Med question. Does this combo seem safe?

Hello. First time post. I'm 38 years old. About 4 months ago I had a weird problem start. For about 3 days whenever I laid down my heart would start feeling very eratic. Not painful, just not right..
It would get so bad it would cause me to jump up out of bed. When standing I could some how walk off the effect but it returned when resting. I had very little sleep for 3 nights. 4th night I had it worse with dizzyness and SOB.

I decided to go to emergency room. Stayed in hospital 3 days and did several EKG's and a stress test. Stress test seemed to show all was fine while EKG showed periodic extra beats. My blood pressure has been fine for the most part. High colestrol and Trygli..(spl?). I was prescribed Gemfibrozil 600mg(2 a day)and Metropolol 50mg(2 a day).

1 Month later I had the same problem happen and it lasted 3 days. Doctor since put me on Lipitor 40mg and Amiodarone 200mg (2 a day) and dropped the Gemfibrozil and cut the metropolol to 25mg (2 times a day). I am also on wellbutrin from a year or so ago.

My colestrol is still high even with me cutting out most fatty foods and red meat. I have cut caffiene down to only the half-decaf type and only a few cups in morning. I used to drink it all day. I still smoke and I am about to attempt quiting.

So main 2 Questions would be;

1. What is the acutual name of a condition like this and will it progressively get worse over time?

2. Any problems with the med mix ; Adiodarone (dont like what I read about this stuff), Metropolol, Wellbutrin, Lipitor 40g, 400mg Vitimin E, 1 Aspirin

[Cleveland Clinic]

cuda, thanks for the post.

I'm not sure what condition you are describing. I assume you have atrial fibrillation because you were prescribed amiodarone. If this was your first episode, I think this would be a pretty big medication to use and would investigate other options, including a basic beta blocker.  

Something you need to seriously consider is radical lifestyle modification, or the next condition you will be describing will be a massive heart attack or stroke. You need to incorporate exercise, smoking cessation and diet modification right now.



Scientist -- with regards to the mineral supplementation; while pertubations electrolytes can lead to some atrial arrythmias, the evidence that supplementation in the setting of low or even normal levels of the minerals can be prophylactic is thin.  I do not routinely use them in my practice.

[Scientist]

I'm not a medical doctor, but I've done some reading about arrhythmia and its relationship to nutrition.  One thing I would do, judging from your note, is to ask my doctor for a blood test (I understand it should be intracelular) to measure mineral levels, such as magnesium and chromium.  Apparently even good diets are now insufficient, as our soils are depleted of such minerals.  According to my sources, a magnesium deficiency can cause arrhythmia and a chromium deficiency can cause high cholesterol.  A good reference is "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" by Balch and Balch.  Many doctors I have met are unaware of such knowledge; I've found I need to learn about my problems myself in order to improve my chances.

[Cudadown]

I have seen alot of people saying positive things about magnesium supplements. I started taking vitamin E from reading some people suggesting it for heart problems. Are there any combo Vitamin/Mineral supplements that have E, magnisium and others for heart problem related problems?

Also, the anxiety over this stuff is going to kill me before any heart failure it seems. Don't know what to do about that. I'm shopping today for either a treadmill or bike to start working out on for 30 or so minutes a day. Any good info on which is better and how do I approach a cardio workout plan. Heck, I'm even nervous about straining my heart doing this but I realise its needed.

I'm going to try a different Doctor I think. This Doctor hasnt even brought up smoking or diet really. Or if he did it was very briefly. And I don't think I'm getting enough info to help with this anxiety. Granted, He doenst give me any bad news though or doesnt seem like its a big deal. By looking up info on the drugs he is prescribing its telling me that it isnt such a minor a deal as I'm lead to believe.

Last question;
I'm currently a casual (1/2 pack a day smoker). I have been using smokeless tobacco (skoal) for a while now since my son has ashma and we do not allow any smoking in our house. Is it just the smoking that is very bad or is it nicotine itself?

