54,000 EXTRA HEARTBEATS am I crazy???

[Mom2four85]

ok after reading more am I crazy how can I have 54,000 EXTRA heartbeats (see my original post) in a 24 hour period

I've read some have had 32,000 but that's the most Ive found here; still reading to find out more

Anyone else experience this?

[Mom2four85]

I'm glad someone knows, my poor mother in law was with me and she's not used to it and said WHAT were they doing? lol I told her to stand and watch my monitor hehehe

[Momto3]

I think that's great plan!!  : )

I know exactly the scenario you are describing when people are standing around the monitor....hahaha!!  Yep, we feel 'em : )

[Mom2four85]

When I was still having problems around 4pm yesterday, I called the EP's office that prescribed Toprol, I got the on call cardiologist.  He asked me what my symptoms were, what my diagnosis was and asked why I was prescribed Toprol also, he called my Pvc's by some name I've never heard (he had a really thick accent) and told me to go to the ER he thought I was having a reaction to the BB.

It was funny watching the nurses & dr's come in and out to stand and watch then say "hmmm" at my heart monitor lol they asked if I was feeling ok and asked if I could feel my pvc's.  One said you're having an "enormous" amount of them and sent in another dr to look :P  so many came in I should have charged an admission fee to pay for my co-pay lol

If anything, I'm having more frequent pvc's than before, which is perplexing.  I have a call in to my cardiologist to talk to her about what she thinks about the EP & Toprol, hopefully I'll get an answer soon.

[Momto3]

Sorry you had a crummy start on the BB : (

I'm not sure why the ER doc would have made the comment about not having high BP yet being on a BB.  I took Inderal (BB) for around 12 years and during that entire time I always had low-normal BP.  Maybe they didn't realize that you were not taking it for BP control, but for ectopics.  I do know that there are a number of BBs on the market, and not every one of them work for every patient.  I had success with Inderal, but ONE tenormin knocked me for a loop.  

I think if I were you, I would phone the doctor's office (the one who prescribed the RX) and explain what happened (dizzy, lightheaded, drop in BP) and see what they think. Are you still experiencing a lot of ectopics?  Does the doc want you to take the RX all the way up until the EPS?

[Mom2four85]

Ugh I am so bummed today, it's definitely a Monday morning.  I am really questioning the new EP and her decision to give me Toprol.  

I took it yesterday morning for the first time and within 30 - 45 minutes I got extremely sick.  My heart started pounding more to where I could barely breathe.  My bp went from 122/ 85 to 80/60 and I got so dizzy I could barely sit up and had to go lay down for an hour, nausea and it felt like my head was weighted by bricks.

After I layed down and got back up I still felt terrible and my bp stayed low.  I took it easy for a few hours but couldn't handle the pounding heart rate on top of my problem already, so I called the drs office and got a dr who was on call.  

He sent me to the ER and after 7 hours of testing said it was due to the meds - my bp was 70/40 in the ER and they were going to admit me, but my m-i-l was there to drive me home and help me and all tests were ok.

They questioned WHY she gave me a beta blocker knowing I don't have high BP and am having fainting/blackouts...now I don't know what to do.  I told my husband I felt like not having surgery :P or go with the first dr get it done and be over it.

[Momto3]

All in all, great news!!  Sounds like you like the new EP : )
Hang in there Lisa!!  If they find the culprit(s), will they ablate next week?

I heard pretty much the same story, and I was also "cured!"  : )

I remember the doctor telling me if they could prove the PVC's were causing the cardiomyopathy my case would be written up.  They did figure that out, but my "pictures" were not good enough for publication...LOL!!  I'm just glad it worked : )

Wishing you great success!!  

[Mom2four85]

I just came from my 2nd opinion from an EP at our local univeristy. First I went in with an intern EP, he took an hour of signs, symptoms & history - extremely fatiguing lol

I asked WHAT is causing this?  The EP in the practice, she said they couldn't pinpoint what caused it, but it's the electrical part of my heart mis-firiing for whatever reason.  She also said until they do the EP study and go inside she can't answer it and even then it may not give any answers :(

As I suspected, the mild tricuspid is something I'm going to have to watch as well as the thickening of the left ventrical (?) my EF was good they said at 55% which is another good sign.

This particular doctor 2 weeks ago cured a female with 39,000 pvc's!! hooray but she said I still take the cake LOL if they cure mine, my name will go into the cardio dept of the university heheh  that would be wild.

She prescribed Toprol and is setting up a cardiac cath & EP Study for next week. Hopefully that will yield some questions & help.
Have a great weekend.

[Bon-Bon]

Keep us posted.  Your in my thoughts and prayers.

[Momto3]

Good luck tomorrow!!

