AboutDavid Richardson Expertise Adult heart function and disease. Not very good about children lesss than 12. Hypertension is o.k. Heart rhythm a special interest.
Experience Certified in cardiology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Was chairman of division of cardiology at the Medical College of Virginia. Am now mostly retired.
Organizations Fellow of American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology and member of American Physiological Society..
Publications Circulation, American Heart Journal, Hypertension.
Education/Credentials M.D. from Harvard Medical School. Residency training at Yale Uhniversity School of Medicine and Medical College of Virginia.
Awards and Honors Gold Heartt Award from American Heart Association in 1995.
Question QUESTION: You have answered a PVC question for me already and thanks for that. I have a new situation the other night i woke in the middle of the night with my heart just pounding and i had a weird sensation in my chest. this was the first time anything has ever awoken me at night. could this be pvc's? i was told i do not have or i havent had SVT yet. could it be this? i guess it could be anything it could have been an anxiety attack too but i basically am just making sure theres nothing cardio involved. i was just at my cardio this past week where i was released after a good EKG and echo reading. Is this a common occurrence with people with PVC's?
ANSWER: Dear Darryl,
SVT lasts many minutes to hours and stops very abruptly, in one heart beat. If your heart rate was less than 145 it was in normal sinus tachycardia, especially if it slowed down gradually over a few minutes. Sinus tach is usually the result of anxiety. Runs of PVC's don't last more than 3 or 4 in a row. If your heart pounded more than a few seconds, PVC's are unlikely. With normal EKG and echo, no tachycardia is any threat to life or health.
Please write back if this note doesn't answer all your questions.
David Richardson
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QUESTION: I see where many experts and doctors say with normal ekg's and echoes pvc's and svt are of no threat. So with me suffering from pvc's as long as i have a normal echo and ekg i shouldnt worry when these occur? and what if my rate went above 145? and another piece of info for you is that im 22 yr old and play basketball all the time, thats a good sign for the health of my heart and all this right?
Answer Yes, please don't worry when PVC's occur. Since you have normal EKG's and echoes, they are no threat at all. It's o.k. if your rate goes above 145 if the rate increases gradually and slows down gradually. Your excellent exercise ability means your heart is very healthy.
