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More tests needed?
Hello everyone,
I am new and reading this forum with anxiety and relief. Its nice to have found you, but I still feel i have a lot of questions as I deal with irregular beats and new changes to my PVC's. I hope you can help.
A couple of years ago (age 34) I started noticing an irregular heartbeat. It would be a skipped beat followed by three fast beats. This would occur randomly and usually in sets of three or four then disappear as adrenaline kicked in when I took a pulse. It felt so scary as if there was an empty, "dropping" sensation in my chest. I went in to see my family doctor who did a 24 holter monitor for me. He told me it was PVC's and not to worry. I was still a little unsure, so I decided to go see a cardiologist. He did an EKG and found my heart to be structurally normal although he did see a mitral valve "squirt" (so he called it) going on that he wants to monitor every few years. I had the family dr send the cardiologist the results of the holter. I assume he reviewed the results, but did not say anything specific about the irregular beat except that the skipped beats were PVC's and to not worry.
Eventually I was able to wrap my mind around this and go on with life. I am in very good health, eating well and getting exercise. I do not drink alcohol or any caffeinated drinks, nor eat alot of chocolate. I do come from a history of heart attacks, high blood pressure and cholesterol which puts me on alert. I've been on and off blood pressure meds for the last five years and am currently off them with BP that is just a few points high (low 90's/low 130's) and no other medications.
In the last few months I noticed the PVC's increasing here and there but nothing too bad. But in the last week I feel I have had PVC's every time I check my pulse. They are not the pattern I recognized before (skipped beat then three fast beats), but even more irregular... normal beats, slow skipped beats (I've counted up to 8 in row) then normal pulse for a couple beats, then back to a couple of skips, etc. I've also experience a really, really slow pulse with skips. The past couple of days my pulse resting was 40's when its usually in the 80's. I take my BP often with a home machine and it monitors heart rate as well. Two days ago it was hard for the machine to even get a reading since the beats were so slow and irregular. That was a scarry day as I just felt bad... dizzy, anxious, cold hands. It felt like my heart was struggling to even beat being so slow. I fought the urge to go to the hospital and cried when my husband got home. After a good night's sleep, I did feel better the next day, although the PVC's do continue.
Anyhow, I have made an appointment to go back in and see the cardiologist. His earliest appointment is over a month away, so I guess that is ok. I'm thinking another holter or even an event monitor would be a good thing to do, but i am not sure what to even ask for. I for sure want him to at least talk through my first holter results and explain what happened then as opposed to what is happening now.
If anyone has any suggestions on what to ask him or ideas on what I am experiencing I appreciate it very much. In the meantime, I am thinking calm, positive thoughts and trying to beat down any anxiety.
I am new and reading this forum with anxiety and relief. Its nice to have found you, but I still feel i have a lot of questions as I deal with irregular beats and new changes to my PVC's. I hope you can help.
A couple of years ago (age 34) I started noticing an irregular heartbeat. It would be a skipped beat followed by three fast beats. This would occur randomly and usually in sets of three or four then disappear as adrenaline kicked in when I took a pulse. It felt so scary as if there was an empty, "dropping" sensation in my chest. I went in to see my family doctor who did a 24 holter monitor for me. He told me it was PVC's and not to worry. I was still a little unsure, so I decided to go see a cardiologist. He did an EKG and found my heart to be structurally normal although he did see a mitral valve "squirt" (so he called it) going on that he wants to monitor every few years. I had the family dr send the cardiologist the results of the holter. I assume he reviewed the results, but did not say anything specific about the irregular beat except that the skipped beats were PVC's and to not worry.
Eventually I was able to wrap my mind around this and go on with life. I am in very good health, eating well and getting exercise. I do not drink alcohol or any caffeinated drinks, nor eat alot of chocolate. I do come from a history of heart attacks, high blood pressure and cholesterol which puts me on alert. I've been on and off blood pressure meds for the last five years and am currently off them with BP that is just a few points high (low 90's/low 130's) and no other medications.
In the last few months I noticed the PVC's increasing here and there but nothing too bad. But in the last week I feel I have had PVC's every time I check my pulse. They are not the pattern I recognized before (skipped beat then three fast beats), but even more irregular... normal beats, slow skipped beats (I've counted up to 8 in row) then normal pulse for a couple beats, then back to a couple of skips, etc. I've also experience a really, really slow pulse with skips. The past couple of days my pulse resting was 40's when its usually in the 80's. I take my BP often with a home machine and it monitors heart rate as well. Two days ago it was hard for the machine to even get a reading since the beats were so slow and irregular. That was a scarry day as I just felt bad... dizzy, anxious, cold hands. It felt like my heart was struggling to even beat being so slow. I fought the urge to go to the hospital and cried when my husband got home. After a good night's sleep, I did feel better the next day, although the PVC's do continue.
Anyhow, I have made an appointment to go back in and see the cardiologist. His earliest appointment is over a month away, so I guess that is ok. I'm thinking another holter or even an event monitor would be a good thing to do, but i am not sure what to even ask for. I for sure want him to at least talk through my first holter results and explain what happened then as opposed to what is happening now.