[Mom2four85]

Oh I forgot to add - I don't take any meds - just found out a few weeks ago that I had anything wrong with my heart even though it's shown up for years on my ekg's

I'll see what the ep says tomorrow about after ablation if I had to take meds

[Mom2four85]

Thanks again :)  I have a full page of questions I've been making to take with me tomorrow.

I got my test results in the mail today, so I want to go over those with the new EP to see what she says. My cardiologist & EP now said there was a "tad" of mvp which I see, but I also see some things they didn't tell me :(

Echocardiogram results:
Mild Tricuspid insufficency
Trace Mitral valve in sufficency
Pulmonic valve was not well visualized due to a technically difficult 2D echo
Mild Concentric left ventricular hypertropy
EF rate of 55%
Dilated left atrium with normal left atrial pressures

24 hr holter results:
54,181 very frequent complex ventricular ectopys with bigeminy & trigeminy
2 runs of NSVT, 2 couplets, 3 triplets, 2 atrial contractions
Rare atrial ectopy

Stress test:  4:55 min test
Sinus rhythm with slow R wave progression in the precordial leads
Frequent pvc's - 2 PVC couplets and 1 PVC triplet
Sinus Tachycardia with no signifiant ST-T wave changes
QRS segment of PVC's narrowed substantially with exercise, widening again in recovery (180 ms to 80 ms)

BP - 130/70 - 150/90

[Momto3]

Lisa,

Feel free to rant!!  You are among friends who understand.  While we can't tend to your medical needs, we can be here to help support you.

Be sure to take a list with you tomorrow.  You do not want to forget to ask anything.  Some doctors really like it when we come prepared : )

Are you taking a beta blocker, anti-arrythmic?

[Mom2four85]

Connie, sometimes I wonder how much more I can handle, then I find out how strong I have to be.

Sometimes, like today - it's been a horrible day since 4am and I have to make choices I am forced to make knowing they're probably not the right ones.  I know I should have gone into the hospital this morning with the symptoms I was having.  My husband had to work today since he has to drive me to my appt tomorrow and no one else can take care of our youngest son.

My oldest daughter is 22 and can watch him, but she's 25 miles away from us now and can't take off of work easily, my in - laws are elderly and they help us sometimes but for very short periods of time like 30  to an hour.

So, I've been stuck today laying on the couch sick & in pain waiting for my DH to finish and get home. It's terrible, but all I think about is just let me go ahead have a heart attack and then I'll feel better and get out of this pain :(   my husband will HAVE to take off work then and take me to the dr or er.

But that will only makes things worse and we would possibly lose customers for our business, he doesn't get sick time or he can't just take off when he wants - people don't understand that, and in this economy we need our  customers :)

I really thought laying down so long would help but it hasn't.  Luckily I have an appt in the morning with the university EP I'll tell her what's been happening today.

Bah listen to my pity party! sorry thank you for helping me so far - it means alot .  If I help 1 person who may wait on treatment or a diagnosis, I'll feel good.

Life throws things at you to make you slow down, some of us it takes more than a brick wall to slow down with my hard head.

[Momto3]

I love this  place!!!  My heart flutters, breaks, and leaps for joy hearing all of the stories that have touched the lives of those around me.  Thank you all for sharing such personal thoughts and stories.  

Here's to bright and sunny days!!!

Thank you BonBon for your kind words; they mean a lot to me!!  I used to frequent the forums, but now only visit on occasion.  I am taking a time-consuming course, and just haven't had the time to stay too involved.  I'm just thankful that I still have a place to go where people really do understand : )

Lisa,
I am amazed at your strength!  Thank you for sharing your story!  I'd be willing to bet that you have touched my hearts.  For those who may have been on the fence about checking out new or changing symptoms, your story may be just the catalyst they deed to make that appointment.

Have a wonderful day everyone!
connie

[Mom2four85]

Thanks :) I appreciate  your kind words.  It really means alot to know others feel the same, and hearing what others have or are going through.

I just wish I had listenend to my body when I knew something was right a few years ago.  We put all of our faith & trust in the doctors that we go to, and the way we get treated sometimes is sub-par to say the least.

Each person reading this needs to be aware of problems so if something just doesn't feel right; get it checked asap.

[Bon-Bon]

Momto3, you have also gone through so much and I am thankful to you that you are here to share your story with us too.  

I'm thankful to "everyone" for sharing their stories; for, it shows that we are more than conquerers.

Sending you a warm gentle hug.  And Momto3, I am so very glad you are doing so much better after the ablations.

Blessings and Pleasant thoughts to you always.

[Bon-Bon]

Lisa, I'm so sorry you have gone through so so very much. My heart goes out to you.  I wish I could reach out through this computer and give you a very warm, sincere hug.  

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story with us.  I don't know what to say.  There is nothing I could say to make it better.  But I do know that I am glad you are here to share with us.

Blessings and Pleasant thoughts to you always.  

