Submitted by Dr T on November 6, 2011 – 10:22am
Question:
Hello,I am a 49 year old female. I have had pvc’s for about 24 years. I had a full work up in the beginning and again about 15 years ago. I also get yearly ekgs–last one in June. All tests wre normal. Over the years they seem to be bad for a while and then decrease to only several per day. The last couple of months they seem to be worse. They seem to occur mostly in the evenings after dinner. I dont notice too many during the day. They seem to be just single ones. I dont get any other symptoms with them. I may get 10 per minute at times and then none for 5 minutes, etc. I have started with irregular periods-menopause symptoms. Would this cause them to increase? I take inderal LA 80mg as a migraine preventitive–so i have a slow heart rate 50 to 60. Should i be concerned? Of course, the more i think about them the worse they get. Bp 110/68
Hi Linda,
The onset of menopause may indeed increase the incidence and frequency of palpitations. However any new rhythm change needs to be considered for the possibility of heart disease. You should check your risk for heart disease, as well as think about taking this survey.Meanwhile, this is what you can do may help to reduce the incidence of irregular heartbeats during menopause:
- Reduce the intake of caffeine,
- Limit the consumption of stimulants, cigarettes, and alcohol,
- Practice yoga, breathing exercises, or other relaxation techniques.
Hope this helps,
Dr T