Aa
episodes of heart palpitations unable to pick up on holter monitor
I have been suffering from episodic bouts of heart palpitations over different periods for a few years now and they are recently becoming more frequent and as I am a naturally anxious individual, they are creating panic to me especially as they seem to be worse at night. My sleep is becoming affected and I have attended the emergency dept at hospital on many occasions and have worn holter monitors, consulted cardiologists last year and each time I have been at hospital, the symptoms completely dissipate which is frustrating and makes it difficult to diagnose. A cardiologist has advised me that I am possibly experiencing Supra Ventricular Ectopic episodes - my heart rate is only around 64 beats per minutes when these occur- so there is not a fast heart rate, but my blood pressure is elevated ( possibly due to my anxiety when these are occurring). I am waiting to get access to a 30 day event monitor so I can possibly catch these episodes when they occur. Could you please give me some advice on this disorder. The emergency doctor has reassured me he feels that they are not dangerous but when I experience them, I feel that my heart will go out of rhythm or stop completely which creates more anxiety for me.
very sorry, it's skippyheart and refugegirl, I hope no offenses committed.
I'm trolling the forum to see if I can help!! Thanks skippy girl.
Actually skippygirl is right on, except that I've had PVCs for 22 years now, and I can tell you there are times when you get to the end of her list, only to start it all over again. I just have never been to the ER.
Last year a holter recorded the PVCs at 20% of my heart beat. And since that time it has been higher. Constant bigeminy for weeks, and recently constant trigeminy for a couple of months. But a cardio just told me it still doesn't matter, risk of cardimyopathy is still rare, and he did not recommend periodic echos of any sort. However, he did recommend a transthoracic echo to get a "better look", so I've since decided that's unnecessary (what is that #8 or #9 of skippy's flow chart?).
Anyhow, there are still days when I wish it were different and I don't feel very well AT ALL, but I have to recognize--it's not the whole day, and it's not every day and all the rest of the time life is GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Actually skippygirl is right on, except that I've had PVCs for 22 years now, and I can tell you there are times when you get to the end of her list, only to start it all over again. I just have never been to the ER.
Last year a holter recorded the PVCs at 20% of my heart beat. And since that time it has been higher. Constant bigeminy for weeks, and recently constant trigeminy for a couple of months. But a cardio just told me it still doesn't matter, risk of cardimyopathy is still rare, and he did not recommend periodic echos of any sort. However, he did recommend a transthoracic echo to get a "better look", so I've since decided that's unnecessary (what is that #8 or #9 of skippy's flow chart?).
Anyhow, there are still days when I wish it were different and I don't feel very well AT ALL, but I have to recognize--it's not the whole day, and it's not every day and all the rest of the time life is GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What you have written is so true and hopefully I am heading to the end of the list.
Today I am going to see my doctor, who has been very dismissive regarding my search for an answer and demand an event monitor.
I have done some research and where I live in Australia the only long term heart monitor I can access is a 7 day event monitor.
I am hoping that by wearing one it will finally catch the palps and give me a definative answer on what is happening.
I have been trying hard to ignore episodes when they occur, nighttime has been the most difficult time especially when trying to go to sleep. Funny enough mornings are bad for me but during the day symptoms are minimal.
Thank you all for your posts and suggestions
Today I am going to see my doctor, who has been very dismissive regarding my search for an answer and demand an event monitor.
I have done some research and where I live in Australia the only long term heart monitor I can access is a 7 day event monitor.
I am hoping that by wearing one it will finally catch the palps and give me a definative answer on what is happening.
I have been trying hard to ignore episodes when they occur, nighttime has been the most difficult time especially when trying to go to sleep. Funny enough mornings are bad for me but during the day symptoms are minimal.
Thank you all for your posts and suggestions
Ah, the joy of PVC's....not : ) My PVC story is interesting..
I'm a 30 year old male, and I quite accidentally first discovered PVC's around 3-4 years ago. I was just sitting at my desk at work one day and happened to feel my pulse. Right when I did, it felt like this:
beat.beat.beat.........BEAT.beat.beat.beat
I immediately thought it was very strange, and the more I checked my pulse, the more I noticed them. Afraid, I had made a Dr. appointment. My regular doctor was out of town, so I saw one of the other doctors in the office. She made me feel like a total idiot, and didn't take me seriously at all...she essentially said, "you are a 26 year old male with no major symptoms of heart disease, and don't worry about it". That seemed to do the trick because for the next 3-4 years, I didnt feel them anymore.
Then around the end of March of this year while battling a cold, I suddenly noticed them for real. I would intermittently feel a single heavy THUD in my chest, then nothing. It would just do that on and off. I had taken some nasal spray (active ingred Oxymetazoline), and some alkaseltzer to help. It was after I started these that the palps came back. So I checked online for possible side effects of Oxymetazoline, and sure enough, one of them is "irregular heartrate". I immediately stopped the meds, and called my doctor. They saw me that same day (not my regular doc because it was Saturday). The doc that saw me was very nice, and was able to feel the palps while taking my pulse on my neck, after I told her I was still feeling them. She thought that this was a condition I have always had, but was aggravated by the cold meds. She ordered a Holter Monitor for me.
