I do not work with polymers such as polyvinylchloride. I do not have a thing for rubber clothing. What I do have are premature ventricular contractions - PVCs.
My doctor's appointment from Friday yielded some answers and some questions. The echocardiogram of my heart did not show any abnormal structure or function. As a matter of fact the report estimated that my heart pumps about 125% the amount of blood of an "average" heart. The report from my 24 hour holter monitor came back "essentially unremarkable." They noted that even at 180-185 beats per minute, no signs of anything abnormal showed up. It did pick up on a number of PVCs. PVCs happen when your heart beats a little early. The next contraction is usually a little stronger so it feels like your heart "skips" a beat. They could be caused by a host of factors including alcohol, caffeine, and stress, but I am still not really sure what caused these PVCs to start showing up. They say PVCs are totally benign, everyone gets them, but boy are they annoying.
To treat them, you can do a few things. The more popular treatments are to: 1 - do nothing 2 - take a beta-blocker to slow the heart rate. I am still debating whether I should go on the meds or do nothing. Bottom line is I can continue to train, with no restrictions except to use good judgement. But as I stated in an earlier post, it will take my mind some time put these out of the way and push the limits.
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3 comments:
Hmmm.... Here's a thought: Perhaps as you build your base miles, your fitness will lower your heart rate and help with the PVC?
I liked your post on the running by numbers. Good job!
I guess me and kewl think alike. I was about ot say the same thing as he said. Please keep us posted with your decision.
Hey! Looks like we have something in common! I too have "benign PVC's." They used to really bother me about 12 years ago. They gradually faded away and now only appear very rarely. I didn't use any meds so I guess mine were pretty minor. They are quite annoying though--I'm with ya! Hope it works out for you OK!
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