arrhythmia

[bama jane]

I have posted previously.  I have pat, pac's, accelerated juctional rhythm,junctional rhythm, sinus tach, pvc's (trigeminy and bigeminy in the pvc's ,wandering pace maker, sinus arrhythmia.I probably left out the proverbial kitchen sink. Thankfully I do not have all of these at once. Have had for 6 years.  All of this with no known cause. I recently had an episode in my sleep where I woke up with an involuntary sharp cough and went into a tach of 150 for about 5 minutes. It slowed down slowly as opposed to an abrupt halt when I have the pat.  I sometimes wake up from sleep with a gasp of breath and a funny feeling in my chest. Only heart drug I can tolerate is small dose of atenenol. My cardio's p.a. thinks this sleep episode could be gerd realted.  Here are my questions.
1.What are chances of total conduction system failure and sudden cardiac death with all these different arrhythmias?
No known artery disease no valve disease.
2.Could gerd cause tachycardia ?
3.Do arrhythmia patients have problems with going into arrhythmia during the upper gi test they do when they put a scope down your throat to look at your esophagus?

4.I read that if people with pat exercise 5 miles 7 days a week it will control it, so I exercise 7 days a week for 60 minutes on the treadmill.  Do you believe that is true? I am 5'5' and 106 pounds.  I fear I am turning into stick lady with all the exercise, but if it helps my heart I am glad to do it. I never miss a day.
Thanks  

[Cleveland Clinic]

bama,

thanks for the post.

1.What are chances of total conduction system failure and sudden cardiac death with all these different arrhythmias

With a normal cardiac evaluation, pretty much nil.  They can be quite bothersome, but you shouldnt overly concern yourself with an imminent meltdown!

2.Could gerd cause tachycardia?

Some of the nerves that go to the heart also go to the stomach such as branches of the autonomic nervous system. There can be crosstalk between these nerves, and many find that eating can change the quality of thier palpitations and arrthmias.

3.Do arrhythmia patients have problems with going into arrhythmia during the upper gi test they do when they put a scope down your throat to look at your esophagus?

It can invoke an arrythmia, but this is generally reversible and I wouldnt look at it as the reason for not doing a test.

good lcuk

[tickertock]

From what I have read apparently 15-25% of all healthy persons monitored have complex atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, while it maybe alarming to those aware of them it seems to be  very common to the point that is almost considered a "normal" finding and nothing to worry about too much once no other form heart abnormality is present.This is my understanding only I'm not a medical doctor. It apparently has very little prognostic significance in most cases and no overall impact on ones lifespan.

[mmfd]

Bama, have you ever had a sleep study??  Waking up with a gasp may point to sleep apnea.  Many, many people have it and don't know it.  And you can be slim and still have sleep apnea.  I would consider asking my doctor for a sleep study if I were you.  Good luck finding answers.

[tickertock]

Like mmfd suggested a sleep study might be a good idea, I understand they use it now to help aid in the diagnosis of many problems , not just sleep apnea alone. Good luck.

[Bromley]

Hi. I am 5' 7", 140 lbs, and run between 4 and 10 miles daily, 5 or 6 days a week. Your question about exercise is an interesting one.

Let me say that its been my experience that exercise controlled my PSVT for many years.  I experienced PSVT during exercise, but only when I was out of shape. As my aerobic power increased, the PSVT diminished, and then dissappeared altogether.

This was the way it worked for maybe 15 or 20 years.  Then after that, even regular exercise didn't work.  I started getting PSVT runs during exercise all the time. And they started lasting longer and longer each time.

An ablation of a left sided accessory pathway completely eliminated the long lasting PSVT runs that would occur only during exercise.  However, new palpitations emerged. These new palpitations were short runs of SVT, and occasional PVC's and PAC's that occur most any time, but were/are positionally related, and uncorrelated with exercise. I have also experienced some documented incidences of very short run VT, that --- since ablation --- seemed to be occurring after over-doing on exercise.

