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Suffer From Skipping Heartbeats. Stress Echo And EKG Done. On Metroprolol. Will This Stay Long Term?
I am a 49 yr old male, in late December i woke up with skipping heart beats. I have been to the Cardiologist and they performed a Stress Echo, Echo Cardiogram, 2 24 hour heart monitors, a nuclear stress test, and numerous EKG's all show no signs of heart disease. In addition numerous trips to the emergency room also showed no signs of heart attack. However the skipped beats or PVC's continue sometimes very pronounced. they have placed me on Metropolol to try and help, but it seems to only cause me to be very tired.
Any thoughts of what my next step should be or is this just something I will have to live with? Thanks,
Any thoughts of what my next step should be or is this just something I will have to live with? Thanks,
posted on
Wed, 24 Apr 2013
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Wed, 24 Apr 2013
Answered on
Wed, 24 Apr 2013
Last reviewed on
Dear sir
Thanks for writing to us.
you have PVCs (premature beats with origin different from ventricle). These , when associated with a normal ECHO, are not to be treated if they do not cause bothersome symptoms. Hence you need not worry. A metoprolol is a good choice.
there are some known causes of this problem like excessive coffee/tea intake, anti-asthma medications, thyroid disorder, anxious personality & myocardial disorders. please see if there is a correctable cause.
if you do not have any bothersome symptoms, then you just ignore them , as your work up is normal. if you are really troubled by them, then you have to take metoprolol. yes it may be life long, none can predict it with surety as we do not know the exact cause.
feel free to discuss further.
sincerely
sukhvinder singh
Thanks for writing to us.
you have PVCs (premature beats with origin different from ventricle). These , when associated with a normal ECHO, are not to be treated if they do not cause bothersome symptoms. Hence you need not worry. A metoprolol is a good choice.
there are some known causes of this problem like excessive coffee/tea intake, anti-asthma medications, thyroid disorder, anxious personality & myocardial disorders. please see if there is a correctable cause.
if you do not have any bothersome symptoms, then you just ignore them , as your work up is normal. if you are really troubled by them, then you have to take metoprolol. yes it may be life long, none can predict it with surety as we do not know the exact cause.
feel free to discuss further.
sincerely
sukhvinder singh
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