Event Monitor Questions

quick cap up. for the last 4 months i started experiencing pvcs and pacs.   tons of tests done and supposedly everything is normal. my cardio now has me on an event monitor to be sure. this is my third week in the event study. when i feel a sensation i make a recording and call it in and they usually tell me "nothing to call the doctor about at this time"   this morning i took a walk and started feeling dizzy and dizziness felt like it turned to panic attack. heart felt fast. took a recording and called it in as usual. phone person said "nothing to call the doctor about right away" which is what they always say there. she then added "you caught some rhythms" and then i said what does that mean "sinus tachycardia" she responded that she can't get into details but nothing urgent. i however am freaked out  i'm used to sinus tachy i get it all the time when i get anxious i'm scared it may have been something other than sinus tachy. like svt or psvt or atrial tachy or something like that. question. if a rhythm was something other than sinus tachicardia even a short psvt or svt. would she not have said "nothing to call the doctor on at this time" ? or would something other than sinus tachy need to be checked out right away. i realize vt and stuff like that needs immediate attention i'm sure it wasnt that but i'm worried if it were svt or psvt or something. so far all i've had according to 2 holter tests were isolated pvcs like 10 a day and 5 pacs a day. i'm hoping i'm not starting to get other arrythmias. please help out with this.

[Happy2girls]

I hope I can provide you some reassurance.  I've had palpatations for quite awhile but last year they became more worrisome to me...more frequent, harder, and with other symptoms (dizziness, chest pressure, breathing troubles).  My doctor was initially concerned with my heart but after all test came back fine and a stress echo showed a structurally normal heart he put me on an event monitor for 2 weeks.  I had episodes of racing heart and dizziness also.  When I sat and went over the report with the doctor he said I had skipped and extra beats and occasional sinus tachyardia (hr over 100).  He said all these findings were benign since my heart is structurally normal.  He thinks that maybe when I noticed a change in the frequency of the palps I developed anxiety.  We've ruled out quite a number of things and so I have somewhat accepted the anxiety diagnosis.  I know it's tough but all that worry is a killer.  I wish you the best of luck.      

[Michaelccc]

thanks for your response. i know what you feel. i'm very used to sinus tachy. which is basically a racing heart from being nervous. what i'm concerned about is that this last feeling i had was more than just a racing heart. like PSVT . i'm curious if it were PSVT would the lady taking the reading over the phone of my event monitor have told me to go to a hospital or check on it right away? i know most people don't consider something like PSVT that dangerous but i still need to know. 4 the past 4 months i've been told pvcs but rhythm always sinus. i want to make sure that still stands. rhythm sinus.

[Happy2girls]

I am not sure what company you are calling your events into.  Mine just would say "thank you we got it." when I called an event in.  But then they would send a report to my doctor and he would have a cardiologist read it.  My feeling is that your doctor would call you if the event was serious.  If you are very worried then I would suggest you contact the doctor who ordered the event monitor for you.  I have to run but I wish you some peace of mind.  Take care.  

[Michaelccc]

yeah thats what they say to me "thank you got it" "nothng to inform the doctor about right away"   i want to call my cardio and ask him what that lady meant with "nothing to worry about at this minute"   " we caught some rhythms" what is that supposed to mean?  sinus tachy rhythms or arrythmia of some sort like psvt or atrial tachy or whatever.   my cardio is gone out of town till tuesday or something and i'm freaking out to find out whether its something more than just a racing heart

[dolfnlvr]

One of the things I think most aggravate these things is worrying about them.  And, while the event monitor is necessary to catch the things, It is a MAJOR source of anxiety.  First you feel the palps, then you listen as they are recorded, then you have to REPLAY them over the phone and by that time you are a nervous wreck.  Now, while I am the FIRST to say that the initial cause of the arhythmia was probably not anxiety, the subsequent fretting does increase their potency.  If for no other reason then that you pay such close attention to them.

You can always tell when I'm experiencing something, because you'll see me holding my wrist non-chalantly (really watching my pulse).  I've gone through cycles for 6 years now where I feel fine, then they come upon me out of nowhere and I think "Somethings got to be wrong...this is just not right."  I go to the doc, they run all the tests again, and during the event monitor my symptoms are often at their worst.  When I get the diagnosis of "it's still okay," they usually calm down considerably.

I think you really are fine.  If you think it would ease your mind, go ahead and call the cardiologist--or your primary care physician.  They get the reports too.  They can "officially" tell you to not worry, that it is bothersome, and can affect you, but that you won't drop dead (at least from the arhythmias) any time soon, and perhaps it will help you relax a bit.  

Trust me....if it were something life or death, you wouldn't have to call them...they'd be calling you.

Take care.  I hope you get through this round soon.

  

[Momto3]

You would hear from the doctor if the "event" were of any concern.  The customer service rep. is not in a position to diagnose or interpret the event strip.  However, he/she will pass the "events" along to the doctor for diagnosis and interpretation.  As long as you're feeling something and are calling in the events, the doctor will be able to "see" if anything is going on.  Can you call in up to 4 at a time, or do you have to call each event in, individually?  You might try calling your doctor's office to ask for the actual interpretation.  At least you'll know that the doctor "sees" what you "feel".  Then maybe you'll be able to get past the anxiety.

