Aa
Defibrillator at 39???
For many years I have had episodes of heart flutters and what felt like quivering. I went to a Cardiologist four years ago. After wearing a holter, stress test, and echogram he said, "Sounds like atrial-fib, don't worry about it, it is not life-threatening!" I lived with this condition for years. I am a firefighter in Oklahoma and was fighting a house fire in December 2000 when I felt the quivering. Since noone actually recorded this rhythm, I went to the paramedics on scene and had them hook me up to their monitor. They said, "I was in V-Tach!", which quit on its own within minutes. The emergency room doctor diagnosed the rhythm as SVT. During an Electrophysiology study, V-Tach was induced and an ablation was not possible. The next day they implanted a Medtronic defibrillator. One week before my first post-operative check up, I had another episode which I received two shocks at 30 joles. During this episode, I was conscience and felt ok as usual. This was the same feeling I have had in the past. When they read the ICD, I was in V-fib. They placed me on Sotalol 80mg twice a day. Since I have been taking the medication, I have not had any episodes. Although, the heart flutters seem to be constant now. I have worked out with free-weights and ran most of my life. I would like to start working out again, but I am afraid! I have never had an episode from weightlifting, but usually after running I would go into the rhythm. Also, they thought I would be able to return to work as a firefighter. I do not see any possible way to return to such a "safety sensitive" job. What do you think?
savannah,
PSVT with a very high ventricular response rate (say<250bpm)can cause a very thready and fast pulse that will be very hard to detect and may not be felt at all because of decrease ventricular filling before the ejection. short runs of this could be what you are experiencing. i have felt this too in the past along with kind of what you are describing with the breathing. it kind of feels to me like an electrical jolt through the upper torso, and having the wind knocked out of you by mike tyson at the same time....and as far as getting jerked around by your doc., run....run away as fast as you can and find someone else. apparently they dont care about your health there,(not to mention that they dont need your buisness). actually its a pretty common practice for physicians today to turn away the "more involved" cases if they have a full load and can make "easy" money (sad but true). seek out an Electro Physiologist that is associated with a large teaching university...they will be more than happy to take you on, and you will also be recieving the best care possible in most cases.
PSVT with a very high ventricular response rate (say<250bpm)can cause a very thready and fast pulse that will be very hard to detect and may not be felt at all because of decrease ventricular filling before the ejection. short runs of this could be what you are experiencing. i have felt this too in the past along with kind of what you are describing with the breathing. it kind of feels to me like an electrical jolt through the upper torso, and having the wind knocked out of you by mike tyson at the same time....and as far as getting jerked around by your doc., run....run away as fast as you can and find someone else. apparently they dont care about your health there,(not to mention that they dont need your buisness). actually its a pretty common practice for physicians today to turn away the "more involved" cases if they have a full load and can make "easy" money (sad but true). seek out an Electro Physiologist that is associated with a large teaching university...they will be more than happy to take you on, and you will also be recieving the best care possible in most cases.
PVCs/PACs/SVTs etc may be indicative of a strong healthy heart (re: Hankstar's comments) but I would take a moderately weak heart any day of the week if it meant I wouldn't feel every bloody skip. Today I went to the gym in a quest to get on with my life after given the OK to do so by my cardiologist, and yes as soon as I started excersise the stupid thing started beating all over the place (a-fib I think) Fortunately I am asymptomatic ie I don't feel faint or breathless, but its a real downer on an otherwise good day.
just needed to get it out there.
just needed to get it out there.
Dodgybeats says: "as I started excersise the stupid thing started beating all over the place (a-fib I think) "
Have you gotten your thyroid checked? This can cause a-fib you know. (especially when excercising,it can get worse)
Have you gotten your thyroid checked? This can cause a-fib you know. (especially when excercising,it can get worse)
Hankstar,
I don't mind the correction, sorry to get your post confused with Zappers.. the way the reply feature works on here, you can't see the topics written to you while you are writing your reply, and there were a lot of replies back, so I, as usual, lol, got it all mixed up.
I don't not think I might have paroxysmal a-fib. It seems to be a bit different then regular a-fib? I have so much trouble figuring a-fib out because I read such different things about it. When they talk about people tolerating it, I just couldn't tolerate what I had for more then a very brief time, as I'd pass out, so it makes me think, well that's not me. Then I read it can be symptomatic too, well it's confusing! I read something that kinda clarified it for me about it depends on how fast it comes on, what your cardiac output is, and how fast your ventricular rate is going that determines your symptoms, so maybe mine is just a bad combo of all.
We'll see what the ep doc says on Tuesday. I am glad to hear the risks are so low, as I hope that I can have that test, even though it sounds scary (even if not dangerous), just to figure this whole mess out. I'd really love to not live with this anymore. And since my heart is, in general, not so good, with the tachycardia as well, maybe the whole thing would be for the best. I'll post again after I've seen the doc, to let you all know what he has to say.
