Fatal arrhythmia?

Hi
i am new to this forum so please help

18 year old male

I have been seeing a cardiologist for almost 1 year and a half now. I have tachycardia with any exertion. Standing up or lifting things. Without my medication inderal 20mg 2ce a day, i cannot live. my heart rate goes up very fast.

My concern isnth that. I have done 5 EKG,s holtor monitors, event monitors, 2 Echos, and a treadmill test. alll normal. My concern is this episode that i get once every 2 3 months. ITs very scary and sad for me. And i have never been able to catch it on a monitor so the doctor can look at it. IT is not a pvc. I can be doing anything than suddenly, i feel like my heart is fluttering or doing jumping jacks for like 5 6 seconds, and then a big pause like 5 seconds. When this happens i get dizzy , face gets really red , and i feel faint. The big pause made me think its aPVC but the doctor said it doesn't last that long. Im scared its V TAch or something deadly. It has cause alot of anxiety for me. Iv had 4 of these episodes through out the past 3 years. What can this be? all my heart tests were noraml.

[ed34]

You can have a monitor for a longer period of time, or, in some cases you can have a tiny implant which sits under the skin and will work for up to three years. Each time you feel an abnormal rhythm, you activate the device which will record the activity. I believe it's called a ILR, Implantable Loop Recorder. Use of these is becoming more common in the UK because of the issues you have, the events don't present themselves when you have tests.

[kenkeith]

Has your doctor ruled out a thyroid disorder.  Has your condition be evaluated neurologically?

Ken

[lalang472]

What are some arrhythmia that are close to my symptoms? can you have a dangerous arrhythmia and do all the tests but not show any signs?

and yes i have ruled out thyroid and all hormonal disorders. No i havent seen a neurologist , should i?

[ChatterAlly]

Supraventricular tachycardia.  I was treated for this in my early to late 20s and then again in '07 for a year.  I also took the Inderal in my 30s.  The latest diagnosis for my SVTs was treated with an antiarrhymic drug, Amiodarone.  After 9 months on this I stopped taking it.  The side effects were not what I wanted and I had to be monitored while taking this drug.  Your doctor hasn't suggested an ablation?  What does your doctor tell you about this?

[ed34]

We haven't established anything yet, including arrhythmia. The idea is to have a test when you have your symptoms so it can be first established if there is a heart issue. Once established, a clearer path can be pursued for diagnosis/treatment. They basically haven't diagnosed anything yet.

[lalang472]

Its impossible to diagnose this arrhythmia because it happens so infrequently and we never know when its going to happen.

[lalang472]

SVT has the same symptoms as i do?

[Mom2four85]

try keeping a log of dates, times, symptoms and what you were doing at the time - I've kept a very extensive one since June 2009 when I had my first holter monitor done; it can help with a diagnosis sometimes

sounds like PSVT (Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia) I say that because it's not frequent like some cases of svt can be (Paroxysmal means from time to time) think it's basically the same; unless my mind is being extra mushy today =)

[lalang472]

Thanks for your opinion

Can PVST cause these wierd episodes? like the pause thing? my cardiologist says nothing has been captured...its driving me crazy

[Mom2four85]

look up psvt and svt there's a wealth of information on this website if you click search at the top of the page or click the word arrhythmia under the heading heart disease community, also there's a great heart rhythm community here that deals with arrhythmia's also...and there's an expert forum where doctor's do answer some question that has quite a bit of information

[ed34]

"Its impossible to diagnose this arrhythmia because it happens so infrequently and we never know when its going to happen"

Which is why the ILR was specifically designed. When it happens, you activate the device and hey presto, it's recorded.

[kenkeith]

Q: "Which is why the ILR was specifically designed. When it happens, you activate the device and hey presto, it's recorded".

>>>>ILR can include an autoactivation function to supplement patient activation.  The recorder is to detect syncope...if one passes out how would an individual activate the unit? Autodetection of the implant gives many false positive and overloads the sytem rendering it ineffective in many situations.

[ed34]

would an individual activate the unit

Someone else can. You have an activation unit which anyone can use.

[ed34]

"Autodetection of the implant gives many false positive and overloads the sytem rendering it ineffective in many situations"

Depends on the trigger conditions programmed when installing. The best option is for the patient to use the activation device while they 'experience' the symptom they are trying to have diagnosed. An additional activation device is also given to another family member, so in the event the patient is unable to activate the unit, the family member can.
These devices are actually finding lots of events which would otherwise go missed. The biggest drawback is cost. The units are expensive and having the units surgically implanted/removed is not cheap.
To detect something which would normally be missed and to prevent a patient having to live in fear, not knowing what the problem is, I personally think they are a great device.