Aa
Arrhythmia Help[ Please
Dear Dr,
I am a 45 year Old Woman,
5*6
139
Who has always been in great shape?
Last summer I was working out at the gym, (at the end of may work out) I began to get very severe and fast heart palpations, It came on with a (one thud) and then it just raced up to 199. I became very breathless unable to breathe or slow my heat rate down.
At the time I thought I was having a Panic Attack , But this continued to happen each time I worked out , I will be walking slow on the treadmill ( 3.3) for about 30 Min and if I bump it up a bit It happens again.
I have become extremely anxious now because of this.
I finally went to a cardio Man (a great guy) he did really not believe me at first and did a stress test, on the stress test it happened. I have all the x-rays done and an echo.
He said my heart was fine, but I was having arrhythmias due to a short circuit in the natural pacemaker of the heart,
And put me on a aspirin a day and toprol-xl 12.mg at night, due to the fact that I was born with hypothyroidism my blood pressure is very low and he did not want to lower it to much,
My questions are:
1) If I have such low blood pressure in the first place , why and I having arrhythmias
2) I asked him if this was Panic Attacks and he said no,
3) If it is Panic can you tell the difference on the reading of the EKG on the stress test, does it show something else if its panic?
4) It seems to be happening more , but not as strong just ore frequent ,
5) I am not a pill person and leery of taking beta Blockers and medication if I really do not have to , I just want to understand better what this is > Why Is happens and How to at least control it ,
6) I really love to work out and would like to resume exercise but I am unsure if it will keep happening that the gym
I am a 45 year Old Woman,
5*6
139
Who has always been in great shape?
Last summer I was working out at the gym, (at the end of may work out) I began to get very severe and fast heart palpations, It came on with a (one thud) and then it just raced up to 199. I became very breathless unable to breathe or slow my heat rate down.
At the time I thought I was having a Panic Attack , But this continued to happen each time I worked out , I will be walking slow on the treadmill ( 3.3) for about 30 Min and if I bump it up a bit It happens again.
I have become extremely anxious now because of this.
I finally went to a cardio Man (a great guy) he did really not believe me at first and did a stress test, on the stress test it happened. I have all the x-rays done and an echo.
He said my heart was fine, but I was having arrhythmias due to a short circuit in the natural pacemaker of the heart,
And put me on a aspirin a day and toprol-xl 12.mg at night, due to the fact that I was born with hypothyroidism my blood pressure is very low and he did not want to lower it to much,
My questions are:
1) If I have such low blood pressure in the first place , why and I having arrhythmias
2) I asked him if this was Panic Attacks and he said no,
3) If it is Panic can you tell the difference on the reading of the EKG on the stress test, does it show something else if its panic?
4) It seems to be happening more , but not as strong just ore frequent ,
5) I am not a pill person and leery of taking beta Blockers and medication if I really do not have to , I just want to understand better what this is > Why Is happens and How to at least control it ,
6) I really love to work out and would like to resume exercise but I am unsure if it will keep happening that the gym
Thank you so much for your message.
How come you had to have a preliminary session a week before your ablation, rather than having the ablation done right after the EP study/mapping? What would the advantage be to having two sessions? (Sorry if that's a dumb question. I'm fairly new to this heart talk. lol)
I'm really hoping that I won't need a neck/collar bone catheter. I find that idea quite unsettling!
I was told to expect to be sent home the same day as the procedure. Rarely do they keep people overnight here.
That is wonderful that you were cured of your arrhythmia. And yikes, you were running a week later? And it has now been 3 years since your ablation and it hasn't returned? That's terrific to hear!
Thank you again, Arthur. I appreciated your reply.
How come you had to have a preliminary session a week before your ablation, rather than having the ablation done right after the EP study/mapping? What would the advantage be to having two sessions? (Sorry if that's a dumb question. I'm fairly new to this heart talk. lol)
I'm really hoping that I won't need a neck/collar bone catheter. I find that idea quite unsettling!
I was told to expect to be sent home the same day as the procedure. Rarely do they keep people overnight here.