If anyone has any suggestions on what to ask him or ideas on what I am experiencing I appreciate it very much. In the meantime, I am thinking calm, positive thoughts and trying to beat down any anxiety.
My cardiologist's nurse called me back and left a message that they are going to mail me an event monitor to use prior to my appointment. So, that is a good thing.
I cannot figure out if this is a figment of my imagination since I am focusing alot of attention on my heart, but thought I would ask anyhow. Does anyone ever feels twinges of slight pain in the heart with PVC's or mitral valve leaks. Its obviously quite minor if I am not even sure its happening, but its on my mind. Of course I would have rushed to have it checked if I thought it were serious so its definitely minor if happening at all.
I cannot figure out if this is a figment of my imagination since I am focusing alot of attention on my heart, but thought I would ask anyhow. Does anyone ever feels twinges of slight pain in the heart with PVC's or mitral valve leaks. Its obviously quite minor if I am not even sure its happening, but its on my mind. Of course I would have rushed to have it checked if I thought it were serious so its definitely minor if happening at all.
Yes, once you wear the monitor and catch whats going on, your cardio an refer you to an EP if necessary. Good Luck getting an appt quickly!
I'm going to call my cardiologist today. Maybe they can get me in on someone else's cancellation. Then I guess he can refer me if needed to an EP?
Hi Welcome to the club. If you don't want to wait 30 days, can you call you primary DR and advise him there has been a change in your pvc's and ask for the monitor? That way you will have caught some activity and have something to show the cardiologist. PVC's are very scary and can drive us crazy. The anxiety feeds them and its a vicious cycle. I hope you can get answer and stop to feel better. Good Luck!
From what I read---mvp is related to the pvcs. Basically most people with mvp has pvcs, but then again others without mvp do also. The type of cardiologst that deals with the rythm issues is and electrophysiologist (I hope I spelled it right)_lol. Basically we refer to him as an EP.
Thank you very much for the information. When i get in to see him, I am going to request a 30 day event recorder and also some more details from my doctor on how he graded the severity of the "squirt". I got the feeling he didn't want to tell me more than i needed to know, which in my case may be good because I get so worked up about it.
Do you have any idea if the mitral regurgitation causes the PVC's or if they are tied in any way?
Also, is there a special kind of cardiologist that might be best suited to check this for me?
Do you have any idea if the mitral regurgitation causes the PVC's or if they are tied in any way?
Also, is there a special kind of cardiologist that might be best suited to check this for me?
I wanted to clarify--I did not mean too many runs cause cardiomyopathy. Too many pvcs is what I meant. Get a copy of your report as soon as you can and tell us what it says. Like how many pvcs, any runs etc...
HI there. Welcome to the club noone wants to join. lol Remember I am not a doc and on my bad days I FREAK out like we all do at times here. lol Today is a good day :)
Mitral valve prolapse or mitral or tricuspid regurgitation (or squirts lol) are rated as to how bad they are or are not. Usually mild mod severe. If your was severe, I would hope he would have told you, so I am assuming its mild like mine. I have all the above. If mild, with all those things, they will still call it a normal heart structure. I have known about mine since 1994 and it has not changed at all. Most peoples dont change. The pvcs you are mentioning, its hard to know if you are actually having runs or not--and that has to be determined. Since they come and go in severity all the time, I would do a 30 day event recorder. Its much better than 24 hours--in that you push the button when you feel something scary and they will tell you what it is and if its super dangerous they will call you in. The pvcs all feel differently for everything. Some get a hard kick in the chest, some flutters, some take the breath away etc... I was told the sensation is not a determining factor to their "danger". Half the population has them. Most are benign. Some--runs need to be checked out. If too many (10,000) in 24 hours--they will check for cardiomyopathy. The runs--you may or may not be having--the monitor will help you to know and get familiar with them. I will stop for now incase others are posting as to not overwhelm you. Ask quesitons--please--we all can answer
Mitral valve prolapse or mitral or tricuspid regurgitation (or squirts lol) are rated as to how bad they are or are not. Usually mild mod severe. If your was severe, I would hope he would have told you, so I am assuming its mild like mine. I have all the above. If mild, with all those things, they will still call it a normal heart structure. I have known about mine since 1994 and it has not changed at all. Most peoples dont change. The pvcs you are mentioning, its hard to know if you are actually having runs or not--and that has to be determined. Since they come and go in severity all the time, I would do a 30 day event recorder. Its much better than 24 hours--in that you push the button when you feel something scary and they will tell you what it is and if its super dangerous they will call you in. The pvcs all feel differently for everything. Some get a hard kick in the chest, some flutters, some take the breath away etc... I was told the sensation is not a determining factor to their "danger". Half the population has them. Most are benign. Some--runs need to be checked out. If too many (10,000) in 24 hours--they will check for cardiomyopathy. The runs--you may or may not be having--the monitor will help you to know and get familiar with them. I will stop for now incase others are posting as to not overwhelm you. Ask quesitons--please--we all can answer
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