Re: Ventricular Tachycardia

Posted By DAXUS on September 17, 1998 at 01:52:06:

In Reply to: Ventricular Tachycardia posted by Bob on September 16, 1998 at 12:52:24:






I am 56 y old and have had a rapid heart beat all of my life, I have also had (undocumented) arrythmias (striking fluttering) for about 25 y.  About 2 weeks ago I had a dizzy spell and my wife called the paramedics.  While being transported to he hospital their strip showed definite signs of Vtach.  This pattern reocurred in the emergency room.  I was in IC for one day and on a monitoring floor for 2 days with no recurrences that I am aware of.  I was given a stress test by dipyradamole which I was advised was normal.  This was followed by an exercise thallium scan.  I have no idea what the result of this second test was.  Attempts to perform a resting thallium scan several hours failed due to the fact that the detecting device failed.  I was released after three days in the hospital with no particular instructions.
Two days later I saw my personal physician for the first time (I had just moved cities).  He told me to (1) stop smoking [I have], get exercise [I'm trying] and to see an electrophysiologist whose name I supplied him, rather than his choice.  The office of the electrophysiologist advised me that their first available appointment was October 9 but when I advised them of my condition they managed to up the date to September 30.  I understand that this condition makes me a candidate for sudden cardiac death!  Am I over-reacting to the condition, or are the medical suppliers taking a rather "laid-back" approach to my condition?  Perhaps I am over-reacting.  Appreciate any comments that you might have.
Well, firstly, there is not too much else the medical practitioner can do but make suggestions as to how to improve your lifestyle. I am assuming that you may have high blood pressure etc. This does make you a good candidate for further heart trouble which can be fatal. Perhaps you can discuss with your physician the possible use of medications to assist with your blood pressure. One handy tip is to take half an aspirin a day to reduce the chance of heart attacks. I am more than happy to discuss this via email if you wish.

DAXUS