As best I know, I had one last incident of VT in November last year while I was lying down. It felt like a small piece of tissue on the left side of my heart gave way, and then there was a rush of VT on the monitor.  Since then no more VT, and I have continued to increase my capacity beyond the five mile limit I reached there for a while.

Whereas after ablation I believe something was limiting my exercise to 5 miles, 5 days, i.e. exercise was causing palpitations, my situation seems more like it did before. Exercise seems to be helping again.

Weird I know, but I guess truth is stranger than fiction.

Good luck.

-B.

[bama jane]

Thank you all so much for your input, it always helps to hear of other people's experiences.  Th.is is such an informative sight

[bama jane]

Have you found anything that works for your esophageal spasm? Did you ever have that scope test, if so how was it?
Thanks
Bama

[Flippy]

I was wondering if anyone out here has atrial fib.This is my problem.Almost every night when i lay down to go to bed i seem to go into atrial fib.As soon as i sit back up my heart converts back to normal in a few seconds.My doctor tells me that i just seem to notice it more because im lying on my back?I know for a fact that is not the case.Most nights lately i have to have about 4 pillows to keep my head up to prevent me from going in Tach.It feels like i have something pressing on my heart or fluids or something when im lying down.Any advice?

[strangelove]

I kind of have the same problem.  Whenever I lay down I can feel my heart beating.  I've had all the tests done and everything shows as normal.

My cardiologist said that I probably just notice it beating more as well.  He said it's because all your organs are kind of jammed up aganist everything when you're lying down.  I used to sleep on my side but I can't do that anymore because it's just too uncomfortable, so I'm on my back which helps a bit.

Does your heart rate actually go up when your lying down?

[Flippy]

Yes it goes up but the scarey part is when it goes into AF.My heart wont bother me all day but after a few minutes on my back it is almost a fact i will start AF.When i try to lay on my side it actually seems worse.It gets to the point that it doesnt really scare me as much as it use to...now i start to get mad :P

[MLE]

Has anyone out there had success in using vitamin therapy (magnesium, calcium, zinc, manganese, copper)for bigeminy? If so, pls tell me the exact formula and brand. TX!

[strangelove]

My heart rate doesn't go up when I'm lying down, I can just feel it beating.  I too have gotten very frustrated when I'm lying in bed and can't fall asleep because of my heart.

Maybe you should ask your doctor to refer you to another cardiologist to get a second opinion.

[PikaPika88]

I've wpw (PAT & RBBB which had ablated) and A fib.  I describe my heart like a train.  Either it is "stop all stations" or "express".  I sleep on my dummy.  I hardly sleep on my back because I'm afraid the muscus will go into my lungs and get asthma.  Sleep on right, it is a pacer will tough my face.  Sleep on left, TCM said too much pressure for the heart, no good.  

"I read that if people with pat exercise 5 miles 7 days a week it will control it".  I nearly fell off the chair while I read this.  Exercise will induce my palpitation!!!  But I still do some otherwise I can't get thro' a small door.

[tamrz]

I to have had the same feelings you are explaining. I have been prescribed xanax so I take that to help calm things down a bit. I have episodes where all of a sudden I feel like a sudden rush of adrenaline and my heart "flutters" and my pulse goes to 125 for no reason. I get hot and shaky until this resides which is usually about 5 minutes. I have had this wake me in the middle of the night for no reason. When I try and relax and go back to sleep, I can feel my heart beating and I can hear it too. Drives me batty. Makes me sick to my stomach and nervous. I had this start happening and it lasted for about 1 week or so then it went away. It is back now and this time I am going in and getting checked. I am 36 years old, and I have periodically noticed my heart doing funny things but never really thought it was anything. Sometimes after eating, or after drinking alchol. Now it seems to be doing this for no apparent reason I can see, Although my caffine intake is high and I sometimes will take diet pills. When I am having an episode it helps to elevate my head in bed, if I lay flat I just hear my heart beats. This is very scary and I am not sure if something is wrong - or most of it is nerves.