That is wonderful that you were cured of your arrhythmia. And yikes, you were running a week later? And it has now been 3 years since your ablation and it hasn't returned? That's terrific to hear!
Thank you again, Arthur. I appreciated your reply.
What cardiac testing was the most helpful in your evaluation to where and what was causing the arrthymia's ?
At what age did you start having symptoms and with your healthy lifestyle did they say it was genetic ?
Any input on taking magnesium and increasing potassium in your diet for heart health ? My cardiologist said Magnesium has helped some of his patients. I have tried extra nutrients for over 3 months .
Did you try Inderal ?
At what age did you start having symptoms and with your healthy lifestyle did they say it was genetic ?
Any input on taking magnesium and increasing potassium in your diet for heart health ? My cardiologist said Magnesium has helped some of his patients. I have tried extra nutrients for over 3 months .
Did you try Inderal ?
The reason for a preliminary session was to establish a procedure by which the EP could guarantee generating the arrhythmia. This was important in my case, as PAF is by its nature is an arrythmia that shows up sporadically, and in order to perform the ablation the EP needed to have a way to initiate the arrhythmia. This session simply involved being monitored (EKG etc) while being administered several different drugs, in particular, the adrenaline-like drug, since PAF is often kicked up by adrenaline surges. It's possible that for other arrhythmias, and even PAF, the EPs have electronic "tricks" wherein they could initiate your arrhythmia using the catheter/electrodes...so everything could be done in the one session.
As far as post ablation is concerned, it's pretty clear that it takes about a week for any "injury" due to the rf ablation to fully heal, so when I went out to run, it was slowly and carefully...I really wasn't back into engaging in real athletics for a few months (again, just to be careful).
And it's true, in my case, the one focus that the EP found was correlated to the initiation of the PAF, was toasted and three years hence, it has not come back, not even under extreme stress while engaged in very physical sports. So, I guess I'm cured.
You should talk to your EP to make sure you understand the risks of an ablation procedure. When I had it done for PAF, the cure rate was about 60-70%, and the risk of a stroke (due to a loose blood clot) or pulmonary vein edema was about 2-3%...although my EP's record had that at 0%. These percentages vary with the type of arrhythmia, the procedure, and the EP.
Good luck! It sure beats taking drugs.
-Arthur
As far as post ablation is concerned, it's pretty clear that it takes about a week for any "injury" due to the rf ablation to fully heal, so when I went out to run, it was slowly and carefully...I really wasn't back into engaging in real athletics for a few months (again, just to be careful).
And it's true, in my case, the one focus that the EP found was correlated to the initiation of the PAF, was toasted and three years hence, it has not come back, not even under extreme stress while engaged in very physical sports. So, I guess I'm cured.
You should talk to your EP to make sure you understand the risks of an ablation procedure. When I had it done for PAF, the cure rate was about 60-70%, and the risk of a stroke (due to a loose blood clot) or pulmonary vein edema was about 2-3%...although my EP's record had that at 0%. These percentages vary with the type of arrhythmia, the procedure, and the EP.
Good luck! It sure beats taking drugs.
-Arthur
please excuse my lack of education here, i really dont know anything about the medical field....i am a 21 yr old female. im not over weight and no serious med probs as far a cholestoral and blood press and all that stuff goes. a little over a year ago i had an episode....lets call it a "panic attack"...the doctors told me there was nothing wrong with me and offered some antidepressants and basically sedatives. i declined both offers, because i dont like taking medicine. soon after at a routine check up a doctor suggested i have an echocardio done because he heard a "clicking" in my heart (as found with mitral valve prolapse) the echo showed nothing at all. lately i have been having "disturbances" in my heart beat, but nothing to make a big deal about until yesterday. my heart will speed up real fast and then stop for a second then go and stop and speed up and stop, all with no consistency or rythm at all. some times it feels like the blood is kinda gurgling up a little the discomfort is from my chest all the way up to my throat sometimes, and is increased in humidity (hot shower) and when i lay on my side. theres some other symptoms involved but from what ive said does anyone have any advice or suggestions. this discomfort started yesterday late morning and it is still happening now at 6 pm the next night. thanks for your time, sny comments would be helpful.
