Crista-Terminalis Tachycardia

[crazycam]

Hi all,

If you read my previous posts you will see over the past 2 years I have been plagues by episodes of rapid heart beats/constant pounding heart beats/chest pain, dizziness, etc. I have seen multiple cardiologists, and 2 electrophysiologists. My current electrophysiologists is supposedly one of the best in the country and looked at my holter when I had episode, I thought it was just a panic attack, but with a pulse of 180 and some ectopics, he wants to do an EP study on me because he feels its Crista-Terminalist Tachycardia. To be honest I am terrified of going under, the nurse and him assured me it's safe, but as I read other's commnets on here, I am not feeling safe at all. I know I need to do what needs to be done to move on with my life, but I am just scared. I am afraid I may have a serious anxiety issue thats causing the constant anxiety,and by going through with the EP study, I could be doing more harm than good. Any feedback would be nice. ***** being 24 and going into heart surgery.

[crazycam]

I've been on the Lopressor for about 2 months now. I still get sensations that it is hard to take deep breaths, and im walking on a trampoline. I see him in August and will discuss it then. He is one of the best electros in the country and world, so if he says its fine, i believe him. I don't like how fast it gets either, but it is what it is.

[ireneo]

That's a shame they didn't find the root cause of the tachy. 275 is a bit over the top for a brisk heart rate. Some folks with IST will pop up to 120 or so but not usually over 200. You may end up going back in the next few years if it gets more frequent.

How long have you been on the medication? With most meds related to the heart, it takes a few weeks for the body to adjust. When I first started Diltiazem, it took about 4 -6 weeks before I felt like I was back to normal. The dizziness and headaches eased off about then.

[crazycam]

So I had the EP study done. He didn't find any arythmias or anything out of the normal. He did say though, that I have a fast normal heart rhythm. During the EP my heart got up to 275 bpm. He wants me to continue taking Lopressor 25 mg to keep it from bothering me. However, since being on the 25 mg, I feel dizzy at times, as if I am walking on a trampoline. Has anyone else experienced this before? Could the Lopressor be the cause of this??

[ireneo]

Well, look at it this way. If they do the procedure (it's not usually referred to as a surgery because you're not completely anesthetized) and they fix the crazy tachy, your anxiety level should drop dramatically. No unexpected tachy times and you'll feel more relaxed. That sounds like a good plan to me.

I can say that because I've been in your shoes. I had PSVT for all my life and it wasn't until I was in my late 40's that someone told me they could fix it. Yes, I was scared of the EP study and ablation. I figured I'd lived with it all my life; why should I let them poke around in there? But it's worth it. They give you happy meds so it's all quite unreal. And most of what goes on is quickly forgotten thanks to the medication they use.

I have a friend whose daughter had the same thing. I think she was about 11 when she had her ablation done. Now she can enjoy school, sports, do all the fun things she should be doing with friends of her age. Again, it was worth the worry and short recovery time.

I hope you'll be able to get through this and feel better. I'm sure you don't want to spend the next 60 years feeling as you do now. Good luck.