If it is nicotine that creates higher risk, does that rule out using the patches to quit? or even the gum?

[Cleveland Clinic]

Cuda--

The nicotine probably has some intrinsic effects for the development of atherosclerosis, although there is some debate. Clearly, smokeless tobacco raises heart rate and blood pressure which certainly is not good in the seting of atherosclerotic disease, and really would not be good for someone with atrial arrythmias. Patches and gum are a short term solution to attempt to wean from the physical addiction of smoking. Smokeless tobacco also carries an increased risk of throat and mouth cancer, which if you've seen a case would stongly dissuade you from long term use.

With respect to Viamin E and cardiovascular disease. The current thought is 180 degrees form 5 years ago, and this supplement probably should NOT be used in this setting, as there is a slightly increased risk of events in those people using the supplements.

good luck

[Cudadown]

Thank you for the info. I have quit smoking completely and bought a exercise bike last night. Going to start hitting it each night for about 5-20 minutes. The bike has a heart rate display on it which I used but even pedaling very quickly I really hard a hard time getting my heart rate above 100. Highest was only 102 for a few seconds. Anyone know what the target heart rate I should be going for is? I'm not very worried about pushing to hard as I'm in pretty fair shape and my heart problems only seemed to hit me while at rest or worse while laying down. I actually felt very calmed down and at ease after riding that thing last night.

Could the problem raising my heart rate be due to the metropolol or the amiodarone?

[Cudadown]

Thank you hankster. Yes, very serious about getting on track. I was taking the metropolol 50mg twice a day and gemfibrozil each day. I had another 3 day long bout with this heart problem after being on those meds for 2 months and the doctor just recently stopped the gemfibrozil and cut the metropolol in half and added the amiodarone. Colesterol was around 240.

He did do the holter monitor and it should extra and erratic beats for most of the 24 hours.

I think I can whip this thing though by working out some and stopping the big macs and cigarettes. Of course the meds will help also. I have absolutely zero history of anyone in my family having heart troubles so I think thats a good foundation to build off of.

Now if only there was a pill that could make me forget about my heart troubles.

What sort of vitamins or mineral supplements will be good (heart wise) to add to my diet/exercise routine?

[Momto3]

WOW!! You are really doing a great job getting your health on track! Way to go!! Just wanted to comment on your question regarding your heartrate and the effects of medicine. Beta blockers are meant to keep your heart from over working. When I was taking a beta blocker (propanolol), I had an exercise stress test and they remarked how the beta blocker was really doing its job. No matter how fast/steep the treadmill went, my HR would not go above around 108...Check with your doctor, but it's probably right where he wants it to be.  Good Luck on your exercise regimen!!

[Squimsy]

Hank

Sorry to join the queue of people throwing questions at you at the moment, but I'd be grateful if you could elaborate on something you said earlier in this thread.

Going back to your comment about the A-fib possibly being vagally mediated by stress or alcohol, and your advise about treatment options.  It was my understanding that in VMAF it was the slow pulse that was causing the irregular rhythm, and that it was not a good idea to use beta blockers because to slow the heart down even further would be to 'open the gate' to further problems.  Are there medications that just subdue the Vagus action or calm the heart without slowing it?

Squims

[laturb]

