does anyone use a pulse monitor or ECG

I'm currently wearing a pulse watch monitor every day to keep track of my postural tachycardia problem. I got sick of not knowing when I could push my body and when I could not so I with my pulse being monitor I can be more sure it not anxiety or is is anxiety when I start feeling bad I can tell when I'm having a good day or a bad day or a really bad now.
I'm thinking of buying my self a ECG moniter as well, speically if the nothing or something serious is found on the 30th april when I have my test with the cardyoligist this month. I'm 95% certian that some thing is happening with my heart and I'm concerned that what ever it is, is being set off my extreem temps and exercise. I'm would gladly except that I'm wrong if can just get an honerst answer even if that answer is we have no idea but we'll keep a eye on it. I wont except that nothing is going on and no on going support or help ect which is how I feel my last clinic treated me.

I was wondering if anyone els has ever use a home ecg monitor

[is_something_wrong]

I would strongly recommend not to. First of all, are you capable of interpreting ECG findings? If not, they would just cause more anxiety. Even I, who consider myself (unfortunately) quite qualified in reading ECGs (due to over-reading cardiology when trying to find relief and answers to my problems) got a full panic attack when reading my Holter prints (even if they were completely normal). Doing this without a doctor to explain your results, sounds almost like madness to me.

During a 24 hour ECG monitoring, you will ALWAYS find "something". This "something" can be PACs, PVCs, small pauses/sinus arrests, tachycardia runs, bradycardia runs, abnormal QRS complexes, abnormal P/T waves, mostly due to "artifacts" - bugs in the program, misplaced electrodes, muscle spasms, etc. You'll never see 100.000 completely similar heartbeats through a day.

I would even recommend you to put away your pulse watch, as focus on heartrate will strongly increase your symptoms.

One example:
Saturday, I was cleaning my appartment, not sure what I was going to do later on the evening, arguing with my girlfriend, worrying about cardiac symptoms, etc. I found my heartrate to increase to 140-170 just by standing up and walk to my car. The problem was not POTS or any other cardiac problem, it was just an extreme overactivation of my sympathetic nerve system. By doing light exercise for 30 minutes and relaxing, the problems went away.

I can feel high heartrate, pressure in chest, etc, if I focus on my heartrate while standing up, sitting down or exercising. If your heart rate is too high, your body will tell you this without using a pulse watch or an ECG monitor.

Talk to your doctor about what you should do, but "overmonitoring" your heart rate will NEVER help you, trust me. Your heart should best be forgotten, and handled by your doctors.

[r9c]

Yea,wat is_something_wrong mentioned above is really true,and we all know that theres so many false positive ECG readings so only a doctor or a cardiologist can really know wats going on on the ECGs.I think the main thing medical profession look for in the ECG paper are if the rhythm a normal sinus rhythm..

[mum2four]

I've had the 24 hour hoilter monitor it only showed my tachycardia it was not till I went to a dr after a busy week on hot day and he was concerned with the fact that pulse was still 135 that he wanted to put me on the EGG machine and even then it was only that the lady decided to do 2 test to sure and the second one had a incomplete rbbb.

I do panic over my symptoms of results I never have I do how eva feel compelled to show them my Dr it so has been the only way to prove to my Dr that some thing is really going on i basicly diagnoised my self but that was not the aim the aim was to just  have a pulse watch to wear at the jym when I went and once I realised I was tachy thats when I  was concerned even now I'm not scared of anything being wrong with me I'm scared I'm right but not scared to have diagnoises, I scared of not finding a way to get better or live a full live but not of fighting threw a illness I'm scared of sudden death but not knowing that I may have heart issue. I rather know and be awear of it than go on a not know. I'd rather be told I have cancer right now that be told nothing is wrong a person cant feel this bad and have nothing wrong with them its not fair to my kids for me to be unable to stand up with and play with them what kind of a mother will I be if thay never find whats wrong and fix it.


if i'd left my heart to my dr I would never know I had a heart problem right now and I'd be still over doing it and or worse still convincing my self I it was anxiety when its not and maybe in hospital or worse. I dont trust Dr right now and why should I.

I would never use the info to convince my self some thing is wrong when its not that not what I do. I would how eva show any serious change or strange thing to my Dr if I felt it was relevant.

I cant even feel my heart rate when I'm tachy thats the worst part of my of what I'm going threw its compleatly different to my anxiety issues. I just feel tired all the time and even loading the diswasher is a worse that using an exercise bike for 30 min.