[S. Canada]

Bama Jane

I have had heart arrythmia although not as serious as yours.  It took the doctors a while and I had to figure things out myself and then get myself to the right specialist.  I have been diagnosed with GERD, esophageal spasm and sleep apnea.  There is a definite correlation between these and my heart problems although not all aspects of my heart problems have been accounted for in my view.  I am now using the CPAP device for my sleep apnea.  It also measures how many breathing stoppages and slowdowns I have each night.  When the device has not worked as well as it should for whatever reason and shows more sleep apneas, I definitely have more arrythmia during the day.  You should definitely get checked for sleep apnea.  Not only has the CPAP device helped reduce the arrythmia but it has really improved my health and sense of well-being.  The CPAP device takes some getting used to, but once you are motivated,you barely notice it at night.  

As for the endoscopy, I too was concerned about stimulating a spasm and arrythmia when I had mine.  However, in the end there was absolutely no problem.  Manometry revealed that I have esophageal spasm.  There seems to be a definite correlation between the spasm and arrythmia.  Sometimes I can feel pain and tightness from my upper abdomen and lower chest which appears to be the spasm and I have heart arrythmia at the same time.  However, the spasm can be "silent" and I suspect that sometimes when I have arrythmia, it has been stimulated by "silent" spasm.

One other thing to watch for although this may be confined to my experience - I have difficulty breathing through my nose and I am not a good mouth breather.  I notice that when my nose is plugged, I unconsciously continue to strain to breathe until I stimulate a series of heart palpitations.  The respirologist was sympathetic to this - in fact, he believes that it is better for you to breathe through your nose,especially with sleep apnea. He is sending me to an ears, nose and throat specialist to consider surgery.

Anyways, I hope this is helpful.  Hang in there.  It is discouraging but as uncomfortable and sometimes scary as it is, you will get through it.  My one lesson is being persistent with the doctors.  All the best.

[Cardio-nervous]

Flippy - I feel your aggravation.  I have the same symptom and diagnosis.  Every time I lay down, my heart starts beating irreqularly.  It can move from an irregular beat to AF quite easily if I don't immediately sit up-right.  More likely to occur if I am sleeping on my left side then right.  I don't have any advice from doctor's to date, but I am scheduled to meet with a EP to investigate pulmonary ablation next week.  I'll let you know what I learn.

On another vein (Pardon the pun)...

I have found that whenever my heart goes into A-fib, which always occurs in the middle of the night, I can get on either the excercise bike or run to get my heart rate up.  A bit scary when your pulse is already elevated.  But when I cool down, my heart rhythm re-sets back to normal.  I would be curious if anyone else out there has any similar experiences...

[PikaPika88]

Do you take medication for your A Fib?  When you've A Fib, you go for exercise?  Wouldn't your heart go into A Tachycardia then?  After the pulmonary ablation, do you still need to take medication or blood thinner?  Sorry about that it is so many questions.  I've just unable to solve my A Fib.  Pika.

[PikaPika88]

"The CPAP device helped reduce the arrythmia"  What is CPAP?  How and where can you get one?  Do you need a doctor authority?  Does it need to conduct to the electricity?  Does it affect to the pacemaker?  How much does it cost?  I would like to have one too!  Pika.

[strangelove]

I was wondering if anyone could help me, have any suggestions or have had a similar experience?  I have a history of heart palpitations which all tests done showed nothing was wrong with my heart.  I went on Atenolol and that lowered my pulse from in the 90's to around 80.  My shortness of breath was now gone but I could still feel my heart beating especially when I lied down.

Last month my cardiologist gave me Diltiazem 120mg to try.  I knew it wasn't working almost immediately as my pulse was high, but I gave it 2 weeks as he said.  The 2 weeks were up and I still had a high pulse and my heart felt like it was constantly buzzing so I stopped the pills.  

