My first note states that in 2003 I could feel my heartbeat while I was resting, sometimes it was very hard. This is a very disturbing thing for me for some reason.

Years later, I learned that this was Premature Ventricular Contraction (PVC). PVCs are extra, abnormal heartbeats that begin in one of the heart’s two lower chambers.

Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) occur in most people at some point. Causes may include certain medications, alcohol, some illegal drugs, caffeine, tobacco, exercise, or anxiety.

PVCs often cause no symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they feel like a flip-flop or skipped-beat sensation in the chest.

Most people with isolated PVCs and an otherwise normal heart don’t need treatment. PVCs occurring continuously for longer than 30 seconds is a potentially serious cardiac condition known as ventricular tachycardia.

For me, it usually happens when I am resting and it feels like my heartbeat is flip-flopped, like the lower chamber beats before the upper chamber. It can be rather unsettling at times, it feels like strong palpitations.