When I had the holter monitor on I was to scared to touch the thing in case I causes an irrigularity or made the thing stop working. since my anxiety seem to make my heart beat normal when I'm not anxious it then shows incompleate rbbb lol I'm compleately backwards and have my Dr confused.

Its often said that BP are best taken when relaxed at home and not in the Dr office cause people can be anxious and change the result well thats could be said for me and ECG results  I swear, but only time will tell on the 30th I supose. Even my dr was suprised by the 3rd ECG result done at my old clinic.

I'm OCD and info make calm not anxious, NOT haveing control make me scared its some thing I need to learn to get over I know but it not some thing I feel able to do right now specially when I feel so tired to much. I'm petrified of taking up time with Dr's that other people might need more with me. I talk my self out illness not into them cause I scared a sicker person will die if I go the dr. it chalaging enought jusy convincing my self my tachycardia is derserving of time with a Dr let alone having several oppointments before the figure my problem out. MY fear would be that I waste the Dr the time as it is not that they will find something and I'm really sick. I hate feeling this way but its how I feel and I supose I'm thinking if I my own ECG machine I wont need the Dr as much cause I wont be going when I dont see a real posiable problem.

My OCD make me research but latly nothing make much sence most of the time like it use to but just looking at a web page seem almost as soothing as if I was reading as my need to research is getting heaps better. I'm on strong OCD med.

[Mom2four85]

you may want to post in our Dysautonomia (ANS dysfunction) forum it's under related communities

alot of us with ANS post there also and may be able to give you more specific info for POTS; I know sometimes it's takes the right doctor and time to find what's wrong

I complained to my drs of fainting, sob, cp since 2004 and just found out in Aug 2009 I had been having very frequent pvc's (NSVT & VT) since then - it took my EP doing a TTT to find out I had NCS & OI

Personally, I wouldn't buy it - the anxiety I would have over knowing I "may" find something on it would make me a basket case.

[mum2four]

I know about POTS but my Dr does not beleaive a disgnoise like that will help me and kind of agree. i dont think POTS its reconnised illness in australia yet. instead she just diagnoised me with postural tachycardia. My BP monitor picks up irregular beat and that whats I'm concerned about My BP has Droped to 60/40 with 50 pulse from standing up and walking from 150 pulse as I'm tachy when walking. thats is what I'm concerned about. I want to know what could be causeing that

[r9c]

Hi,if thats the case its wise to seek a 2nd opinion,a cardiologist better and if things still came out normal then its probably anxieties,because if u have been to so many doctors and they have run all the necessary test and all report came back normal then it should be anxieties.
Stress & anxieties does take a physical toll on the bodies,the more u worry each day about ur symptoms and it can sent you into the vicious cycle,once in its hard to get out its like a bad habit hard to fight off but it an be done.

[mum2four]

thats the thing I have only seen my old Dr ge left and then the other Dr at the clinic dismissed me and then I found a new Dr I have never been offered test before I started asking about them and proving I may really need them. Once your diagnoise with anxiety people make asuption and thats wrong. Dr should never make asumptions with out test results to back up that asuption. I had only Blood test never had exrays or scans ect and untill thay treat me like I deserve to be alive and not like an anxious person scared of being sick which I'm not scared of my symptoms never have been. Just scared of how people perceive my symptoms.

[Mom2four85]

many pots patients have the dx of anxiety first - you should really try the other 2 foundations - there's people from all over the world on dinet and they may be able to give you some input some of us here may not be able to or even extra info -

while I don't have POTS, it seems the most prevelant ANS dysfunction/dysautonomia; while OI and NCS that I have, is a less prevelant dysfunction

Isn't POTS symptoms what's causing your symptoms? I'm only a patient and can only impart what I have read or learned from being a patient...many of our ANS problems overlap into others - sounds like other POTS patients I've read about

you may want to research and print out info from Dysautonomia/ANS dysfunction and give it to your doctor, dinet has some wonderful info from dr's across the globe on their research  - also, another doctor may understand better, you may have to keep searching until you find the right doctor - even in the US it's like that

on a side note - I'm really shocked about pots dx in  Austrailia - with Greg Page (the wiggles) and his DX back in 2006 of OI, I would have thought Dysautonomia/ANS dysfunctions would have been a bit more known.  As many as 30,000 people in Australia suffer orthostatic intolerance - another ANS dysfunction.

