Check for arrhythmia through your pulse at home???

[JamesAA]

I thought I might have a condition known as "heart block" (not the same as blocked arteries) but my cardiologist thinks it's highly unlikely based on my symptoms or lack there of.  He did say I could come in for an ECG however to know for sure.  

When I check my pulse on my wrist it's steady, feels normal and the beats are consistently spaced apart.  It just feels normal.  Does that say/mean anything?  In other words is that sort of a layman's ECG?  Or could one have a "normal" feeling, normal spaced out pulse but "bad" ECG, if that makes sense?

Thanks,
James

[spade22]

I agree w/ Michelle comments.

-A 30 day event monitor would be a good tool for you and your doctor to use to capture any events you feel.  You can push the button when you feel dizzy or after you feel like "the power went out" - the monitors have a short term recording loop and are able to record from about 1 min "before" you push the button until sometime after you have pushed the button (so you dont need to push the button at the exact moment of the event to capture it!)

-Getting short of breath when exercising vigorously is not abnormal.  If this is something new to you though, that might warrant some additional testing.

[MichelleP_3811]

I am not a doctor but I believe that heart block would normally show up fairly consistently on an ekg though I would assume it is possible if it is just at the beginning stages it might not be persistant so what you have now may be too intermittent to be caught on a normal ekg so I would say ask for an event recorder that you would wear for 30 days.  That is if you believe you have these at least once a month otherwise you may be wasting your time at this point unfortuantely but if you get lucky and have an episode while the montior is on this should give your doctor a pretty good idea of whether what you are experiencing is indeed heart related or not.  Make sure you get full directions on the monitor because mine was self triggered, I had to hit the button when I felt something and then phone the results in while others may trigger on their own if something is sensed but also give you the option to record if you feel something.   In any event, you may not be having enough troubling symptoms to need to really do anything about what is going on but I think it might be worth trying to catch since you seem to sense a momentary loss of consciousness type feeling.  Unfortunately though if it is very rare you may struggle to get it diagnosed.

As for getting winded while running, if you are not in good physical shape, exercising on a regular basis, it is not uncommon to become short of breath farily quickly.  The real issue would be if you don't recover quickly.  Your heart rate should drop at a pretty steady rate once the exertion is stopped.  It may stay a bit more elevated than normal for a time after if you exerted yourself for an extended amount of time but if your heart rate is dropping at a good rate once you stop then I doubt you have anything you need to worry about though if you are concerned you can ask your doctor  for a stress test to see how your heart responds to exertion.   This said, you do need to make sure you are properly hydrated when exercising.  If you are not it is surely going to raise your heart rate and make you dizzy.  I see you do state that you exercise on a regular basis but from what I understand there is a bit of science behind workouts so I would maybe try and consult a physical trainer and make sure how you are working out is actually helping to improve your stamina.  They may even have enough experience to know whether or not you are having good cardio output or if you should get your heart checked further.  Might be worth a shot and a bit cheaper initially then running out for some expensive heart tests.    Take care.

[JamesAA]

P.S.  I've been having unusual bouts of dizziness/light headedness lately too (for the past 4-6 weeks).  Not all day.  In fact only a couple times a day, but they could last up to 45 mintues.  I think it may be anxiety related though but it does happen when I'm totally calm and HR is NOT beating rapidly (from like a panic attack).  Nonetheless some people claim anxiety, even if you're heart is beating normally, can still cause dizziness.  I don't know.

[JamesAA]

A few times a year, almost always while I'm sitting at the PC or watching TV I get this split second lapses almost like the power went out.  It's surreal and hard to explain.  A cardio told me it could be a PVC or heart block.  I do get PVCs but I'm one of those persons that can feel all my PVCs and these weird "power outages" are never when I have PVCs.  So then I thought maybe heart block?  But my Dr. said that I'd have a tough time exercising and that my HR would not get high during exercise if I had a serious heart block.  My HR gets high when I exercise.  But I do get short of breath after running up and down the bball court a couple times, more than other players.  Of course I'm 38 and many of the other players are 20 something.  Still I see older guys in their 50s run back and forth seemingly easier than me.  And I'm not fat and I exercise 5x/week (3x/week of cardio).  So you'd think I shouldn't get up to 175 bpm after a few sprints up and down the court....but I do, and when I do get to 175 I need a second to catch my breath.  Somehow that feels like something must be wrong with me even though my doc doesn't seem too concerned.

[spade22]

What makes you think you might have a heart block?

[spade22]

I have a second degree heart block, type I.  I definitely know when this happens (I have an intermittent  block) and have symptoms such  as uneasiness,  my heart rate slows to the low 50's, and I can feel my heart beating in an irregular pattern in a regular way (ie the irregular pattern is repetitive).  Higher degree heart blocks tend to have other, more severe, symptoms such as shortness of breath, dizziness etc and an irregular heartbeat.  

I believe a person with a first degree heart block has a regular heart beat but there are certain features on an EKG that will identify the condition so yes, a person can have a regular pulse and have a 1st degree heart block.

First degree heart blocks are considered benign and do not require treatment and in most cases a second degree heart block, type I doesn't require treatment unless certain symptoms occur.  Second degree type II and third degree heart blocks require treatment with a third degree Heart block requiring urgent intervention.