[Mom2four85]

BonBon; I think I would have gotten up and left - no medical professional should act like that;  I'm sorry you had to go through that.

I think doctors are quacks sometimes, really - I have had so many run ins with doctors like that but your story is unbelieveable; sorry to offend anyone with that statement but I'd had my share of "bad" doctors. When I found my current PCP I was grateful to find a "good" one,  I'm not leaving his office.

13 years ago I was pregnant and I started getting so sick I went to my OB and he said it's perfectly normal pregnancy stuff - I was 21 weeks and ended up in premature labor and almost died.  I had developed GBS which turned septic and I delivered my son and he died, the worst part was watching the doctor cry because he had made a mistake and he really thought he let me die.

I remarried a couple of years later and my husband had never been married before and wanted children.  I had two older children from a previous marriage and was scared to try, but I got pregnant 2  years later.  I started bleeding one night and went to the ER in our local city, the doctors said it was me over reacting.  The next week at work, I started bleeding more and went to a large city hospital near us.  They immediately knew what was wrong with me - Placenta Previa and put me on complete bed rest for the rest of my pregnancy.

I had to switch ob's to an office near me since I couldn't drive and kept going into labor early and put in the hospital.  When I went into "final" labor, the only person on call was a NP she told me I wasn't in labor and sent me home to "walk" around LOL I went back the next day in full labor and another NP admitted me and induced labor.  
What she failed to realize was the cord was wrapped 2 or 3 times and I had partial placenta previa at that time - she never checked.  

When our son's heartbeat stopped they had to force me to have him or do emergency c section [which should have been done to begin with] I lost so much blood from some type of "feeders" inside that I have they had to go get 20 more towels just to stop it.  I really thought my husband was going to pass out :P

Our little giggling bundle of joy had this infectious laugh that made everyone around us smile or laugh.  Within a few months we knew something was wrong; we finally got a diagnosis after 18 mths - Autism probably trauma caused lack of blood & oxygen at birth.  This changed our lives and made us live a totally different way than we were used to.  

He's 8 now and I wouldn't change a thing, he still has the most infectious giggle and the pure innocence of a baby, probably always will.  We have gone through therapy 5 - 15 times a week since he was diagnosed which has helped us deal with his disability.

I went to my pcp 5 years ago with excruiating pain in my left kindey, passing out, sick to my stomach,  intense pain during intercourse, bleeding throughout the month.  The doctor filed his nails and said the tests show nothing wrong with you get up off the couch quit eating so much and you'll be ok.  Then said oh yes, you do have a fatty liver from high cholesterol without doing a cholesterol test [huh]

The next week I was in surgery for Endometrios, Adenomyosis & hundreds of uterine fibroids.  After surgery I lost 17 lbs during surgery just from the extra tissue  and was supposed to have a hysterectomy, but my insurance denied it since I didn't have cancer.

I switched pcp's and thought I found a great office; large medical clinic that had branches in areas near us.  I saw the drs there for a couple of years so I had a good reputation with them and trusted them.  One of them opened a "spa" and weightloss clinic - so I told him I wanted to lose 50 lbs.  Keep in mind he had been my pcp for 2 years, done all kinds of testing since 2005 and knew me well.  He put me on Phentermine and kept me on it for over 6 months, I lost 47 lbs.

I am now finding out that since 2005 with his initial EKG in his office I have had frequent PVC's and he signed off on that EKG in 2005 plus the EKG in April 2007 which should have sent me to a cardiologist & EP right then.

Doctors are human, overworked, stressed to the ends with us "patients" and may miss something or just plain over look something.  I as the patient know my body and am to blame for ignoring all the symptoms that are right in front of my face and have been for years.

I've attributed symptoms to being overly stressed, overweight,  over worked (at one point I had my own business on top of  4 children, and my husband's business, schools, therapy, and family)  It's so easy with our busy lives to just ignore things and say I'll deal with them later.  

When did my things change, what really happened in my body that made me go from "normal" and having frequent PVC's to now facing ablation or like Connie -  "PVC-induced cardiomyopathy."  

I went in a few weeks ago with 2 broken toes, if it had not been for the fall I had and sharp pain in my left back I may have never went to the doctor.  The EP I saw said I will go in heart failure in a very short period of time if I don't have surgery and the medication for me is extremely toxic.

The kicker here with me is, on the day of testing I wasn't having a bad day and my holter showed 54,000 extra beats over 24 hours - I can't wait to get my report and read it. He also said I'm having bigeminy's every 3rd beat consistently; and vt's which is amazing to me after I've researched - I think I'm still in shock .

the point to my rambling is this -- Listen to your bodies and keep on until you find someone who WILL listen to you, demand better care from your healthcare providers, there's plenty of doctors out there that want our money.  