I wore the Holter for 24 hours, and when the results came back, I went and saw my regular Primary doctor about it. He went over the results, which did not show any PVC's, only one "late beat", which was in the Superventricular Ectopy section of the report. He said my results were perfect, and not to worry about anything! My blood pressure was 188 / 75, which he also said was fantastic. I left there, and felt great. The palps actually went away for about three weeks.
After a bad day at work, they came back one night, and that was almost three weeks ago, and I've had them daily ever since. I made an appoint with the cardiologist, who felt that I also had nothing to worry about, but to be "extra sure" ordered a stress/echo. I did that, and during the initial startup of the treadmill, they were actually able to see my palps on the EKG. Diagnosis? PVC's. I get my actual results of the stress/echo this Thursday, but my impression from talking to the nurses while doing it was that everything was great. I was able to read on the paper, "No MVP", and I asked about that and she said it meant "No Mitro valve prolapse".
So, where do I go from here? Reading about others that have this surely helps, but I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't disappointed with the fact that Medically, there seems to be no doctors who can find a surefire solution to these. Sure, they are benign, but the emotional toll can be terrible.
After reading about it online, I had started to take around 500mg daily of Magnesium, and whether its in my head or not, it seems to be helping. I'm taking Mag Oxide, which from what I've read is the worse one to take (least absorbable). I plan on buying Magnesium Citrate and will take the same dosage daily. Anyone else have Magnesium experiences and palps?
My biggest fear is that these are going to get worse, and worse as I age....what do you know about this?
Anyways, sorry for the superlong post, and God bless.
--Mike
I'm a 30 year old male, and I quite accidentally first discovered PVC's around 3-4 years ago. I was just sitting at my desk at work one day and happened to feel my pulse. Right when I did, it felt like this:
beat.beat.beat.........BEAT.beat.beat.beat
I immediately thought it was very strange, and the more I checked my pulse, the more I noticed them. Afraid, I had made a Dr. appointment. My regular doctor was out of town, so I saw one of the other doctors in the office. She made me feel like a total idiot, and didn't take me seriously at all...she essentially said, "you are a 26 year old male with no major symptoms of heart disease, and don't worry about it". That seemed to do the trick because for the next 3-4 years, I didnt feel them anymore.
Then around the end of March of this year while battling a cold, I suddenly noticed them for real. I would intermittently feel a single heavy THUD in my chest, then nothing. It would just do that on and off. I had taken some nasal spray (active ingred Oxymetazoline), and some alkaseltzer to help. It was after I started these that the palps came back. So I checked online for possible side effects of Oxymetazoline, and sure enough, one of them is "irregular heartrate". I immediately stopped the meds, and called my doctor. They saw me that same day (not my regular doc because it was Saturday). The doc that saw me was very nice, and was able to feel the palps while taking my pulse on my neck, after I told her I was still feeling them. She thought that this was a condition I have always had, but was aggravated by the cold meds. She ordered a Holter Monitor for me.
I wore the Holter for 24 hours, and when the results came back, I went and saw my regular Primary doctor about it. He went over the results, which did not show any PVC's, only one "late beat", which was in the Superventricular Ectopy section of the report. He said my results were perfect, and not to worry about anything! My blood pressure was 188 / 75, which he also said was fantastic. I left there, and felt great. The palps actually went away for about three weeks.
After a bad day at work, they came back one night, and that was almost three weeks ago, and I've had them daily ever since. I made an appoint with the cardiologist, who felt that I also had nothing to worry about, but to be "extra sure" ordered a stress/echo. I did that, and during the initial startup of the treadmill, they were actually able to see my palps on the EKG. Diagnosis? PVC's. I get my actual results of the stress/echo this Thursday, but my impression from talking to the nurses while doing it was that everything was great. I was able to read on the paper, "No MVP", and I asked about that and she said it meant "No Mitro valve prolapse".
So, where do I go from here? Reading about others that have this surely helps, but I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't disappointed with the fact that Medically, there seems to be no doctors who can find a surefire solution to these. Sure, they are benign, but the emotional toll can be terrible.
After reading about it online, I had started to take around 500mg daily of Magnesium, and whether its in my head or not, it seems to be helping. I'm taking Mag Oxide, which from what I've read is the worse one to take (least absorbable). I plan on buying Magnesium Citrate and will take the same dosage daily. Anyone else have Magnesium experiences and palps?
My biggest fear is that these are going to get worse, and worse as I age....what do you know about this?
Anyways, sorry for the superlong post, and God bless.
--Mike
You are right on! I have been through almost all these stages - I'm at the pissed off point right now! :)
Brilliant chart - I have been at #9 for a while, although days like today I am back at #4
You are reading content posted in the Heart Disease Forum
Is a low-fat diet really that heart healthy after all? James D. Nicolantonio, PharmD, urges us to reconsider decades-long dietary guidelines.
Can depression and anxiety cause heart disease? Get the facts in this Missouri Medicine report.
Fish oil, folic acid, vitamin C. Find out if these supplements are heart-healthy or overhyped.
Learn what happens before, during and after a heart attack occurs.
What are the pros and cons of taking fish oil for heart health? Find out in this article from Missouri Medicine.
How to lower your heart attack risk.
