Questions posted in the
Heart Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
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Subject: Re: ectopic heartbeats I have been diagnosed by my cardiologist as suffering non dangerous ectopic beats. However this diagnosis is many based on a description of symptoms the palpitations come in runs and have not been caught during any of the tests he has performed. When they happen my heart misses beats when my pulse is taken this can happen many times a minute and be very uncomfortable and cause great anxiety. Sometimes these experiences are short lived at othe times it can go on for hours. I have researched these pages and understand fully about pac's and pvc's. My question is how can the cardiologist be sure that this is what I am suffering from and not a more serious form of arrythmia? I have had an ecg, 24hr monitoring ( at which time nothing happened!) and an exercise test which showed no problems at no time during testing has my ectopic beats showed up. Also if it is a pvc how can I be sure that this will not lead to Torsades de pointes. What is the QT interval on the ecg and can mitral regurgitation (trivial) have any affect on this. Thank you very much for you help this site is such a help to those like myself. Dear Keely: The QT interval is a measurement made from an ECG. PVCs can not cause Torsades, unless the QT interval is prolonged. Your cardiologist would have checked your QT interval. Mitral regurgitation will not affect the QT interval. The only way to be sure what your arrhythmia is or is not would be to wear a Holter monitor for long enough to capture the abnormal rhythm while you are having your symptoms. I hope you find this information useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions. If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem. | |
