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
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.
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?
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.
What is AIVR? What do the letters stand for and what really is it besides a slow rate originating in the ventricles.
>>
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
>>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
>>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
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.