There is very little research being done about PVC's in humans, when are they going to start to track whose gets worse or changes like mine?  Who is to say how many of us have had previous drs who say we're not having symptoms they're fine and tell us we're  ok?

Maybe we'll never know - but I'm one of those cases and it boils my blood thinking that my doctor could have helped me 2 - 4 years ago and didn't.

Ok sorry I'm done venting LOL  
[steps off her soapbox]

Sassie - I have talked to a guy on another board that had 40,000 - but haven't seen numbers over 32,000 on this board and have not found any yet above 50,000 like mine.

My EP said - if it's a consistent persistant thing like mine, then the heart is so overworked it starts to die and go into heart failure and cardiac arrest.  
He didn't elaborate on a specific number of months, but said "a very short period of time".  I'm going to ask the EP I see on Friday for specifics and hopefully get an answer.

Hopefully Friday I'll get some answers and head for surgery next week.

[Momto3]

WOW, that is some story Bon-Bon!  That would have scared me BIG time!!  Glad to hear you handled it so well and that you are feeling better : )

SassyLassie,
I had at least 20,000 PVC's/day for a LONG time, considered benign.  Other than having MVP with regurgitation, my heart was considered structurally normal.  I went for an annual echo (for the leaky valve), and imagine my shock when my doctor called to inform me I had developed cardiomyopathy.  WHAT??!!!  Long story short....I was diagnosed with "PVC-induced cardiomyopathy."  That meant I had to be on antiarrythmics or try ablation therapy.  After the initial shock, I tried the meds and eventually went for 2 ablations.  What an amazing difference in my life!!  That said, until the cardiomyopathy, ablation was not really on the table (so to speak...lol)

Hope you're doing well!

Connie  

[SassyLassie]

Well, I read somewhere in the heart rhythm archives that a poster had over twenty thousand a day. If memory serves me right, the doctor that answered said it is high, but in a structurally normal heart, it would not cause any problmes unless it went on for months on end. I was sure surprised. But, I guess considering the heart beats an average of  about 100,000 per day ... they tend not to take it too seriously.

For me, just one is way too much, I am afraid of them big time.

[Bon-Bon]

Do you know what my cariologist pulled on me a couple years ago? I'll tell you what he did.  I went in to get the results of my 24 holter monitor report.  I've never seen this doctor before; but, he was highly recommended.  He looked at the report, crasped his hands to his head, swung around in his chair and exclaimed to me that he never saw so many PVCs in his entire time of practice and that I could actually drop dead at any minute!! And that he could very well rush me into the operating room right now!!!  

Then, he immediately took my blood pressure like a crazed animal!  I didn't say a word.  I tried to appear and remain as calm as I could and allowed him to say and do all the testing he wanted.  After all the testing was completed, this doctor brought me back to the room to consult with me regarding the results and said with a crooked grin on his face, "Did I scare you?"  I told him, "A little bit; but, I knew what you were doing".  Then he said my heart was absolutely healthy, normal and the PVC's were begine.  He still highly suggested an ablation at a later date along with lifelong antiarrhythmic drugs, atenolol, daily aspirn, and cholesterol lowering drugs from now on.  I said, "No, thank you."  and haven't been back.  

I'm doing great and getting better everyday thanks be to God.    

[Momto3]

That's the way to do it!!  Those records are yours, and you are entitled to them : )

I didn't have a tilt table test, but many other members have had them.  Good luck with the test.  I hope your doctor understands why you felt it was important to seek a 2nd opinion....sheesh!

Keep me posted.  I hope you enjoy great success from the procedure!

[Mom2four85]

Well, I may be way off with interpreting his writing lol I think its a tilt table test?

I know that's the other thing they wanted done this week before surgery next Thurs - that was before I insulted them and wanted a second opinion.  I haven't heard back from his office to confirm the surgery appt time so maybe they are waiting for me to get back with them after my appt Friday.

Thanks for the info on the  ask a doctor section - I tried to find it and post but then reposted my original thing back in this forum lol sorry forum noobie.

I am going to call again for my test/reports and make sure I get a copy before I post to a doctor so I have all my facts straight.

[Momto3]

The expert forums are listed to the right.  There used to be a doctor on the Heart Rhythm forum (expert), but I don't think he has been online here for awhile.  Check through some of the older posts on the expert forum for more info from the docs.  Also, here is the link for the doctor's forum for "heart disease."  It is difficult to post a question because they only accept a couple/day, but worth a try.  I haven't posted in awhile, but it used to be that posting early in the morning (EST) gave you a better chance.
http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Heart-Disease/show/114

Not sure about "HUT theer"??
EPS is electrophysiology study and it can be done along with the ablation.  First they do the study to determine if any areas are ablatable.
Routine labs..not sure what the letters mean, but usually a regular blood panel, chem panel including potassium and magnesium.  Same as you have probably had in the past...piece of cake : )

When are you having the procedure done?'