Tachycardia

[Heartfreak]

Hi! I am new to this so this may be long. Im hoping to find some people that can relate or give me ideas. For the past 8 years or so I have dealt with palpitations and panic attacks. I was told it was all anxiety. I got pregnant with my second child and I had a lot of shortness of breath and palpitations through out the pregnancy. I brought it up to my OB and they assured me it was my hormones ( even at 8 weeks pregnant). Well I gave birth to my son and about 2 hours later I got up to take a shower and my heart started palpitating. Come to find out my hr was 220. I didn't feel weird at all, no pain, no SOB, or anything. Well it lasted about an hour and a half, my chest started to hurt that last 15 mins or so since it was lasting so long. They gave me meds which my dr said wasn't what stopped it because they are suppose to work immediately and it didn't quit until about 30 mins later. I was diagnosed with left ventricular tachycardia, but had no signs of any structural heat damage or disease ( I have been told it is EXTREMELY rare) we have no idea what caused it. I had a cardiac catheter ablation. It was successful and he told me that it was actually a lot worse than they thought, so a couple months later we did another one to make sure they got it all, well I had no sign of tachycardia. So here I am 1 year later and I have constant shortness of breath. My cardiologist said he thinks its anxiety. I have had EKGs, echos, CT on my lungs, MRI of my heart and everything looks great.. But this SOB is driving me crazy. It's really weird because it will be constant for a couple weeks and then disappear for a couple day to a week and then come back with no warning. I still do have palpitations here and there but they don't make my SOB worse or anything. I'm just wondering if anyone has ever dealt with anything like this before. I am scared that I have an underlying heart condition they are not catching. I am only 28 and I just feel like they are blowing me off. I have even switched cardiologist and still no answers. I shouldn't be this SOB. Sometimes it's just when I'm sitting down and other times it's when I'm up walking or anything. It just feels like I can't get a deep enough breath and I am constantly taking deep breaths.

[MichelleP_3811]

It honestly took me probably 2 years to not be in fear of my heart.  Funny thing was, I never feared the tachycardia until after I got diagnosed.  Ignorance is bliss I guess.  It is with me.  But I have come to see how scary the heart issues can be.  It not like a leg or arm that you don't need.  You need your heart to live so when things go wrong it is easy to get scared and fearful.  But with time you will begin to trust your heart is doing fine even if it isn't acting perfect. But it just takes a long time for the heart to fully recover.  Probably because unlike a leg or arm, you can't put it up and rest it.  it needs to keep working so it takes a while but it does slowly improve.  So try not to fret at this point and go back if it seems to get worse.  Take care.

[Heartfreak]

It does make me feel a little better knowing that you have dealt with it after dealing with SVT, and it went away. It has only been a year since my episode, so maybe over time it will go away. The test reassure me that everything is fine, for a while, then I start to worry again and get scared they are missing something! It's a never ending cycle.

[MichelleP_3811]

I honestly don't know what it is.  I do it too but it doesn't sound as often as you.  I know it took a good 2 years for me to feel like my heart reached a point where it was almost fully recovered from 45 years of svt.  The first year I had the needing to take deep breaths quite a bit but it has trailed off for the most part  I only get it once in a while so maybe you just need a bit more time for your heart to finish recovering.  Considering you had vt that is pretty hard on the heart probably more so than my svt was.  If your tests came back fine then there likely isn't a whole lot they can do. Maybe if you started a cardio routine and conditioned your heart a bit it would be better.  I wish I had more advice but it sounds like one of those things that really don't have a name or understanding but I have had it too if that is any consolation.  

[Heartfreak]

The shortness of breath just feels like I need to take deep breaths. Sometimes I even have to yawn to get a deep enough breath. It's really hard to explain. I just get these urges to take a deep breaths. Sometimes I have to take a deep breath when I'm in the middle of a sentence but it's not so sever that I can't breath. It does tend to get worse when I think about it though! I doesn't stop me from doing my everyday activities because I'm so used to it. The weird thing is, when I was in vtach I wasn't short of breath. Toward the end of it my chest was starting to hurt but that's because I was in it for an hour and a half.

[MichelleP_3811]

Pvcs are considered normal by most doctors.  I personally hesitate to consider them normal but I will agree that in low amounts they are not a danger to a healthy heart.  This said, when I am having more than a couple a day they can make me feel short of breath though not like the sob I had when I had my svt.  I had an svt that would cause my heart to race well into the 200s.  I had a hard time breathing and felt as though I would pass out.  So the sob I feel with the pvcs is not anything that is alarming to me.  So how intense is the sob?  Do you gasp for breath, struggling to get enough air.  It was hard to get one word out without needing to take in a deep breath when I had my tachycardia.  Is it that bad?  This said, if nothing is going on with your heart during the times you feel short of breath it could be something outside the heart causing you to feel short of breath.  Well best of luck. I do hope you can sort it out.  

[Heartfreak]

When I check my pulse during a episode of SOB it is normal. No palpitations, it's within a normal range ( not too high or too low). I have even checked my BP when I am short of breath and that is in the normal range also. I have had a 48 hour heart monitor and he said all be seen was normal PVCs. I do plan on going back and keep pushing the issue because it just doesn't feel normal!

[MichelleP_3811]

Do you know what your heart is doing during this?  Is it skipping and jumping or slower than normal or faster than normal?  Do you have any stomach issues like acid reflux?  Sometimes eating meals that are too big or ones loaded with carbohydrates can over expand the stomach and annoy the vagus nerve which can cause the heart to act up.  I would suggest trying to first get a handle on what your heart is doing. Fell your pulse and see if it is fast or slow or jumpy.   Maybe get yourself one of those sports watches so you can check your heart rate when you feel short of breath.  If this happens at least within a 30 day period go back to your doctor and ask for a monitor to try and catch what is going on.  I would ask for a 30 day monitor so you have time to catch it.  Then at least you will know if this is something the heart is doing or not.  Best of luck and don't let the doctors brush you off if you feel something isn't right.  At any age really doctors tend to take a conservative approach unless we continue to come back with the same complaints.  For most the issues resolve on their own so rather than do needless tests I do think they initially disregard transient symptoms unless the patient continues to complain so do not feel bad about going back and pushing the matter.  It is your life after all.  Best of luck and keep us posted on how you are doing.