Heart Block?

[Coasterdon]

Hello
About 15 years ago I started having irregular heartbeats.  I had lots of tests.  Echo, several stress and monitors.  It took several years but I finally caught it on a trip to the ER.  They said it was benign but if it baothered me I could take a beta blocker.  I went on the Beta Blockers and haven't felt them in a while.  I alwasy have a yearly physical etc.

This year my Dr changed and I was given meds for high blood pressure.  On a visit the Dr took my pulse and said it was not regular.  She was aware of my prior issues but sent me for an EKG to make sure.

Teh next visit was a new Dr and I asked him about the EKG.  He said I had heart block but it was nothing to worry about.  I was so shocked by that name that I didn't say anything.  

Now I guess I should ask him for details because I have huge anxiety issues.  This is just adding to them.  Recently I have been feeling lousy.  I sweat even with just housework.  But sometimes I don't.  I had some odd Thyroid numbers recently also but they have improved.  Could this sweating be due to this heart block?

Don

[achillea]

My PVC are caused by a small patch of hyperactive cardiac cells in one place in my heart.  They are not caused by my first degree heart block, which has no symptoms at all.

Heart block has two major causes.  One is congenital:  This is due to the type of wiring of the heart that you are born with, and it cannot be changed by diet, exercise, and so on.  

The other is called 'Acquired,'  and can be caused by things like damage from a heart attack or rheumatic fever or inflammation of the heart muscle itself--generally bad stuff that makes you sick and that your cardiologist would have detected.  It can be caused by heart surgery, too.  

However, heart block can in fact be caused by some drugs, including beta blockers, and you should ask your cardiologist about this possibility.  If the beta blockers did cause it, then it *might* go away if the beta blockers are stopped (no guarantee).  But remember that if your heart block is 'congenital,' it won't go away even if you discontinue the meds.

The most important thing about your heart block is for you to educate yourself about it.  You need to ask your doc what kind you have (first-degree, second-degree, or what) and *then* you need to read about that.

The next most important thing is to what extent it's responsible for your feeling 'lousy.'  Generally, first degree heart block causes no symptoms, and if that's the type you have, then maybe you have to look for other causes for feeling sickish.

Thyroid problems can certainly make a person feel awful, and it's something to mention right off the top when you're discussing feeling lousy.  You, as the patient, have to ask what your thyroid values are and try to understand them, because certain high or low values are truly relevant to symptoms like fatigue and sweating.

Some patients are more comfortable not knowing these details, but these will be the people who are in the dark and always anxious for lack of understanding.

[Coasterdon]

Thanks for the comments.

I will talk to my Dr.

  Achillea I notice you have PVC's etc also.  Are these caused by the heart block?  Can HB go away if you improve your health such as more exercise and lose weight?  I have been on Beta Blockers for 10 years.  Can they cause this?  I knew I had pvc's etc but this is the first I have heard the term HB so it reved up the anxiety.  I know he said it was nothing to worry about but that's not easy.  I also have GERD and my thyroid TSH goes up and down.  My feet are freezing all the time.  I think that is thyroid and I was thinking maybe the sweating has something to do with it also.  Maybe my furnace is out of whack.

  

Thanks

[achillea]

There are several different types of heart block, which you can google.  First-degree heart block, the most minor of them, which I have, is so insignificant (in an otherwise healthy heart) that it is considered common and pretty close to normal.  Most doctors just make a note of this one is passing, and since your doc was unfazed about yours, the chances are that this is what you have.  As a responsible patient, you should ask your doc what kind you have, to be sure of what is being discussed.

The sweating you describe does not happen with mild heart block.  It does happen with anxiety and panic, though.  It can also happen with hyperthyroidism, but you need to know and understand your numbers in order to look for that as a cause.

[Bromley]

Is could be due to alot of things, and some anxiety under the circumstances would certainly be understandable.

Anxiety tends to diminish when you play an active roll in managing your life. I suggest being a little more proactive in managing your health care.  I am disappointed when a doctors office help doesn't follow up to give me test results,  but when it happens,  I go research what happened. I also don't just let my doctor change to someone new unless I am actively looking to change. Changing too much causes some loss of continuity.