Again, thanks for your insight. Thank goodness I've had NO symptoms today, no bumps, hiccups, or turnovers in my chest, and no short of breath feeling at all. That's reassuring!
I don't mind the correction, sorry to get your post confused with Zappers.. the way the reply feature works on here, you can't see the topics written to you while you are writing your reply, and there were a lot of replies back, so I, as usual, lol, got it all mixed up.
I don't not think I might have paroxysmal a-fib. It seems to be a bit different then regular a-fib? I have so much trouble figuring a-fib out because I read such different things about it. When they talk about people tolerating it, I just couldn't tolerate what I had for more then a very brief time, as I'd pass out, so it makes me think, well that's not me. Then I read it can be symptomatic too, well it's confusing! I read something that kinda clarified it for me about it depends on how fast it comes on, what your cardiac output is, and how fast your ventricular rate is going that determines your symptoms, so maybe mine is just a bad combo of all.
We'll see what the ep doc says on Tuesday. I am glad to hear the risks are so low, as I hope that I can have that test, even though it sounds scary (even if not dangerous), just to figure this whole mess out. I'd really love to not live with this anymore. And since my heart is, in general, not so good, with the tachycardia as well, maybe the whole thing would be for the best. I'll post again after I've seen the doc, to let you all know what he has to say.
Again, thanks for your insight. Thank goodness I've had NO symptoms today, no bumps, hiccups, or turnovers in my chest, and no short of breath feeling at all. That's reassuring!
I should make this really clear. I know what you guys mean about thumps and pauses and such... I have those on a very regular basis and have been told they are PAC's, or sometimes on holter have shown that it's right when I go into paroxysmal atrial tachycardia, and I never worry about them, and they don't cause me symptoms. I have had them every few minutes all day long before, and it's kind of scary, but not such a big deal.
I have also experienced an occasional feeling of a hummingbird in my chest when they are real frequent, like suddenly the whole thing deteriorates into rapid fluttery beating, and the most I might feel is slightly dizzy and short of breath. It's rare at any rate.
BUT I am not describing these events. Nor am I talking about boring old tachycardia which is sustained. That's a different ballgame then what happened.
Zapper described it best as the world standing still! Wow. That's right on. I don't "feel faint" either... I either really faint or come close to it, and am WAY out there if it lasts long. This time wasn't too long, so it wasn't so bad. The other time I was in an ambulance, it lasted a few minutes, a minute, I don't know, I was out for some time though. This time it was not subtle, it was like being clubbed over the head:( But it didn't last TOO long. The most alarming thing was I wasn't able to breath. Not at all. Not in. I wanted to desperately. It wasn't even "short of breath" exactly, it was, "I can't breath! AT ALL!" Like if you drowned or something. I was dimming out. I don't know if I passed out because I had my eyes closed, on the floor. I felt really, really odd. I almost felt dead, as morbid as that is to say. Because it was like my heart had stopped beating. And then kickstarted again.
It was longer then 4-5 seconds, if it was skipped beats I would guess this one would have been... 7-10 beats?? 10 seconds? Just a guess. I've had it longer, the worst time, last time in the ambulance... 7 years ago... it was over a minute. It felt like 20 minutes though, since I didn't draw any breath during that time. And wound up out cold. And I had no discernible pulse then either. I don't know what to make of this, or why docs wouldn't take it seriously, but I learned that the more I pressed for answers, the less I seemed to get, so I stopped asking, and I feel *a lot* more comfortable discussing this stuff anonymously on a forum then with a doc!
I don't really understand how a-fib can cause such a wide range of symptoms, or that I could have it cause mine? It certainly was FAR beyond atrial tachy, which I've had up to 180 sustained. Not at all like that. I'd take a year solid of atrial tachy over what I had yesterday. I was told my heart may have suddenly sped up so fast it just quivered? But then I read about other arrythmias, ventricular ones, that cause more sudden symptoms, more like mine? At any rate I made an appt. with an ep for tuesday. I was totally unimpressed with my cardio today, since I called for an appt. and told the receptionist what happened, and she claimed I hadn't been there since 1999, which isn't true, I was there 8 months ago or so. And didn't bother since, as they said they couldn't help me. I took their word for it;) And I tried to explain what happened, and that the ER doc told me to be seen right away, even if it meant going to a new cardio, and she told me to see a new cardio then, mine was too busy for the next few weeks. It was ridiculous. My symptoms aren't even "symptoms" they are flat-out "signs" for anyone who knows the difference in med. terminology. And they are pretty severe if you ask me.
I appreciate hearing everyone's words of wisdom and support, and if anyone else can relate, PLEASE let me know.
