1aviator

[1aviator]

Firstly thank you for the forum.   2 years ago I was diagnosed with ectopic beats after a holter monitor was used due to a fluttering in my chest/stomach . A cardioligist spent sometime looking at my heart and confirmed for me that all was ok and to live with it. I was ok with this. I hold a commercial pilots licence this is my hobby not my job.
Over the 2 years the few ectopics have gone to clusters with episodes lasting for days. A recent ecg rhythm analysis showed sinus rhythm,first degree av block, atrial premature complexes.

I look at the forum and its heartening pardon the pun to see that I'm not alone with the problem. I believe it is stress related but I don't understand why it doesn't come on when I'm actually in a stressful situation. It seems to come on when I'm ? relaxed??
My Question is when/ if /should I go back for a follow up check to see if there is any change to the original diagnosis ?     Thank you

[Momto3]

Hi 1aviator,

You'll probalby find that a lot of people with ectopics have more "activity" when they are relaxed.  My doctor used to tell me that if I could run all day, I'd probably be free of pvcs. In my eyes, bad plan : )

I've also been told that when I'm under conscious sedation (versed), the frequency of my pvcs drops....another bad plan : )

Something about the slower heart rate seems to trigger the events...I'll be interested in reading the doctor's response.

Happy flying!

[Michael J. McWilliams, M.D.]

My Question is when/ if /should I go back for a follow up check to see if there is any change to the original diagnosis ?  

That is a tough call.  Clearly if there is a concern change associated with chest pain, shortness of breath, passing out or almost pacing out.  If they feel the same but more frequent, there probably isn't much changed.  If all your tests were normal, it would be very unlikely things have changed since a recent evaluation.  Your internist or primary care doctor could probably run a holter monitor and if it still just shows ectopic beats, this is nothing to worry about.  I would start with you internist/PCP and ask them what they think.  If they see a change, they can send you back to your cardiologist.  If you are concerned, it never hurts to go back.

I hope this helps, thanks for posting.