re schatzki ring pvc s in article apr betsy gsfc nasa gov ohandley betsy gsfc nasa gov wrote summarized a person with a schatzki s ring a membrane partially blocking the espphagus has worsening dysphagia difficulty swallowing and the doctor proposes dilation by balloow or bougie using an inflatable balloon to rupture the ring or a rubber hose to push through it question is balloon dilation safe common and indicated it sounds pretty invasive end summary yes this is a common and safe procedure the majority of schatzki s rings described by x ray however wnd up being due to inflammation instead of the congenital schatzki s ring occassionally a cancer masquerades as a ring you should have the endoscopy to see if it is due to the heartburn and if so you will need treatment for the heartburn ong term the balloon dilation is an alternative to cutting open your chest and cutting out a section of the esophagus so dilation is not at all invasive considering the alternative the second issue summarized he has had extra heartbeats for the past to years and once was symptomatic from them with some lightheadedness he is young ish thin and in good health recent bloodtests were all normal and do not smoke use drugs or caffeine etc i m willing to accept the extra beats as normal but don t want to ignore them if they might be some kind of warning symptom the number of pvc s seems to increase throughout the day and with exercise or something as simple as climbing some stairs also if i get up after sitting or lying down for a while i tend to get a couple of extra beats could they possibly be related to the esophagous problems both seemed to develop at about the same time i not an expert on heart problems but pvc s are common and have been overtreated in the past my personal experience and i have the same history an build you do related to the heart that is is that my pvc s come and go with some months causing anxiety taking on more fluids seems to help and they seem worse in the summer remember that a slow heart rate will allow more pvc s to be apparent so perhaps it is an indication of a healthy cardiac system but ask an expert about that last point especially good luck hope we don t die of arrhythmias god what a happy thought steve holland