And I don't know much about EP tests, except they hurt, what ARE the risks? I'm pretty scared that if I don't figure this out, it will eventually just kill me, seriously. I came close 7 years ago, in my mind, and I don't think I've looked at life quite the same since. Interestingly, the very first feeling I had with it was that time had stopped and the room was hot, and nothing was moving, like Zapper implied. But at that time I didn't connect it with my heart. This time I was smart enough to try my pulse, and it was gone... and then I was pretty gone too...
Thanks for your support everyone, I can't tell you how much it means to me to hear from others (not to sound dramatic, but it really does). I am going to have this figured out once and for all, whether or not the cardiologist is compliant, or cares, or whatever. I'm my own number one, and I know it.
I have also experienced an occasional feeling of a hummingbird in my chest when they are real frequent, like suddenly the whole thing deteriorates into rapid fluttery beating, and the most I might feel is slightly dizzy and short of breath. It's rare at any rate.
BUT I am not describing these events. Nor am I talking about boring old tachycardia which is sustained. That's a different ballgame then what happened.
Zapper described it best as the world standing still! Wow. That's right on. I don't "feel faint" either... I either really faint or come close to it, and am WAY out there if it lasts long. This time wasn't too long, so it wasn't so bad. The other time I was in an ambulance, it lasted a few minutes, a minute, I don't know, I was out for some time though. This time it was not subtle, it was like being clubbed over the head:( But it didn't last TOO long. The most alarming thing was I wasn't able to breath. Not at all. Not in. I wanted to desperately. It wasn't even "short of breath" exactly, it was, "I can't breath! AT ALL!" Like if you drowned or something. I was dimming out. I don't know if I passed out because I had my eyes closed, on the floor. I felt really, really odd. I almost felt dead, as morbid as that is to say. Because it was like my heart had stopped beating. And then kickstarted again.
It was longer then 4-5 seconds, if it was skipped beats I would guess this one would have been... 7-10 beats?? 10 seconds? Just a guess. I've had it longer, the worst time, last time in the ambulance... 7 years ago... it was over a minute. It felt like 20 minutes though, since I didn't draw any breath during that time. And wound up out cold. And I had no discernible pulse then either. I don't know what to make of this, or why docs wouldn't take it seriously, but I learned that the more I pressed for answers, the less I seemed to get, so I stopped asking, and I feel *a lot* more comfortable discussing this stuff anonymously on a forum then with a doc!
I don't really understand how a-fib can cause such a wide range of symptoms, or that I could have it cause mine? It certainly was FAR beyond atrial tachy, which I've had up to 180 sustained. Not at all like that. I'd take a year solid of atrial tachy over what I had yesterday. I was told my heart may have suddenly sped up so fast it just quivered? But then I read about other arrythmias, ventricular ones, that cause more sudden symptoms, more like mine? At any rate I made an appt. with an ep for tuesday. I was totally unimpressed with my cardio today, since I called for an appt. and told the receptionist what happened, and she claimed I hadn't been there since 1999, which isn't true, I was there 8 months ago or so. And didn't bother since, as they said they couldn't help me. I took their word for it;) And I tried to explain what happened, and that the ER doc told me to be seen right away, even if it meant going to a new cardio, and she told me to see a new cardio then, mine was too busy for the next few weeks. It was ridiculous. My symptoms aren't even "symptoms" they are flat-out "signs" for anyone who knows the difference in med. terminology. And they are pretty severe if you ask me.
I appreciate hearing everyone's words of wisdom and support, and if anyone else can relate, PLEASE let me know.
And I don't know much about EP tests, except they hurt, what ARE the risks? I'm pretty scared that if I don't figure this out, it will eventually just kill me, seriously. I came close 7 years ago, in my mind, and I don't think I've looked at life quite the same since. Interestingly, the very first feeling I had with it was that time had stopped and the room was hot, and nothing was moving, like Zapper implied. But at that time I didn't connect it with my heart. This time I was smart enough to try my pulse, and it was gone... and then I was pretty gone too...
Thanks for your support everyone, I can't tell you how much it means to me to hear from others (not to sound dramatic, but it really does). I am going to have this figured out once and for all, whether or not the cardiologist is compliant, or cares, or whatever. I'm my own number one, and I know it.
i too suffer from PSVT and i have been treating it for 2 years now with atenolol. i still get the thumps and bangs every now and then but it has helped mucho....i do sometimes notice these "pauses" that you have mentioned. they seem to happen to me when changing positions of my upper torso. swinging a golf club has become quite an experience, and laying down flat in bed every night and waiting for my heart to start beating again reminds me that im still not "cured" of this and will never be probably. ive heard that the pause could be several PVC's in a row (which could be a bad thing)....my psvt has always been triggered by postural changes though...same old story, bending over too quickly, roller coster rides etc. im convinced that it all related to vagal nerve stimulation, and im starting to convince my doctor of this. we are scheduled to start some "studies" on htis within the next few weeks....ill pop in and out to tell you how it goes if anybody is interested.???
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