Palpations and handheld ECG

A couple years ago I went in for an EKG complaining of the intermittent sensation of a disproportionately strong heartbeat. My GP said it was nothing to worry about but I didn’t have the sensation during the EKG, so I don’t know if it was recorded. I have been feeling the sensation more often recently and acquired a hand-held ECG to get an idea what is going on (and have something to show the Doc if it doesn’t show up on-demand again). The attached image shows three traces; the first shows the events I feel, the second and third show both the event I feel and another event I only discovered with the handheld ECG. I have no noticeable symptoms other than the palpations.

Are these more-or-less normal occurrences or something I should worry about?

Thank you,
-Brian

[is_something_wrong]

I can try to interpret them, but I'm not an expert. But you have posted the tracings on this community, so an answer would probably be fair even if it may be wrong.

Strip 1: Sinus rhytm with PVCs or aberrant PACs (impossible to tell for sure on a 1 lead EKG) in trigeminy. Probably PVCs as they have a long coupling interval.

Strip 2: Sinus rhythm with multifocal PVCs with variable coupling interval in bigeminy, some of them with retrograde atrial activation.

Strip 3: Multifocal PVCs and multifocal PACs that partly replace the sinus rhythm.

I would definitely show those EKG strips to my doctor. If this happens all the time, it's somewhat abnormal, if not necessarily dangerous (I doubt it is, but I'm not a physician).

[Mom2four85]

I have no clue how to read EKG's even being shown what mine are I still don't know what I'm looking at, so I'm no help but Is_something_wrong does so he's probably spot on with what they are...best to get that checked out just to be safe...

Is it possible for you to go to a cardiologist? if your insurance allows I would make an appt with a cardio and ask him to do a full cardiac workup...esp a holter or other monitor that may pick up what's going on and give him your strips you've ran - I've found an EKG is only as good as the minute it's recording.

do you get any symptoms with these episodes or without them? if so, keep a log/journal of dates, times, symptoms and what you were doing at the time to help pinpoint a cause

also; if you haven't I would ask for some blood tests to make sure all your systems are in check including electrolytes

btw, what handheld ECG machine is that? I'd love to find one =)

[curmudgen]

check out amazon.com for  - Portable ECG Monitor - less than 200.  I think it would make me crazier to be recording my arrhythmias.

[is_something_wrong]

Yes, I've often considered buying one, but I think I would go crazy. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

I even refused to get an Iphone 4 because you can buy an EKG app that only requires some equipment you connect to the phone. That would be really bad. I have an app to my phone now that register the pulse waves and I often find myself measuring the heart rate and carefully studying the pulse waves to determine if my blood vessels are as flexible as they are supposed to.

So that's not a good idea. At least I've accepted that I can't measure  the QT time by looking at the pulse wave, hehe.

[is_something_wrong]

Lol, Lisa, I can't wait until you start posting hundreds of EKG strips here for interpretation ;) I really need some time for work too, so please don't buy one :)

[Mom2four85]

I have a few new EKg's I haven't posted; just been too sick and frustrated w/dr's to even try with WTH is going on; took me weeks to even get my last results copied over...

I wanted to know the name of his so I can compare and his seems to work well so if I have a name/model # it would help =)

I'm getting one so I can print them out and show them to my dr when I find one who actually knows something about cardiology lol...really interested in what my vtach episodes look like compared with my ICD interrogations.  

I'm going to be one of the first to get the new Iphone app; may as well so I can quit spending my money on incompetent dr's :P I figure it's time to start learning so I actually know what I'm looking at.

[bbxx]

Oooooh, wouldnt this be helpful, or scary! I had a monitor on a month and caught pvc couplets and bigeminy,,but that is it.

[Mom2four85]

I posted awhile back about the new Iphone app that will be out by December and will cost about $100; I think it was Alivecor.  

it will be very interesting to see how that does and how helpful it will be to doctors; I'll be debating upgrading my phone or just finding a handheld machine.

[liquidimpulse]

Alivecor does seem pretty cool but the problem I'm having is that I don't really know how to read the ECG once its on the iphone :(

Have you guys heard anything about Cardiocomm and their heartcheck pen device where you can record your ECG and then can send it to a cardiologist over internet? I don't think you can buy it yet but I'm looking forward to trying it =)