Hi, Im a healthy looking 45 year old female, in shape w excellent diet. I have suffered syncope attacks for four years w horrible fatigue. I had a heart rate that was seen often in the 40's. Blood pressure went from 90/60, 140/90. Drs said my heart rate was low because I was so fit. Ridiculous. I have suffered numerous concussions and tingling and muscle twitching in fingers, numbness in arms, purple lips, foggy memory, extreme yawning. Guess what. Lack of oxygen to my brain. Why? Too slow heart rate, erratic heart rate, fluctuating blood pressure.
IMPORTANT: MY ERROR. Cardiologist only check the plumbing as they call it. My echos were perfect, stress test marvelous, passed tilt table, ekg normal. They said my heart was fine.
From a muscle and physical stand point this was true. What they failed to say was the electrical system controlling its functions may not be fine.
Go to an Electrophysiologist. They are the hearts electricians. Mine put in a Medtronics implanted loop recorder. Over 5 months it caught heart rates as low as 30. A Holter monitor for one month never caught this pattern.
MY SYMPTOMS: Very fatigued, heart rates in 30, 40, 50 range that can spike with quick exhaustion like laughing. Blue lips,foggyness, twitches in fingers, tingling & numbness in arms, hands, feet. Headaches, Sharp and dull. Insomnia. Yawning, fluctuation in color. Neck and muscle aches that won't go away. Fainting, unconsciousness, dizziness, nausia.
TESTS I PASSED: Perfect ecg/ekg, good stress test, tilt test negative for Neurocardiogenic syncope, good blood work. Perfect echocardiogram.
DIAGNOSIS: Bradycardia, erratic abnormal heart beat - the hearts natural pacemaker is off. This is called sick sinus syndrome. The blood pressure tries to compensate for the low heart rates.
RESULT: They are giving me a Pacemaker. Biotroniks Evia ProMRI closed loop system dual chamber w two leads to upper and lower heart chambers. One lead is to control heart rate, the other to control blood pressure to stop fainting.
LESSONS LEARNED: Cardiologist won't diagnose an electrical malfunction of the heart. They will tell you the hearts fine. The muscle, valves etc may be. But the electrical system that controls the heart is not. Go to an Electrophysiologist ASAP. This can cause major health issues if untreated and severely reduces your quality of life. God bless you and your answers await very soon if you take my four year struggle and my outcome as a good case in point. Yours matches very closely! Best wishes.
thanks Shell.
Think that is all sounds very similar. I don't have any life at the moment at all, all i do i cry because i am so depressed that no one is really listening. I know that i am getting worse. Unfortunately i am english and in england doctors are not prepared to do much full stop, all because it is a national health system. To see private doctors you have to be referred by your general practioner and he says there is nothing wrong with my heart and is sending me down the psych route despite the fact i have seen 7 psychiatrists already who have said that it is not in my head. like you say, they knew my past and automatically think that my heart rate is because of anxiety and also want to put alot down to post natal depression.
If i live through this i will never have another child. I love mine to bits but i can't care for him at the moment as i am in so much pain and also am an emotional mess (was calm to start with!) My labour was long, he was back to back and stupidly i said no to drugs like pethidine and an epidural because i knew that i am a panicker by nature and thought the after effects of an epidural would make me think there was something wrong with me. How stupid am I, i'd take the drugs in a heartbeat if i could go back in time. I too didn't dilate fully and in the end they had to cut me and pull him out with ventouse. it was horrid.
Sam xx
thanks Shell.
Think that is all sounds very similar. I don't have any life at the moment at all, all i do i cry because i am so depressed that no one is really listening. I know that i am getting worse. Unfortunately i am english and in england doctors are not prepared to do much full stop, all because it is a national health system. To see private doctors you have to be referred by your general practioner and he says there is nothing wrong with my heart and is sending me down the psych route despite the fact i have seen 7 psychiatrists already who have said that it is not in my head. like you say, they knew my past and automatically think that my heart rate is because of anxiety and also want to put alot down to post natal depression.
