Hey Reddit!,
I’ve always had these “weird” feeling heartbeats that would often take my breathe away. I’ve been to doctors and cardiologists and they never happen (of course) when they do tests like EKGs and doctors always say I’m perfectly fine (even did a echocardiogram).
I finally was feeling them and I think I was able to capture it on my Apple Watch.
Is this what a PVC looks like? Again feel they uncomfortable and makes me short of breath when it happens.
I will definitely be showing it to my doctor as well.
Is a PVC the same as ectopic beats? Feels like a ‘missed’ or ‘catch-up’ beat. Had them on and off for years. Specialist in the past just said they’re normal & I’d have to live with them.
Yep, a PVC is one type of ectopic beat. I would treat it as a general marker of cardiac irritability, but unless you're having them frequently (and by frequently I'd say like 5-10 per minute), it isn't a concern.
Generally doctors won't intervene unless symptomatic (dizziness, lightheadedness, chest pain (not just feeling the beats, but *pain*, shortness of breath, etc) until around 10% of your beats are PVCs.