Hi Cudadown, your experiences with horizontal palpitations prompts me to cover an area that hasn't shown up in the threads. Stay with me whist I give you a short pre-amble.
I had endocarditis early spring (the result of a wisdom tooth extraction), which my medics believed I would recover from within 6-12 months.
However, within days of freedom from hospitalization, I began to experience what I initially referred to as chest 'spasms'/'jolts' combined with irregualr spates of coughing.
As with the majority of medics, mine tried to convince me that I had developed an 'allergy' (very fashionable) and that the coughing, especially, had absolutely nothing to do with my heart. This prognosis took me in the time wasting direction of asthma and the use the usual prescribed drugs/support.
Even as the 'spasms' became more established (we're now in the summer) the 'experts' were still in denial, more or less telling me to p*** off and stop wasting their time.
By the autumn the 'spasms' were being accompanied by a feeling of general unwellness and I was coughing more. Such was my 'decline' that my GP decided that a stay in hospital was overdue. Simple tests ensued (no echocardiogram) and I was even weighed! Released after a night of sleep denial and a referral to my specialists' clinic later in the week, where I was recomended for more blood and, now, lung function tests, I got home to find an unrelated six-month referral to my cardio-specialist, at the same hospital I had just left,  within just 3 weeks and, as importantly, an appointment for an echocardiogram.
What happens when you are booked in to see your specialist in my neck of the woods (UK, no insurance - NHS) is that you get farmed out and see one of his acolytes. Coincidentally, on this new visit I saw the same young guy whom I had seen on my last visit. Somewhat surprised to see my palid features in such a short time, he displayed a slightly frustrated reaction but, nevertheless, deigned to read the ecg report and was quite concerned to see an increased aortic valve gradient from 35 (six months ago) to 50. After checking the blood tests and lung function report he disappeared (presumambly to check with my specialist) returning to book me for an immediate echograph and more seriously, an angiagram at the beginning of Jan '04.  
I had to smile. Within a period I had gone from a time-wasting allergy to angiagram - perhaps they got them mixed up, you know what doctors' writing is like.
This leads me, eventually, to the connection. If it's not difficult for you, have an echocardiogram. This will clear the possibilities of either aortic or mitral valve problems as both would cause the 'blips' you have been experiencing.

[laturb]

Hi Cudadown, your experiences with horizontal palpitations prompts me to cover an area that hasn't shown up in the threads. Stay with me whist I give you a short pre-amble.
I had endocarditis early spring (the result of a wisdom tooth extraction), which my medics believed I would recover from within 6-12 months.
However, within days of freedom from hospitalization, I began to experience what I initially referred to as chest 'spasms'/'jolts' combined with irregualr spates of coughing.
As with the majority of medics, mine tried to convince me that I had developed an 'allergy' (very fashionable) and that the coughing, especially, had absolutely nothing to do with my heart. I was prescribed linctus and a stomach reflux drug. This prognosis took me in the, recommended, time wasting direction of asthma and the use the usual prescribed drugs/support.
Even as the 'spasms' became more established (we're now into summer) the 'experts' were still in denial, more or less telling me to p*** off and stop wasting their time.
By the autumn the 'spasms' were being accompanied by a feeling of general unwellness and I was coughing more and becoming breathless. Such was my 'decline' that my GP decided that a stay in hospital was overdue. Simple tests ensued (no echocardiogram) and I was even weighed! Released after a night of sleep denial and a referral to my specialists' clinic later in the week, where I was recommended for more blood and, now, lung function tests (they can

[laturb]

Hi Cudadown, your experiences with horizontal palpitations prompts me to cover an area that hasn't shown up in the threads. Stay with me whist I give you a short pre-amble.
I had endocarditis early spring (the result of a wisdom tooth extraction), which my medics believed I would recover from within 6-12 months.
However, within days of freedom from hospitalization, I began to experience what I initially referred to as chest 'spasms'/'jolts' combined with irregualr spates of coughing.
As with the majority of medics, mine tried to convince me that I had developed an 'allergy' (very fashionable) and that the coughing, especially, had absolutely nothing to do with my heart. I was prescribed linctus and a stomach reflux drug. This prognosis took me in the, recommended, time wasting direction of asthma and the use the usual prescribed drugs/support.
Even as the 'spasms' became more established (we're now into summer) the 'experts' were still in denial, more or less telling me to p*** off and stop wasting their time.
By the autumn the 'spasms' were being accompanied by a feeling of general unwellness and I was coughing more and becoming breathless. Such was my 'decline' that my GP decided that a stay in hospital was overdue. Simple tests ensued (no echocardiogram) and I was even weighed! Released after a night of sleep denial and a referral to my specialists' clinic later in the week, where I was recommended for more blood and, now, lung function tests (they can