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1618878 tn?1299112502

anyone else with "extra electrical pathways" in the heart!?

hi! i am a 25 yr-old female and recently went to the dr. because i thought i was diabetic or anemic, because i'm always dizzy and tired.  it is so extreme that after i work a full day i just sit on the couch all night and i never want to do anything on weekends.  the dr. said my heart sounded abnormal so he ran an EKG and i had a chest x-ray done.  he then referred me to the cardiologist and i had an echocardiogram done.  the echo showed extra beats so i wore a holter monitor for 24 hours. results: my heart had over a thousand EXTRA beats in one day, and my pulse would go from 60, to 160, in one second without any physical activity.  he put me on atenalol (a beta blocker) to hopefully "fix" the abnormal heartbeat.  my blood pressure has been running 90/60 on average and i have been on atenalol for 4 days.  i still don't feel right though.  if this medication does not work in one month he said i will need some operation to have some of the electrical pathways in my heart "burned."  i guess i was born with too many of them...anyway, if any of you are experiencing any symptoms like i was/am, go in and see your doctor; the last thing i had ever imagined was that i would have any heart problems, especially since i am a healthy, thin, 25-yr old!  oh, and all of my bloodwork was completely normal (at first they thought it might just be my thyroid or something).
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Avatar universal
I have considered this ablation too, but have heard a couple scary stories about complications so I'm on the fence. But I didn't ever think my chronic fatigue could be due to this! Is there anything that helps med-wise for this? I also have a very strange effect on musical equipment, ie: speakers tend to blow or short out when I get close, or the radio signal gets all static when I'm close to it until I have to physically put my hand ontop of it and hold it there for it to come back in clearly. I never really thought much of it until I found out about my condition just recently. Could this be related?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks Tom! Yeah i will give them a little reminder. lol. I'm tempted to take my horse riding crop in with me so if he buggers it up i can smack him one with it.haha. I'm sure it will be fine this time, feeling more positive about it even though i have the usual natural nerves.
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1423357 tn?1511085442
Tell 'em to get it right this time, Rachael!  Good luck and let us know how it went.
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Avatar universal
It's been nice to see that there are other people on here with WPW or people who have been cured of their WPW. I'm having my ablation tomorrow and i'm hoping it sorts the problem out. I've been told my extra pathway is on the left side and is as far away from the natural pacemaker as it can be. So that's a good thing at least. I just keep worrying myself with the risks, even though they are minimal. Especially as last time i went in for an ablation it had to be stopped due to the cather going into the artery. but hey ho, nothing happened apart from feeling annoyed and frustrated that i have to go back for round two.
Helpful - 0
3588335 tn?1351880863
I have this as well, my cardiologist called it Wolf Parkinson White or WPW. I had ablation because my bp was low and he was worried the meds would lower it too much. The main danger of WPW is sudden cardiac death according to my cardiologist some people with WPW the extra pathway is benign and doesn't cause problems but with some it can actually affect the rhythm of the heart. Mine was the bad one.
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Avatar universal
I have been having heart palpatations for 50 years.  When I was 17, I got the first one.  The years passed & I had them occasionally, but was not bothered too much by them.  My cardiologist told me to massage the carotid artery to slow down the beat, & most times I was able to.  After having the 3rd big episode that I needed to go to the ER for a shot of adenosine for, I agreed to see an Electrophysiologist.  I had the ablation this past week & was told that I am 95% cured.  I hope it worked because I would get an episode at the most inconvenient times.  My EP said that I had an extra electrical pathway.
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1423357 tn?1511085442
The procedure is referred to as an "Electrophysiology Study with Ablation".  The ablation involves small pinpoint bursts of high frequency RF energy, or cryogenic freezing.  There are many of us here whom have had the procedure performed on them.

I doubt that your propensity for attracting static electricity is related to your problem!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi, I was told while in hospital years ago that I have an extra electrical pathway in my heart and would need to have a small procedure done to remove it. I can not remember the specific name of it. NEver had the procedure due to moving and a time delay as I was pregnant at the time. I was just wondering if anyone else experiences lots of electric shocks??? I get them from touching all kinds of things including concrete! No joke.
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967168 tn?1477584489
Cindy, that's one of the first things they told me to do at the dr's office back in June 2009 and I still keep one =)
I bought a spiral bound notebook and keep it with me in case I'm out and have any symptoms...I tried the heart rhythm tracker here but I just can't keep up with it :(

for example: 2/22/2011 - 1:35pm CP, SoB, pvc's, dizziness, fatigue - felt like NSVT runs
Helpful - 0
1137980 tn?1281285446
I loved your post...that was great advise you gave SLP about the journal...makes alot of sense.
Helpful - 0
967168 tn?1477584489
Cindy I LOL at Tom & Jerry hehehe

SLP777 - ablation would be my last resort not just after trying one med; if you have no structural heart problems or not very symptomatic.  I'm shocked your doctor will so readily do an ablation with just 1000 pvc's, when most dr;s go by 6,000-8,000 pvc's they treat with meds and anything over 15% of your total daily HB's they would look at ablation.

I had over 50,000 pvc's for quite awhile; at least 2 years that I know of; but have had arrhythmia's since I was 9 so for almost 35 years.  I took meds, but the ones I took had adverse reactions until I found Inderal - which works pretty well when I take it.  Ablation for me didn't work and I'm in no hurry to repeat the process since I had major complications.

If you haven't; you should get an appt with an EP (electrophysiologist) and talk to one to see their opinion since they're the mac daddy of dr's for electrical problems.  

Keep a journal of symptoms, times dates etc and see if you can find a pattern or trigger and eliminate anything you can that could be causing them environmentally (foods, stress, anxiety, electrolytes etc).
Helpful - 0
1057595 tn?1257898338
Actually, 1000 PVC's in a 24 hour period are not usually high enough for most EP's to consider an ablation.  My (now) 26 year old daughter developed idiopathic PVC's when she was 25 - 30,000 a day!  After 8 weeks of failed drug therapy, she underwent an 8 hour ablation which was not successful.  4 weeks after the first ablation, she had a second one, with no anathesia!  What an ordeal, but it was successful.  She did develop pericarditis which is now chronic, and this morning (16 months post ablation), she was told that she has sinus tachy and is back on Atenonal.  Good luck, and try whatever meds they advise you to take.
Helpful - 0
1137980 tn?1281285446
Like Tom and Jerry (OMG LMAO on that one!!!) said its pretty common with people on this forum having extra pathways.  I too had an ablation and think the doc said that i had 5 when he did my ablation.  Believe it or not it really is fairly common and easily treatable in most cases unless you are one of the unlucky ones that has a stubborn heart and makes you fight for every success........
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1423357 tn?1511085442
There are many folks here on the forum with "accessory pathways" who've had ablations to cure them (me included).  If you reach a point where you're considering it, we would all be glad to tell you of our experiences.  Basically, it's not a big deal, perhaps 3 days of rest afterwards, and most walk out of the hospital the same day or the day after.  I cronicled my experience in my journals whcih are available under my user name.  BTW, a bp of 90/60 is pretty low for most people.  You might consider contacting your physician for a possible modification to your dosage.
Helpful - 0
612551 tn?1450022175
COMMUNITY LEADER
Yes, an ablation could be the cure.  

Most people who post on the community/form have some "electrical" problems, usually extra signals.  

You are young and a cure would be better than taking medication the rest of your life.  I think you should explore the possibility of Ablation Surgery to effect a cure.
Helpful - 0
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