[mum2four]

I'm diagnoised with postural tachycardia which is basicly the same as POTS so technicly I have that diagnoise already but I'm having irregular heart beat as well according to my BP monitor waiting to find out whats causing them and how serious they are. I got my self a BP monitor that picks up on irregular beat if thay happen more than 2 time in the 30 secs it takes to do my BP some time it cant even read my BP due to too many irregular beats. The irregular beat are almost alway happening when I have low BP but it happen when I have normal BP or high BP as well but it rare when I have high BP.

[Mom2four85]

my bp monitor is like that and won't work due to frequent pvc's; have you had a 24hr holter to see if it catches how many you're having [sorry if you said you did already]

[mum2four]

yes I have had the 24h holter monitor test and it came back with nothing but tachycardia. but a ecg on another day did come back with incomplete rbbb and tachycardia. waiting for my oppointment with the cardioligist on the 30 I think a stress test will reveal what eva is happening.

[Mom2four85]

I checked on DINET for you when I was there this morning, here's some doctors that may be near you that treat dysautonomia and who may understand POTS; some of them even have autonomic laboratories:

http://www.dinet.org/physicians.htm#Australia

Professor Murray Esler Heart Centre Alfred Hospital

Dr Chris O'Callaghan

Dr Libby Anderson The National Capital Private Hospital

Mayo clinic had this dr listed on their research, so I'm not sure about him - Mark J. Thieben - Nepean Hospital, Sydney West Area Health Service, Penrith, NSW, Australia

These drs are in New Zealand, so I don't know how far of a trip that would be - Dr. Ian Crozier, Dr. David Jardine & Dr. Melton  - Department of Cardiology Christchurch Hospital

hope this helps some

[mum2four]

in australia you cant just go to a different state and get treatment from a different hospital, You have to be refured by your Dr, and even then I could not afford to go in to state to get some answer.

I did email a place yesterday about POTS, there doing a trial on POTS people. Even if get answer It looks like POTS is just starting to be recongnised in australia. A POTS diagnoises wont solve my problem as there no cure for it but time.

[kay2486]

id wait until you've seen a cardiologist then if hes says your are fine quit the worrying, hes last resort and will know more, has the doctor given you any medication for the fast heart rate? he should have, beta blockers are good and slow down the heart rate, the way i think is he must be sending you to a cardiologist because hes unsure, i had a fast heart rate once and ecg showed artial flutter so she/my doc sent me to heart specialist cuz she was unsure and it was only anxiety, i only waited 5 days to see him and they dragged cuz then id know what was happening, its horrible cuz i got 2 young kids and i worry bout my heart and if something happens to me no one will know

[mum2four]

was having a very bad day on friday so I went to the Dr the ECG the Dr did showed an inverted T(something) but it was later dicovered the nurse put the leads on backwards, so I'm glad about that now.
On the saturday when the cardiologist came to see he was very rude to me and very the nurses ect that no one had figured out that leads were put on backwards. The horrable Dr called me overweight and lazy. He told me my problems was nothing to do with heart and I need to go watch a movie about some good concentration camps and look at what thay eat and half it. I was so upset with him I told the nurses not let him come near me again at all. I made a  formal complaint about him and they arrange to have me stay in over night again and have another cardiolgist talk to me. Today the other head cargioligist said I either had POTS or inappropraite sinus tachycardia after asking me about when I get tacky she concluded it was proberly more likly the inapropraite sinus tachycardia as my heart rate go's up even when I'm sitting and doing simple tasks. the Dr put me on Coralan 5 ( Ivabradine) 5mg. I have already notice a hug difference in my heart rate. I got out of hospital and went to the shops for food for tea and I put the shopping in the car and unpacked the shopping and was still standing and feeling like I stay standing I was tired and puffed out but I dont feel exausted. my pulse got to 135 at the highest but it was when I ran the trolly to the check out for fun I felt so different it felt good. My pulse went back down prety fast as well. it barly got about 120 when in the past 1y the same activities would have got my pulse to 185 and I'd still be high right now.
I'm still seeing the cardioligist on firday next week but I'm glad to finally have something to make to feel better even if it is only 1 step to getting better it feels the a huge releif like some one has taken the cements boots off my feet. Gravity no longer feels it has a grip on me when I walk. Only time will tell how much better I will feel on this new med.

[kay2486]

what's POTS? ive never heard of it

[mum2four]

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)