So thankful for this well informed web site post.
I am 34 and have suffered on and off for years with pvc's, pac's,svt on holter results.
I was a premature baby and have always had 2 seperate heart murmurs and mvp. My primary concern with heart disease in our family that we live heart healthy and have strictly for 8 years. With the increase in pac's,pvc's and suggestion to try a beta in the hospital first due to asthma, allergies and sensitivity to drugs. However I have been trying progesterone cream to help with hormone level and my menstrual cycle has been too often.
Can't just one part of our body act up at a time ? I have low b/p 89/58 and 42 for a heart rate often. Any Feedback welcomed
I am 34 and have suffered on and off for years with pvc's, pac's,svt on holter results.
I was a premature baby and have always had 2 seperate heart murmurs and mvp. My primary concern with heart disease in our family that we live heart healthy and have strictly for 8 years. With the increase in pac's,pvc's and suggestion to try a beta in the hospital first due to asthma, allergies and sensitivity to drugs. However I have been trying progesterone cream to help with hormone level and my menstrual cycle has been too often.
Can't just one part of our body act up at a time ? I have low b/p 89/58 and 42 for a heart rate often. Any Feedback welcomed
Ablation - I had one done for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, basically a subclass of tachycardia, due to pulmonary vein foci.
I imagine the overall procedure may be similar for many such rf ablations - in my case, a preliminary session was required to develop a protocol to assure induction of PAF (this was done with iv-delivered isoproterenol and adenine to see which drugs/levels will induce what arrhythmia). A week later the ablation was conducted. The overall time of the procedure will vary with the individual/circumstances...in my case it took about 6-7 hours.
I received catheters in two groin veins and an artery? along my collar bone. I was under mild sedation for an hour or two while the EP "mapped" the location(s) of foci. No pain was felt, although some discomfort did occur just thinking about those groin catheters. I was unconscious during most of the procedure while actual ablation was going on. Afterwards, I stayed overnight at the hospital for observation, care being taken not to move about much in order to assure proper blood clotting at the catheter insertion sites. Again, no pain, just mild discomfort. Left for home in the morning, and stayed at home a couple of days just to be sure the groin lesions healed properly.
I was cured of PAF. I do have some PACs (but this was expected since a number of foci were discovered, and only the offending one was ablated). As I am an active athlete (52 years old at the time), I had to wait a week before running (just to be extra safe regarding the groin clots). I felt a bit weak due to the drugs prescribed at the time (beta-blocker/tambocor)...in a few months I stopped taking them. I have resumed all sports activities and deal with a modest PAC background, and have not had any PAF since (it's been three years now). I am very glad to have had the ablation.
-Arthur
I imagine the overall procedure may be similar for many such rf ablations - in my case, a preliminary session was required to develop a protocol to assure induction of PAF (this was done with iv-delivered isoproterenol and adenine to see which drugs/levels will induce what arrhythmia). A week later the ablation was conducted. The overall time of the procedure will vary with the individual/circumstances...in my case it took about 6-7 hours.
I received catheters in two groin veins and an artery? along my collar bone. I was under mild sedation for an hour or two while the EP "mapped" the location(s) of foci. No pain was felt, although some discomfort did occur just thinking about those groin catheters. I was unconscious during most of the procedure while actual ablation was going on. Afterwards, I stayed overnight at the hospital for observation, care being taken not to move about much in order to assure proper blood clotting at the catheter insertion sites. Again, no pain, just mild discomfort. Left for home in the morning, and stayed at home a couple of days just to be sure the groin lesions healed properly.
I was cured of PAF. I do have some PACs (but this was expected since a number of foci were discovered, and only the offending one was ablated). As I am an active athlete (52 years old at the time), I had to wait a week before running (just to be extra safe regarding the groin clots). I felt a bit weak due to the drugs prescribed at the time (beta-blocker/tambocor)...in a few months I stopped taking them. I have resumed all sports activities and deal with a modest PAC background, and have not had any PAF since (it's been three years now). I am very glad to have had the ablation.
-Arthur
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