I do not have any medication and am generally very healthy. However, I have 5% pvcs and have elective surgery planned. Would these pvcs (normal echocardiogram and no cardiomyopathy) mean they could cancel my operation?
General Anaesthetic with 5%pvcs? - British Heart Fou...
General Anaesthetic with 5%pvcs?
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Since we have no idea of your medical history nor what your surgery is for, I suggest you talk to the BHF Heart Helpline nurse, or the medical team under which you are going to have your surgery both of whom will be able to offer a professional opinion.
Hello chickeninthewood,I think it is a good idea to consult your medical team but my experience is that the medics won't be too concerned. They will be monitoring your heart rhythm anyway and will be ready to step in if it's necessary.
A question for you though. Are you aware of most of your ectopics? I have far fewer - usually hundreds a day rather than thousands but when I am getting several a minute for an hour or two I feel completely unnerved. I am now on 1.25mg of bisoprolol which usually reduces the number dramatically. I would love to know how to cope with the ectopics without medicating though.
Me too I found taking three deep breaths and then one deep breath and holding it for as long as possible often stops them for me. They are more unpleasant than dangerous.
Hello... Two friends have ectopics. One is now completely off medication and hardly ever has ectopics. What he did was eliminate the following triggers from his diet: caffeine, alcohol, chocolate and spicy foods. The other says it is too hard to follow but seems less fit overall. They are both the same age. If you haven't done so I think it is worth a try.
Hi and thanks for response. I have eliminated all of those things and it's made no difference. I am generally fit for a 73 year old and have had ectopics for 35 years but they have increased so much over the last year so really find them very unpleasant especially when happening every other beat.
I did eliminate coffee but it made no difference and I read that they can come on when your body is digesting food and coffee dilatestheblood vessels making digestion easier. Therefore I drink one cup of coffee a day with my breakfast now. I only drink alcohol about once a month if that and then it is just one small glass of red wine,.
I am sometimes aware. If I am sitting down quietly or sometimes when having a cold drink. I have a pulse-oximeter and can see from that too. What I find brings it down and stops it is to stretch like you would on waking up in the morning - arms outstretched above my head and wow like magic the number on the pulse-oximeter reverts to normal. That is why I wonder if it is sometmes muscular skeletal issues which can irritate my heart. It is a total hip replacement I am having. My echocardiogram is normal my bp is normal. No heart disease etc. The surgeon is not worried about a 5% etopic but at the pre-op assessment they got worried about the "cardiac" issue and that the op might be cancelled because of it.