Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

tachycardia definition, CT scan and more miscel

Just curious: I know tachycardia is a heart rate over 100.And one hears VT described sometimes as including 3 PVCs in a row.But 3 PVCs in a row are not necessarily at a rate over 100,so why is it called VT?

Had a helical heart scan and it came back zero. Yeehoo!So that coupled with my essentially normal echo (ef of 60) have been most comforting.What is the CC's stance on the actual meaning of heart scans-- very accurate or not? I understand the importance may lie in their negative predictive value, correct? (i.e.,with 0 score you're at low risk for heart event for 3 yrs?)

My mom,83,athlete in her youth,exercises every day and goes out 3 to 4 nights a week, is a public speaker, etc.(her schedule would exhaust me)Her BP runs 115/75 or 100/70 at her yearly physical.(she doesn't believe in docs,only goes so i will shuttup).She's on no meds,good cholesterol.Would you think a heart scan would be a good idea or"if it aint broke don't fix it"?

From the Go Figure Department:I was still having palps on the atelonol and fatigued with low bp even at just 12.5 so I reduced it to 6 for 2 nights and stopped it. That night i was literally up all night due to stressful situation with idiot partying college student neighbors and dogs barking.. had work day from hell and was half asleep so didn't eat all day and drank -- I ADMIT IT -regular brewed coffee. Cups of it. ASk me if I had ONE palp? nope. for the first time in years.3 days off beta blockers still having many fewer palps than usual. Any thoughts? I'm curious -are beta blockers thought to have  any antiinflammatory effects?
9 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
Hello, I just read your post on V-tach. Is your vtach nonsustained or sustained?? I have non sustained, my cardio who is also a ep doc. said that I am better off with no meds and to try to ignore the episodes if at all posiable. Meds can sometimes make things worse. I have a Merrek medical book and they even say you should not treat nonsustained v-tach. So you had a run of 15 beats?? Im so sorry I know how the four beat run of aivr was and my three beat run of nsvt i was sleeping. Hankstar described aivr and nsvt in the most perfect way, its also my understanding from the doc.
wmac
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
RRR
I was having "episodes" where I would get very anxious and have an odd feeling in my chest.  My PCP put me on a 24 hr holter and did an EKG and blood work.  The EKG and blood work were fine, but the monitor results came back with ventricular tachycardia 15 beats.  She put me on 50mg of atenolol, which was making me extemely fatigued; and made appt with cardiologist.  Stress test, EKG and echo came back normal. He cut atenolol in half, but "episodes" started up again.  Put me back up to 75% of 50mg (1/4 pill in am 1/2 pill in pm). I had a very big episode this week.  The cardiologist has told me to "put up with" single episodes; only call if they start becoming frequent again.  My husband is very worried and thinks we should get a second opinion.  Is this condition that dangerous and are the beta blockers sufficient to control my episodes?  Thanks.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
jan
When you said that your voice got weak during the episode that caught my attention, because during the TTT I had "something" occur 5 times.  Everytime this something occurred it was w/o symptoms, but I saw the ekg and the tech would get the cardio's attn., then she would ask how I felt.  It looked as if I was mouthing the words, but the truth is I had no voice during it.

Anybody else have this happen and/or know why it happens?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks for the clarification.

In regards to your mother, there are very few coronary lesions that would be identified on a heart scan that would affect prognosis without your mother having some other symptoms now.  So let's say that calcification is found, should your mother then have a cath?  Some of us would say no, some others would say yes.  Let's further say that your mother went on to have a cath, and an 80% blockage in the mid-LAD was found.  What should we do with it?  We have no proof that fixing it will prolong your mother's life, but some doctors might fix it, which exposes your mother to risk without probable benefit.  Again, it's hard to make someone feel better when they don't have symptoms.  And a prognostically significant lesion is unlikely to be found.