Ever since stopping the Diltiazem my heart hasn't been the same, it's been a month now even though I'm back on Atenolol.  I've had episodes where if I do something to make my pulse race for a short amount of time, after that my heart is a buzzing mess.  It feels like my whole body is trembling, vibrating.  I can't fall asleep at night without taking a sleeping pill.  It takes about a week before my heart goes back to normal.  I went to the doctor she listened to my heart and said it sounded fine.  I did something again this week to make it start buzzing again.  It feels awful, I lay in bed at night and cry.

Anyone have any ideas?

[arthur]

Your vibration sensation is of interest to me.
I had PAF (which was ablated), however, a focus or two were left behind (located in atrial openings to the veins in the back of the heart). Now I get some PACs upon occassion, probably due to the remaining foci. (Focus = a small patch of cardiac tissue that constantly depolarizes)  These foci, probably just one, generate a rhythm of their own, and it would appear that some folks can feel this rythm.  Generally, a surge of adrenaline will kick these critters up to a level that can be more easily felt.  When that happens the symptoms may be twofold: (1) an increase in skipped beats (PACs, PVCs) and (2) a sensation of something vibrating dead center in the chest, more easily felt when lying on one's back (as the foci are then caught between your spine and the heart).  It may be that the sensation is rare because it requires that the foci be located in a "sweet spot" where we can sense their micro movements easier, or that they find themselves near a nervous system capable of picking up their signals and amplifying them.

Nevertheless, one can hope they burn themselves out...however, they are made of the same stuff the rest of the heart is, and therefore are likely to last as long as the heart lasts.

-Arthur

[snake pit]

I experienced extreme fatigue during exercise which I at first mistook as overtraining. It didn't happen all the time, but the frequency began to increase. Then I was working out very hard and went into vtach over 250 bpm. Being in very good physical condition I was able to maintain consciousness, but had to be shocked back into rhythmn. I had an e-p study that showed two areas in my right ventricle to be responsible for the vtach. I began taking Toprol and went back to monitored exercise. I had another episode while on the stepper. Ablation did not work, so I have an ICD and continuing to take Toprol 50mg 2x/day.

I can only run about 200 yards and have to stop. Last year I was running gravel hills with little effort. The Toprol is a real problem, but I haven't gone into vtach although I can feel my heart trying. As soon as I stop exercising, it goes back to normal rhythmn. I am looking for an EP to perform an ablation on the outside of my heart where these rogue neural pathways are located.

Does this condition ever fix itself? Why do these things form and what can be done to prevent them? I was in superior physical condition until the vtach. The docs told me that my heart is one of the strongest they have ever seen, but now I can't walk up a couple of flights of stairs without getting tired.

What should I do?

[dsanders]

I too have AF and sounds alot like yours.  I have some questions for you.  Could you email me at ***@**** if you see this post.  My primary question to is find out if you tried to loose weight.  I find that when I am down 15lbs I don't seem to get any AF systems.  When I gain my weight back I get the same 'pressure' in the heart area.  In the past it would only give me palpatations but now it came go into full AF.  In the past when it was just palpatations, when the pressure would relieve (felt like something draining from my uppper to lower chest cavity) the palpatations would subside.  I am one that gains my wait in my abdomen, under my muscle wall and I believe that contributes to my problem.  I was just wondering if have been thinking the same thing.

[strangelove]

Just wanted to thank you for replying to my plea!  What you described sounded exactly what I have been experiencing and it was comforting to finally have some sort of an explanation.  The weird thing is I never had the vibrating until I was on the calcium channel blocker and of course now I regret everyday I went on those pills.

Have you ever heard of Diltiazem worsening someone's condition?

[dsanders]

I'm just curious.  How many of you have been heavy drinkers? I didn't think I was but apparantly 5 doubles a night is a heavy drinker in my girlfriends opinion.  When I got my first AFib attack I quit smoking, after my last one I quit drinking.  Has anyone quit drinking and their symptoms subsided?