HEART DISEASE COMMUNITY
Any suggestions on what to check?

Any suggestions on what to check?

I am sorry to write a wordy post.  

I am a 36 yo married male, BMI just under 30, seasonably active (walking, occasional jogging, and some other exercise when the weather is nice), but who has a desk job.  I have no known health issues except recently (this week) diagnosed with some small gall stones after having a gall attack.  My father had a stroke when young due to a clogged artery and had a heart attack while in a drug-induced coma during an infection.  Other than that, the nearest couple generations have not had cardiovascular problems.

Yet the past two years, my heart / circulatory system has been doing 'weird' things.  All EKGs have been normal.  One holter monitor study a couple years ago showed a few PACs & bradycardia.  Another showed (1 year ago) showed lots of PVCs thought to be benign.  My doctors (MDs, DOs, cardiologists, etc) have treated me like I am nuts.  I have not overburdened them - just a few visits.  But maybe I am?  

Here are some things I have experienced that I can not attribute to anything else.
1)  Two weeks of low bradycardia - i.e. always in 40s, walking up steps maybe it went to 60 but drop immediately down.  Except for those couple weeks, my laying down resting is usually mid/upper 50s and sitting is usually 55-65.  Pulse rapidly increases appropriately with exercise and slows down quickly after.  
2)  I generally do not have any notible PVCs but for about 1 month just over 1 year ago, I was hitting several PVCs a minute perceived as skipped beats - some where I would feel a big 'thump' in my chest.  When listening to the PVCs on a stethoscope, it would sound like I was passing gas the first beat after the PVC.  My thought was some sort of valve issue but docs all said no.
3)  Just over a year ago, I started feeling vibrations in my head and all over my body that vibrated rapidly with the strongest beat in line with my pulse.  I.e. /\/\/\/\/\ BOOM /\/\/\/\//\ BOOM.  I can feel my pulse anywhere my body is touching something (i.e. using the phone, laying down, feel in pillow, etc, hear in ears).  I can feel it in my shoes, my hands, arms, everywhere.  Holding paper, camera, makes the vibrations very notible - again fast vibrations with a big emphasis on the actual pulse.  I was given a brain MRI which the radiologist interpretted as 'abnormal white matter', yet a reputable neurologist said were just veins in my brain being at a weird angles and that vascularly i looked fine.  The constant pulsing and especially the vibrations drive me nuts and make it difficult to sleep.  
4)  About a year ago, I started noticing my left ulnar artery pulsing visibly while my left radial seemed weaker.  The right ulnar sometimes is visible  I can also always see my stomach pulse very clearly.  Again, I inquired about valve issues but was told there is no problem with my valves.  I had an abdominal ultrasound which showed nothing abnormal in the aorta and had a chest x-ray which showed normal size heart.  My daughter said 'wow daddy I can hear your heart beat' even though her head was about a foot from my chest not touching me.  My pulse will actually shake the bed a little bit.  I know what you are thinking - high blood pressure.  But whether I use a digital or a manual monitor, I get something < 120/80 and this coincides with what healthcare professionals measure.
5)  A year ago during my physical, my cholesterol went up over 50% from the latest physical 1 year prior, and all physicals of previous years.  LDL, Total, and triglycerides had jumped up to "borderline" or "high" whereas a year earlier and all previous physicals they were so-so (Before:  total 170s ldl 100'sh, tri 100'ish, AFTER: 220s total, ldl 150s, tri 190s, hdl 36)      
6)  My eyes have been contantly red the last 8 months.  One doc thought it was infection, another thought it was eye allergies, another thought dry eyes, but no types of eyedrops have helped.  They look better after exercising or particularly after swimming in salt water (ocean).  They also look better the few days a year I feel like I'm getting a cold and my wife makes me take garlic.
7)  My diastolic pressure has been dropping the last half a year.  When I had some gall bladder pains this week, my dialistic pressure went to the highest I've seen it for awihle - a whopping 73 (169 due to pain/73).   Typically my BP these days is typically 110-125 / 45-70 pulse 50-70 where the pulse pressure is generally greater than the diastolic pressure.  I've tried both digital monitors and manual.  My results do indeed match the doctors'.

So am I crazy?  If it were up to me, I would probably check my carotid arteries, do an echo of my heart, and somehow check for any arterial-venous malfornations.  But my docs think there are no issues.  (??)   As mentioned, the doctors give me the 'you are nuts' look and have no explanation for the sensations and weird symptoms.  When giving hints such as valve problems, clogged arteries, or something they say no evidence of those, or I am too young.  Therefore, any advice would be appreciated!
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Avatar_n_tn
Hi,

My docs told me everything was fine too AT THE TIME...but sometimes we need to do our own
homework. Read that if certain tests like holter monitor, EKG, stress tests etc are
done when patient is not having symptoms then it is probable that nothing will show and
should be done during symptoms, I know sometimes difficult! There are 2 week holter
monitors.
One doc in emerg suggested to keep coming in for assessment because something will eventually
show up esp if you are having any kind of chest pain, shortness of breath, sudden rapid heartbeat.
Think it's important to find a good cardiologist who is willing to go the distance for you
and help you monitor your blood pressure and heartbeat...perhaps you can ask them
what treatment and diet are available for brachycardia once you are diagnosed and what future complications this type of disorder may present if any.  Sometimes vitamin deficiencies like
potassium, magnesium, calcium can cause certain disorders - you might want to do
some searches.  I monitor my blood pressure and heart at three different levels: lying, sitting,
then rising from a crouched position as it gives you a more accurate reading of
how your BP and HB fluctuates.  I too was scheduled for an abdominal ultrasound but
after talking to one of the technicians we are pushing for a CT scan which can show more.
They will be doing leg, aorta, neck vascular scans for any signs of blood clots, hopefully a pulmonary scan and also specific tests for the adrenal glands which can cause fluctuations in
blood pressure. Have both low bp and high bp plus brachycardia and tachycardia, more
then I could have ever imagined so finding the source of the problem is important...
sometimes there is no 'source' it just is but the symptoms can be treated.
I hope the docs do everything possible to help you and ease your mind and wish
you the best in finding out what indeed is going on.
Best Wishes,
Nicki

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