In regards to the NSVT, you are correct.  If the cycle length of the PVCs is less than 600 msec, then it is not NSVT.  It could be called AIVR, but this is an argument of semantics.

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
What is AIVR?  What do the letters stand for and what really is it besides a slow rate originating in the ventricles.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
>>
We have no proof that fixing it will prolong your mother's life, but some doctors might fix it, which exposes your mother to risk without probable benefit. Again, it's hard to make someone feel better when they don't have symptoms. And a prognostically significant lesion is unlikely to be found.<<

Thanks! It was just a theoretical question anyway.. my mom wouldn't go for it. Anyway, I think she has a good shot at making it 100 ( she has some relatives who have) or more at the rate she's going..

Lynn
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
>>I think what Lynn is asking is what happens when you have 3 or more beats of ventricular origin in a row, and yet the rate is not greater than 100bpm?<<

Exactly. One time I was on an event monitor and I was talking on the phone when I felt my heart beat weird and I felt momentarily weak -- in fact, my voice was momentarily weak as I spoke while this happened. I clicked the even monitor button and sent it in. The nurse sounded concerned and said she was calling the doctor. He called me and said not to worry; he said I had had 3 PVCs in a row with no normal beats in between but in a structurally normal heart ( plus I was very young at the time) it was nothing to worry about. But the rate of the PVCs wasn't fast at all.

So what I was trying to ask is, why are " 3 PVCs in a row" always , or frequently, called "non-sustained VT" when, even, in fact, if the rate is NOT greater than or equal to 100.

Lynn
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
>>Q3:"Would you think a heart scan would be a good idea or"if it aint broke don't fix it"?"

It's hard to make someone without symptoms feel better.<<

I didn't bring up the heart scan possibility for my 83 year old mom because I thought it make her "feel better" ( she feels terrific). I brought it up to ask you the efficacy of using it to check for signs of heart disease . Why? Because it is supposedly the number one killer of women. I just wondered about your opinion of the worth of performing a heart  scan on someone if that person has no signs of ischemia or any risk factors other than old age and being a woman - but, I would think, those risk factors are pretty significant.

Lynn
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
LynnSB,

Thanks for the post.

Q1:"But 3 PVCs in a row are not necessarily at a rate over 100,so why is it called VT?"

If the 3 PVcs are less than 0.6 sec (600 msec) apart, then their rate averaged over a minute is 100 bpm.  That is to say, if the ventricular beats continued on for 1 minute, there would be 100 present on the strip.  However, most of us would call 4 PVCs in a row NSVT.  Usually, one needs a convincing string of ventricular beats to call it VT, perhaps at least 9 or 10 beats.

Q2:"What is the CC's stance on the actual meaning of heart scans-- very accurate or not?"

We don't have an official policy, but most of us would agree that the negative predictive value is good.  Meaning that a low score, like 0, is reassuring.

Q3:"Would you think a heart scan would be a good idea or"if it aint broke don't fix it"?"

It's hard to make someone without symptoms feel better.

Q4:"... 3 days off beta blockers still having many fewer palps than usual. Any thoughts?"

Some people develop bradycardia-dependent palpitations, meaning that they only get extra beats when their heart rate is slow.  You might fall into this rubric.

Q5:"are beta blockers thought to have any antiinflammatory effects?"

Not to my knowledge.

Glad to hear the palpitations have lessened.

Best of luck.


Helpful - 0

You are reading content posted in the Heart Disease Forum

Popular Resources
Is a low-fat diet really that heart healthy after all? James D. Nicolantonio, PharmD, urges us to reconsider decades-long dietary guidelines.
Can depression and anxiety cause heart disease? Get the facts in this Missouri Medicine report.
Fish oil, folic acid, vitamin C. Find out if these supplements are heart-healthy or overhyped.
Learn what happens before, during and after a heart attack occurs.
What are the pros and cons of taking fish oil for heart health? Find out in this article from Missouri Medicine.
How to lower your heart attack risk.