bigeminy heart beats

[ocdgal]

This has probabley been posted before but...  I went to the ER last night because i was having chest pains, turned out to be nothing but my ekg showed i was having irregular beats every 2nd beat for the entire test , i do realize these basic ekg tests are very short but it still made me nervous to know that it showed these types of beats for the whole thing.  Then 3 weeks ago i had another ekg that last approx. 1min and the nurse showed i was having these beats every 3rd beat, the doc on call said to hook me up for an hour long ekg and said i was fine when it was done just alot of pvc's.  I have of course dealt with pvcs in the past but they seem to be occuring more over the last yr. Im bascially feeling them alot more than what i used to .  Would ones heart be in any danger of going into a dangerous arrthymia if my heart stayed in a constant bigeminy rate all the time (hope i spelled that term right).  I dont think the 1min ekgs i had in the past showed that many irregular beats, now its all they showed on my last 2 tests.  I did have a 24hr holter monitor hooked up on me 2-3yrs ago and it showed over 1000 pvcs, i know thats not much but now i feel them almost all the time, being too hot makes them start more and even after i go for a walk and my heart rate is trying to get back to normal i get them and didnt before, i really freaked out

[RNRita]

I can tell if someone is having PVCs or PACs with a radial pulse.  HOWEVER, I cannot tell the different, nor whether they are unifocal/multifocal, etc.  You can hear a lot with a stethoscope, but not electrical problems.  I always, said...."look, I'm not a telemetry box."  I remember nurses writing notes stating that the patient was in a-fib.  I used to giggle a bit....

[Mikew904]

Hi Octgal,
I'm in the same situation, I have bigeminy and/or trigeminy PVcs on a regular bases, I recently had a and echo showing the heart was enlarged, and weak,  a reg.Cath "confirmed this", then I had Catheder Ablation, then a stress test they put me on Metoprlolol, then added Flecainide (since the ablation didn't work)
They have a difibulater (life vest) on me until they get it figured out.
Don't worry yourself to much, they tell me all sorts of stuff, each test seems to conflict the other.  I used to get so very stressed and worried over this stuff, because they usually give me inconclusive "bad news" but it seems that they really don't have the answers.

I can only suggest, let them run you thru the gammot, unitl you get true collective results.
Last time I went thru  this was 5 years ago, got frustrated with all the conflicting information and gave up.

Now I'm back at it and determined to get the results know matter how many dr's they send me to.
According to my last appointment, if the flecainide works, they may be able to get correct results as the PVCs are interferring with getting acurate information on how strong or weak my heart is.  Until then, I disreguard most of what they've said as it's a moving target.

Hang in there, it can be a long road, but one that should be taken.
Mike

[bbxx]

No... listening to your heart is no way to diagnose anything. What if you went to the doctor and were not having a pvc during the 10 min. you were there, but you had a run of them as soon as you left the office? Also, he cant tell you if its a pac or pac or anything. EKG is needed.

[ocdgal]

thanks for the info, no I havent had a recent 24hr holter. I got into see my family doctor today (thank god) and he looked at my out patient ekg tests and didnt have any worries about the bi or trigeminy rates.  He listened to my heart with stethescope and said the beats sound perfect to him, no palps. He is however going to send me back to the cardiologist i saw 3 yrs ago who did my echo originally , he said it was just simple protocol to send any patient to see one that has shown any signs of palps or other irregularities on their ekg. So his lack of worry helped abit, he said only to worry abit if i was getting dizzy alot or passing out. Another question that arises, can a doctor simple listen to my heart with a stethescope to tell if i'm having weird beats, etc..  or is that something only an ekg can pick up. thanks again

[bbxx]

Hey there. Have you had a 24 hour holter recenty? You may want to just to see how many you are dealing with. My heart goes in and out of bi and trigeminy at times and then a mixture of various ones. I think if your heart is healthy, they are only concerned about someone developing heart failure, but a woman on here said her cardio said your heart would have to be in bigeminy for a year at least. Different doctors say different things. If you get a chance, look at the results one lady had from 2 top notch docs.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Heart-Rhythm/Flecinade-Information/show/1589040?personal_page_id=562996#post_7220460