Aa
Can somebody help me???
Hello,
I am 46, a little heavy, not in great shape - but trying to change. I've had heart palpatation for at least 15 years, but never really worried about them up until this past year. This past year they began to increase in frequency and a new symptom was added. When I exert myself, I get a quick "shock" or pain in the center of my chest that lasts approximately 2 to 3 seconds. Scary.
This past week everything changed... Those quick "shocks" began happening when I was sitting down and more frequently. When the chest pain wouldn't stop, I went to Urgent Care where they gave me a 48 hour Holtor Monitor.
The test results were:
* Rare ventricular ectopies of 8 beats
* 2 runs of SVT with the longest run at 20 beats (with an average of 168 beats) The SVT was during chest pain
(noted in my diary).
* Bradycardia at night (45 beats)
The doctor called and said I need to have further testing done because SVT can be potentially "dangerous."
Here are my questions:
1. Is SVT a sign (at my age and condition) that I may have heart disease?
2. Is SVT with chest pain more dangerous than SVT without chest pain?
3. Could I drop dead due to an SVT episode?
4. Should I be concerned about Bradycardia and that my HR drops to 45 at night?
5. Should I be concerned that my HR is often in the low 50's in the morning hours?
Thank you for your ANY input or opinions. =)
I am 46, a little heavy, not in great shape - but trying to change. I've had heart palpatation for at least 15 years, but never really worried about them up until this past year. This past year they began to increase in frequency and a new symptom was added. When I exert myself, I get a quick "shock" or pain in the center of my chest that lasts approximately 2 to 3 seconds. Scary.
This past week everything changed... Those quick "shocks" began happening when I was sitting down and more frequently. When the chest pain wouldn't stop, I went to Urgent Care where they gave me a 48 hour Holtor Monitor.
The test results were:
* Rare ventricular ectopies of 8 beats
* 2 runs of SVT with the longest run at 20 beats (with an average of 168 beats) The SVT was during chest pain
(noted in my diary).
* Bradycardia at night (45 beats)
The doctor called and said I need to have further testing done because SVT can be potentially "dangerous."
Here are my questions:
1. Is SVT a sign (at my age and condition) that I may have heart disease?
2. Is SVT with chest pain more dangerous than SVT without chest pain?
3. Could I drop dead due to an SVT episode?
4. Should I be concerned about Bradycardia and that my HR drops to 45 at night?
5. Should I be concerned that my HR is often in the low 50's in the morning hours?
Thank you for your ANY input or opinions. =)
Hi Cindy,
Thank you for your input...
1. Since I'm not in great shape - I do worry it's caused by a heart related issue. Especially since I have Bradycardia with SVT AND chest pain. Ugh. :(
2. You're right. No chest pain can be good and that's why I'm extremely worried.
3. I sure hope not!!! LOL!!! I actually went to urgent care and the doctor there was convinced I had heart burn or a GI disturbance. I told him I had NO history of that. I only knew I had chest pains and heart palpatations. Before I left, he offered me a Holter Monitor. That is when I found out that I had both SVT and Bradycardia.
4. Yesterday, my HR stayed around 48 to 54 ALL day. That worries me. I'm not in great shape and I'm not an athlete. I wish I understood more about Bradycardia in people who are middle-aged and NOT athletes.
Thankfully, I just got a referral for a cardiologist, but probably won't be seen until early September. That really stinks that I have to wait so long. :(
Thank you again for your input and kind words,
MoDoLo
Thank you for your input...
1. Since I'm not in great shape - I do worry it's caused by a heart related issue. Especially since I have Bradycardia with SVT AND chest pain. Ugh. :(
2. You're right. No chest pain can be good and that's why I'm extremely worried.
3. I sure hope not!!! LOL!!! I actually went to urgent care and the doctor there was convinced I had heart burn or a GI disturbance. I told him I had NO history of that. I only knew I had chest pains and heart palpatations. Before I left, he offered me a Holter Monitor. That is when I found out that I had both SVT and Bradycardia.
4. Yesterday, my HR stayed around 48 to 54 ALL day. That worries me. I'm not in great shape and I'm not an athlete. I wish I understood more about Bradycardia in people who are middle-aged and NOT athletes.
Thankfully, I just got a referral for a cardiologist, but probably won't be seen until early September. That really stinks that I have to wait so long. :(
Thank you again for your input and kind words,
MoDoLo
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1. No not necessarity...there are literally millions of people out there who suffer from SVT and i had it pretty bad a few years ago and chose to have an ablation to correct it and a couple of other things and now it is just a memory for me. I am well within normal weight limits for my age, height, etc. and in my mid 50's. Most times SVT is electrical based and one of those things that we have alot of options in correcting thru our docs via meds, fairly non invasive surgeries, etc.
2. Only your doc can really answer this one...it could be a little angina popping up with it and may be benign however no chest pain is good for any of us and needs to be looked at by a doc.
3. I think that the chances of you dropping dead are fairly remote...or we all would have. It takes alot to stop the heart and the thing to really remember is that if your doc in the least suspected that the possiblibity were there there is no way you would be posting this right now. Bad news always comes fast w. heart docs and they are the first in the doctor pool to put heart pts. in hospitals. So if he/she really felt there was a major risk for sudden death you i am sure would be in a CCU right now.
4. Your bradycardia at that number is pretty minimal. I try to put things into perspective and remember that Lance Armstrongs resting pulse rate as many pro athletes are in the upper 30's on a regular basis and their bodies accept this. If the lower pulse rate is at nite when you are most rested it makes sense. Our hearts have to rest at nite just like our bodies so its not surprising to me when we see or read about peoples rates being low during the nite.
5. Again refer to number 4...in the morning you are just getting started and like most of us fairly slowly...we have not peaked like we do mid day and a heart rate in the 50's for most docs doesn't alarm them.
Don't scare yourself here my friend...you have to wait until the docs are all done w. their tests and i am very surprised that any doc out there would tell any pt. that SVT can be potentially dangerous to you and then say okay go to the desk, pay your bill and go on home. The thing is that you said that an urgent care doc is doing all of this. Now are we talking about a heart doc or an urgent care doc? You seriously need to get a referral to your very own heart doc from them. E.R, docs and urgent care docs go by the creed of treat em and street em which means its only for acute cases and then they are supposed to refer you out. I have never heard of an E,R, doc or urgent care doc doing follow ups w. something like this....you may want to ask them to refer you to a good cardio doc in your area. And i hope and pray that this was a heart doc that ordered all of these tests for you and are giving you the results.....get pro active and protect yourself here...build a relationship w. a heart doc that will get all of your medical records and plan a course of action for you...this is to me what happens when docs don't follow what i believe is protocol in referring out of an acute care facility...good luck but unless i am missing something here i don't see alot of red flags...except for the doctor in my personal opinion..