Scared of Sudden Death

[kcb7]

Several months ago I had a lot of PVCs (like one every other beat) as well as a fast heart rate. I went to the ER and was admitted to the hospital. After several tests I was released with the diagnosis of tachycardia and PVCs. No reason for my fast heart rate was found. I am now on Atenolol.

I've started suffering a lot of anxiety over this. I'm terrified of just dropping dead, from an arrhythmia, like long QT, etc. I'm terrified the doctors missed something. Would these tests have shown if something was wrong? Like a long QT, a different arrhythmia, or something structural. I had:

several EKGs while in the hospital
I was hospitalized for 3 days and hooked up to a heart rate monitor the entire time
Echocardiogram
CT scan of my chest

After I was released the cardiologist had me do an exercise stress test, where I had several PVCs during and after. But that was all and she said not to worry about it.
I also wore a holter monitor for 24 hours and the cardiologist saw nothing that concerned her.

Should I stop worrying over this? would something have been found with those tests?

[kay2486]

hiya, worrying will only make you worse believe me on that one.

if your doc thought there were a slight chance of u having sudden death you would be on meds for it and he would tell you, there are people who have heart conditions and have dropped down only because they havent been tested for this.

you've seen a cardiologist and you have nothing up with ur heart, everyone gets a flutter now and then n they can cause alittle anxiety in some people like me n you..

try ignoring them when you get them they will pass eventually or you'll not notice them as much, the more attention u pay to them the more they will disturb you.

you've had  all the test it time to forget about it n count ourselves lucky we do not have  anything up with our hearts like wpw or long qt.

[crambone]

stop worrying !!!!!!..it only makes things worse.
just think of it this way,if you did have sudden death  from your ticker,you would be dead before you hit the floor..so you wouldnt even know it.

[kcb7]

Thanks for all the responses. After I was released from the hospital I was doing really well with the health anxiety, then I read an article about a young woman that died from long QT syndrome and it made my anxiety flare up again. Then I started Googling...Oh geeze! Bad idea.

My cardiologist had all the information from my hospital stay, as she is a cardiologist connected with the hospital. I just have this fear that something was overlooked, ya know? I had dealt with my anxiety pretty well and I was back up to exercising 30 minutes a day, but now I'm scared to do that again.

I think maybe this is mainly an anxiety issue related to my health anxiety, tachycardia and PVCs. I am on Atenolol for the tachycardia and it's helped a lot with my rapid heart rate and PVCs, but I still get them every now and then. I'm just terrified to exercise again now!

Argh!

[cindy707]

It sounds to me like you have a wonderful doc who is super proactive in trying to determine what the heck is going on w. you and it sounds like he/she has decided that it is benign PVC's altho i know it doesn't feel too benign to you when its happening.  Just for a little reassurance....it takes ALOT to stop the human heart and i mean ALOT....it is the main pump of the body and it sounds to me like the doc isn't too concerned.  If it were my body tho what i would definately do if your body can take it and your doc agrees is to take an aspirin a day to keep your blood thin because in the world of hearts clot issues would be anybodies main concern.  If you feel like its really starting to get to you and interrupting your daily life you may want to talk to the doc about maybe putting you on a low dose beta blocker to keep these at bay...i swear sometimes the internet is not our friend when we research anything having anything to do with the heart.  We tend to focus on the worst of the worst and are sure its happening to us.  I would seriously consider calling the docs office and tell them that you want to sit down for 20 minutes w. the doc...write down all of your questions, fears, etc. and get them all out and read off the questions one by one so that the doc can answer them and set your mind at ease here.  Lack of info will get us every time and trust me if the doc thought you were at any risk of sudden death you would not be reading this right now because they would be attempting to stave it off or else they would all be out of business.....good luck to you tho....i think maybe you need answers right from the horses mouth here....

[Mom2four85]

You should get a copy of all of your tests from the dr's/hospitals you've been to, for yourself and for a cardiologist outside of an ER and have them look to see if anything points to something dangerous

The tests you've had should say if there's a problem, but sometimes things are missed or one dr may not have all your test results (that's what happened with me) I didn't find out until after I had an ablation that I had malignant heart arrhythmia's even though and EKG from the ER showed I had a problem

[rilesnic]

I think you have had all the tests that would tell if you had Long QT. I'm not certain, but I believe they can see that on an EKG and holter...I say this because my family doctor (not my cardio) looked back over my past EKG's and my past holters making sure he didn't see any Long QT, while I was in his office. These PVC's and tachycardia are sure annoying and cause me much anxiety and even panic, but I trust my cardio and trust my family doctor even more (he saved my daughter's life when she was 15 months old so I think he the smartest man I've ever met). They have both assured me that these will absolutely not kill me and that my heart will outlive me...I sure hope so :) My family doctor has much more sympathy for these things than my cardio, but even at my last cardio visit, I could tell he had a "hint" of sympathy himself. I know they are hard to live with, and I would give my right arm to never feel another one, but I try everyday to hear their words...Live your life...I hope you find some relief from your anxiety and always let your doctor know if anything new comes up. Best to you!