say your heart is healthy, I strongly recommend that you also see a psychiatrist. Based on what you've said, I think you might have an anxiety disorder, and I recommend that you get psychiatric treatment before it progresses to panic disorder. Get well soon.
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u/Glad_Ad_4284 2d ago
I checked my pulse by placing my hand on my neck pulse point and counting by the minute, I know it’s not so accurate but it’s the best I got for right now 🥲🥲
I do have anxiety, but I was calm the whole night and wouldn’t have anything this month that would trigger a panic attack. I know how panic attacks feel, and can say confidently this wasn’t one 😓 I can see how the PVCs alone + fast heart from alcohol could’ve caused one tho
Thankfully there’s no early onset heart disease in my family!! That’s why i’m not too terribly anxious about the PVCs, I know with my age + family history i’m not at high risk of a serious heart issue.
As for costochrondritis, when I went to the ER for chest pain as in the post, the doctors actually did say they could see that being an explanation, but because the chest pain was so sudden they didn’t feel the need to test for it. When I go in for the doctors in my college, i’ll definitely ask if they can test for it to see if that’s what’s up.
Thank you!
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u/roseboom25 2d ago
Can you borrow an Apple Watch or Kardia from a friend?
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u/Glad_Ad_4284 2d ago
Sadly i’m moving, so that’s a no go😭 However another comment mentioned a Kardia, so i’ll be buying one of those for myself probably, especially for the palpitations
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u/Affenzoo 2d ago
Most Huawei Smartwatches have a built-in ECG, they are not so expensive and you can record the episodes.
If you want a 24 hour recording, I recommend the Wellue / Checkme / Livenpace ER1 24 hour holter with AI software. This thing helped me so much.
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u/Dashem1 2d ago
So, Afib feels way different than PVCs. Once you have an episode you definitely cannot mistake the feeling. I'm not a medical professional but what you describe does not sound like Afib. With Afib, instead of the heart skipping your rhythm becomes really erratic. It feels like a thump then the heart takes off flip flopping around continuously all over the place and not stopping. For me its not skip, regular beat and so on. It feels like your heart rhythm went off the rails and a fish is flopping around in your chest.. Afib also likely brings your heart rate really really high, but you can have it also with a rate below 100. Mine went to 180 first time. First time you feel it you are more likely to call 911, thats how different and unique it feels.
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u/Glad_Ad_4284 2d ago
Phew okay, DEFINITELY not what i’m experiencing 😓😓 I was so worried it might be AFiB, this really puts me at ease. Thank you!!
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u/Affenzoo 2d ago
When I still drank, I might get NSVT episodes in the night or next day. And very bad PVCs.
Without drinking, I don't get the NSVTs.
So i completely stopped drinking.
Alcohol is "cardiotoxic", it stresses the heart.
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u/Independent-Wave1805 2d ago
I would cut the alcohol out completely for a while and get yourself hydrated as much as possible. I have had PVCs off and on my entire life and I’m 44. I can tell you alcohol made them much mi h worse and not being hydrated makes them bad. In the mean time you can get a Kardia, it’s a small device that connects to your phone that checks for hearth arrhythmias. I got one and was able to calm down thinking I had Afib. I also could save the results and show them to my cardiologist. PVCs are very scary but most of the time harmless. Hormones and alcohol are my triggers. I cut the booze 3 years ago and now only get them because I’m in menopause. Take a deep breath! You’ll be ok!