If i live through this i will never have another child. I love mine to bits but i can't care for him at the moment as i am in so much pain and also am an emotional mess (was calm to start with!) My labour was long, he was back to back and stupidly i said no to drugs like pethidine and an epidural because i knew that i am a panicker by nature and thought the after effects of an epidural would make me think there was something wrong with me. How stupid am I, i'd take the drugs in a heartbeat if i could go back in time. I too didn't dilate fully and in the end they had to cut me and pull him out with ventouse. it was horrid.
Sam xx
Hello! I can feel your pain! I have always had some type of tachycardia since about 2003 and back then the doctors chalked it all up to anxiety and put me on a bunch of meds. I quit them all cold turkey in March 2005 because I lost my health insurance and could not afford the 5 medications I was taking since I was a college student. I seem to be fine for awhile until I got pregnant in December 2005.
At about 4 months into my pregnancy the tachycardia/ectopic beats started again. My OB/GYN figured it was anxiety from the pregnancy so put me propranolol to control my heart rate and ectopic beats. I had really bad chest pains as the pregnancy wore on and they figured it was due to the baby. The day before I delivered (August 2006) I got extremely dizzy, pale, and had chest pains. I was admitted to the ER and told that I was going to be induced, no big deal since I was already 12 days overdue.
After 22 hours of labor, I had a C-section because my son got stuck in my pelvis and I wouldn't dilate to 10cm. I was on oxygen during my whole entire labor and I have never felt so sick in my life! The days following were the worst. I kept thinking, I can't die, I have this little guy to take care of. I actually had a cardiologist from the hospital come into my room to check me over, and he had the nerve to be like, "you just had a kid, what do you expect, as he chuckled! A-Hole, but anyways that started the long process of testing everything!
My son is now 19 months old and I still don't feel right, I have constant chest pressure, left sided jaw pain, arm pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, and middle back pain. I have had numerous cardiac workups, MRI's,CT scans, ultrasounds and bloodwork since my son was born. I have been to the ER 4 times, admitted in July 2007 for 4 days because I passed out. Found out I have a hiatal hernia and had my GB removed in Sept. 2007, thought for sure that was the problem....nope. To this day they STILL have no idea why I am having these pains or why I passed out and have constant dizzy spells. I want to get pregnant again but I am SO SCARED that it is just going get worse.
Sorry if this is long but I just want you to know that you are not alone out there. My ordeal wasn't has bad as yours, with the infection and all but you really need to pursue this. Go to another cardiologist if you have to. I just went to mine on Friday (ER followup for chest pain, jaw pain, and arm weakness) and he told me basically he is done with me, he doesn't understand why I am having these pains and to live with them. I really did like him but after that comment, I talked to my PCP and she is referring me to a different cardiologist, a woman. I hoping maybe a woman will take me more seriously than a man.
BTW, I am a 29 yo female, so yes I think it is because of my age that they don't always take me seriously. I also think since I was honest and told them about my anxiety in the past they automatically chalk it up to that. Like you, this feels much different than before. I am also currently seeing a rheumatologist to rule out any type of arthritis or autoimmune. I wish you luck and keep me posted on any results/findings! We will get through this, we have to for our little ones. Congrats and enjoy your baby, they grow up so fast, I can't believe my son is 19 months already!!!
Shell
should mention that I am only 27. First baby. Also had low potassium when in ICU. They are trying to say that It is in my head and i wish it were, I would pay to be mental. No one believes that it gets worse and I hear is it is impossible to have constant pain from your heart. GTN spray does relieve some of the pain but I am trying not to use it too much as the effectiveness wears off if you use it too much.
The doctors have treated me so badly and they won't listen anymore, all they say is, 'its not your heart'.
I will be following your post because I too am interested in several things you posted.
Just a tip from me to you...... I have had a horrible time getting docs to look past my age. HORRIBLE! they dont take me seriously but they are quick to give me a med I dont need to shut me up.
Dont let them brush you off!!