[ireneo]

It looks like you're pretty concerned that the regular SVT has turned into PSVT. Well, PSVT isn't all that dangerous either. I suppose if it's over 200 and going on for a couple of hours, that would be a problem. Most people feel so lousy with something like that they end up going in to have it converted back to normal sinus rhythm.

I have PSVT, seems to be running about 190 lately, happens a few times a week but is brief - usually less than a minute. I'm fine, my doc thinks I'm fine. When I go for my checkup every other year she asks how my heart is doing, I say it's the same as always and that's the end of discussion. So even if you do have small bursts of PSVT, the doctor will tell you that it's OK. Feels weird but it's OK.

[kitcurious]

My cardioloist told me that they put the results on his desk every morning. If anything were of concern they would have called.

[Michaelccc]

thanks for the input i appreciate it. however i am trying to find out if i have been getting anything besides sinus tachy or single pvcs or pacs.  i'm just wondering if a psvt shows up on these monitors when you call them in do they just pass it along to the doctor till next morning or would they call it in right away or tell you to go to ER?   i just can't wait to find out from my doc what they meant by "we caughts rhythms"  he won't be back till a week from now. if someone has experience with psvt maybe they can tell me how their holter monitor people responded to their reports. were they told to go to doc right away or doc contacted right away?

[Happy2girls]

Just a thought...have you tried the website of the company that is doing the monitoring?  It may outline what their technicians can and can't do.  I know the people who provided my service (sorry can't think of the name just now) had a website.  Anyway, it's worth a shot.  Good luck.  

[ireneo]

I've worn Holter monitors and King of Hearts event monitors. Even when I "caught" some nasty PSVT's and phoned them in, no comment was made, no response from the doctor until I had the appt. with him/her. And that was even back before any ablations when my heart would race for almost an hour at a time. I waited for the appt. with the cardio, he said I could try meds or do an ablation. But it wasn't life threatening. That confused me a bit - the PSVT wouldn't kill me but he was recommending some weird kind of procedue (the ablation). I actually fought with him over that LOL

[kitcurious]

If anything threatening is in your test it is highly likely that the ( always overly sensitive) computer analysis will alert the techs and you will be informed.
I'm sure you are fine. And in that likely case it may be good to accept that you are fine and move on.

It is better to concetrate your energy on regulating risk factors.  This can prevent you from getting actual heart disease in the future. Many people spend years wasting their time and charging up emotions before they realize that healthy hearts with minor ectopics simply cannot be convoluted into heart conditions.

Hope all turns out well.

[Michaelccc]

thanks kit. well i'm trying to find out if   PSVT  is one of those conditions you mention . would the techs inform me if i had a   psvt  ?  or would they just send it to the doc as a non priority to be looked at later on?   the reason im asking is because for some reason i suspect i felt a psvt.  my heart was beating normally and then sped up . im not sure if it sped up from anxiety or psvt .. also i know that psvt can mimick a panic attack and lots of people get misdiagnosed with panic disorder when in fact its psvt.  if it is psvt im' concerned because that requires an ablation. so basically long story short im trying to find out if i have more than just  pvc's and pac's those really don't scare me anymore.  and like i said i really cannot wait to get an answer from cardio a week from now. i'm hoping that those event monitor people are required to inform you if you have a psvt or an arrythmia rather than wait for the doc to go over the findings days later. i mean obviously if they see a v-tach they would tell you "get your butt to the ER" but how are other rhythms treated by these techs?

[ireneo]

I'm not sure PSVT has to be treated by ablation. It all depends on how much it interferes with your life. If you can't do normal activities, tend to pass out because the rate is so high, then they'll probably recommend an ablation. I've had the arrhythmias all my life and I'm in my 50's now. The docs never did anything about them years ago (back in the stone age lol). It wasn't until the year 2000 when I got a new primary care doc that sent me to a cardio. That's when I first heard about ablations. But some folks just manage their PSVT with meds or even do nothing if it doesn't happen very often or is brief (less than 15 minutes). For years I just used the valsalva maneuver to turn them off. Any way, if you have a short burst of PSVT, I doubt the techs will mention it.

[Michaelccc]

that is my question and concern. would the techs in fact not mention it over the phone if i did have psvt? for all i know i had sinus tachy that night. but for some reason i felt like there was more. and the tech says "nothing to contact the doctor about at this moment" and then "we caught some rhythms"   when i asked what this means she said nothing. and they are not allowed to go into details. rhythms can also mean a racing heart i'm sure. but i just want to know if that is all it was. i did reading on psvts and find out they cause panic attack like symptoms that is why i feel like i may have had it. i was taking a slow walk that night stopped and my heart started racing. not sure if it was anxiety or an arrythmia (psvt or whatever)    .   i realieze that sometimes you dont need an ablation for things such as psvt. i just want to know if i do or do not have this or any other arrythmia besides the rare daily pvcs and pacs.  so again any idea if they mention these things on the tech end when called in? i mean if it were psvts would they expect you to know how to cardiovert yourself?

[peekawho]

It was nothing life threatening.  I just got off a month long event monitor.  A couple of times they said it was a critical reading, and asked for the phone # where I was so that they could contact the doctor and then me.  
It was actually never really critical, just beyond the parameters set by the doctor.  The doc gets a report frequently, too, that contains the actual strips that were recorded.  

In my case, the doctor got tired of always being called, so he changed the parameters.  After that, I always got the "thanks, we got it" statement.  

[deedle1976]

Did you ever find out what the rhythm you caught was?