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782988 tn?1242685985

diagnosed with having Supraventricular Premature Beats

I finally talked to my GP today. The Holter monitor results were read to me and she said it was benign (supraventricular premature beats. She didn't seem to worry about it. I told her this has been very hard for me to deal with. They can be bad. So she was at least nice enough to put me on metoprolol a beta-blocker and I am taking meds for anxiety and hypothyroidism. She said come back in about four weeks and we would see how things are with the effectiveness of the meds. I am still uneasy I want to see a specialist. If I do not improve in a few weeks, I am going to insist I see a specialist. If it takes two months, I'll have to wait until I get my SSI money and go to a specialist that I don't have to wait 2-3 months to get into like they do at Parkland. At my wits end I tell you.

Anybody else think I ought to see a specialist? Do you have SPBs?
7 Responses
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Avatar universal
I havent heard that term before. My docs call it supraventricular tichycardia (i think i spelled that wrong), im sure its the same thing. I have had it since age 15. Now I am 32. My episodes have gotten so bad, ive had to call the ambulance, and in austin texas they (the ambulance people) would give me this drug that slows my heart really down, so that when i got to the hospital i wouldnt be in that bad of shape. And now that i am living in san antonio, the ambulance people dont administer the drug, which really *****. The ride to the hospital is not pleasant "nowadays". Well, they werent really pleasant before either, but they were more comfortable. Here in san antonio, they hook me up to this reviving machine in the ambulance, that if i go into cardiac arrest, they can shock me back to life. So now on the ride to the hospital i get to be hooked up to this machine, worrying about dying. I'm already stressed out mind you. But when I get to the hospital, they administer the drug to me and I feel better. Except sometimes they have to give me it 3 times because my heart doesnt slow down. That happened twice. Its a sucky feeling when they put it in the IV. Some doctors tell you to cough as they put it in and some just say relax, (like i can). The medicine makes your legs feel like you've ran a race for 5 days straight, ok maybe 2. And you feel tired and sleepy, but then after about 15 minutes, the drugs take in (maybe 5-10min), you feel like walking out of the hospital. Now i'm loving the medicine! I was referred to a cardialogist, who asked me if I wanted to get a quick surgery done where they go in and burn off some of the electric stem thingy's around my heart, but i am too scared so i kinda have to just deal with it. Yay, more ambulance rides to hospital. Except sometimes my SVT is a good thing believe it or not. I have asthma as well, and so when I am having an asthma attack and an svt attack at the same time, my asthma makes the bronchial tubes close which in turm slows the heart rate down, which in turn supresses the svt attack. But i am still having the asthma attack so i geuss, i cant have my cake and eat it too,,,lol. All i can say is this heart condition is for life. You can be the healthiest person on earth and still have it. There are ways you can supress it but it'll always be there so, stay away from caffiene and try not to get too stressed out. There are also alot of over the counter medicines you cannot take. You cant have any diet pills that contain ephedra or any caffiene ingredients. Because it will sparkup an attack. God Bless. :-)
Helpful - 0
267401 tn?1251852496
What are you on for anxiety?  Benzo or SSRI?
Helpful - 0
782988 tn?1242685985
Was put on metoprolol by my gp for the heart. Small dosage 12.5mg. Then she increased it to 25mg. Last night the heart beats drove me crazy. Not much is helping. Maybe 1/8 of the time it works. Have yet to get a specialist. I am getting on a new program. On this one I have more rights. Also taking the thyroid med. My blood was tested again for the thyroid level and she is having me take two pills on Saturday and one on Sunday-Friday. Weird dosage but I suppose she knows what she is doing.
Helpful - 0
221122 tn?1323011265
By all means, get the tests you need to make yourself feel more at ease. Be prepared that no matter what they tell you, when you get PVCs you will still be convinced they will kill you until you get used to them.  I have been told that everything is okay for years.  I am still thinking I will end up with heart disease at it is hereditary in my family and I hate good food.....ugh.
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782988 tn?1242685985
Thanks. I will probably see a specialist for MY reassurance. If i never get a complete picture of this and why I have it then I will always be wondering if I am really okay. I suggested to this GP that maybe I could have a stress test or an echo cardiogram. She said that stress tests is for heart attack. Can you believe that? Many people have had stress tests and have never had a heart attack. It's to see how the heart functions and if there is something wrong with the way it pumps, etc. Even an echo/ultrasound would ease my mind if a specialist could study it and tell me I'm okay or if there is a real physical problem.
Helpful - 0
221122 tn?1323011265
Be assured that if they told you they were benign premature supraventricular beats, you really have nothing to worry about except how they can feel so awful at times.  Supraventricular just means above the ventricles, so your premature beats are coming from the atrium.  I have lived with this and much more (as a lot of us here have) for over 30 years!  I am an RN, run a home business, have two kids, three grandkids, travel, and exercise.  I drink coffee, eat chocolate, am about 10 pounds overweight, and have tried every possible recourse to make these things disappear for the last 30 years.  They're here.  They go way for periods of time, but always come back.  They feel absolutely dreadful at times, and at times they are like a comforting friend. (figure that one out).  I'm still alive, although sometimes I've felt like I was going to die. I've seen about 7 cardiologists and have many tests.  I'm still working on a cure.  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi Shannon,
I think you should definitely see a specialist. Where are you located? I know that in NYC, Columbia has a program to help you pay if you are a bit behind in this economy...I'm sure there are programs elsewhere. Do you not have insurance? In NY, they have a plan called Healthy New York that costs about $300/month. You cannot have had a preexisting condition in the past 6 months so you might have to go to a specialist, pay out of pocket for a visit and then get more thoroughly checked out in January. I had an electrophysiology study last year and an ablation after test after test after test. All in, it was about $150,000. I still get petrified when I get really bad episodes but at least I can have the assurance that a specialist was INSIDE my heart poking and proding and, while finding some things askew, didn't find anything to be concerned about.
I say you should see a specialist not because I'm concerned with your physical condition but because I'm concerned with your mental distress. I have the same and worse. I'm 28 and had been in really good shape until these things came on and stymied my routine. They catch you off guard and can ruin your life. I am 99.999999% sure you are just fine, especially since the episodes have been monitored and noted by a cardiologist. This is so much more common than you would think. Can you think of another benign 'disease' that causes such distress? I can't. I kind of think of it like a muscle twitch now...you know when your eyelid get's going? The heart wants to pump. The tissue that fires off sparks is chemically constructed in such a way that it can never be neutral. It must always be polarizing or depolarizeing and there is no inbetween. The 'ectopic' beats you feel are because other tissue has the same charachteristic as the SA node but is usually overridden by the stronger SA node spark. For us, it's just a twitch. They would have almost certainly picked up risk factors such as Long QT or Wolff Parkinson White syndrom or a block of some sort from your ECG. They may want to do an echo to see if you have an enlarged heart and rule out that risk factor but there is no reason to believe that you have one because people with them do not have any more or less PVC's than normal people. An electrophysiology study like I had (they go in through your leg arteries with two chords, push them up into your heart while you are awake and shock the hell out of you...fun) can help look for irregularities in the conduction system. for me, they found that I had 2 pathways instead of 1. I must again caution you not to panic at this...they have ruled out a lot by your ECG/holter. If they captured what you are feeling, there is NO reason to think it's anything more than what they found. You would be surprised to hear how bad arrhythmia can get. Your's is very mild although frightening, I'm sure. If you start passing out, then you can become more concerned.
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