Hello everyone,I have just read this following extract in 'the Heart's Code' by Paul Pearsall, thought it might interest some of you, I quote :- "The heart itself is a chaotic organ. Dozens of disorganised 'irregular rythms' of the heart are described by cardiologists who,like other bioscientists, often take comfort in naming what they really don't fully understand. They refer to ectopic beats; parasystole, high-grad block and escape rythyms; simple and complex Wenckebach rythyms, and on and on. ........New reseach derived from chaos theory suggests that cardiologists might consider the heart as a dynamical chaotic energy system rather than just an electro-mechanical pump, and that doctors are inadvertantly using limited, superficial classifications of the hearts rythyms based on brief and limited sample of it's behavior that may mask the hearts true nature. Doctors have the parts of the heart down pretty well, but they still too often fail to see the heart and health in general as a whole, interactive, remembering, dynamic energy system.....What cardiologists call arrythmias are really images of what scientist Douglas Hofstatter describes as an 'eerier type of order'....eerie order and not a mathematical average may be the ultimate code of a uniquely adaptive and healthy heart. Looking at the heart as a dynamic energy system operating by principles being learned from the study of chaos, rather than a mechanical pump that sometimes loses its stroke, allows us to learn the true nature or the organ that helps us flow with the natural instability of life." end quote.
I vaguely remember Hankstar mention the chaos theory regarding heart rythym sometime ago, so I thought this might interest some of you who may have read that post and wished to know more.
I am sure that the PAC's I get are just a part of a "whole", if you will, be it EBV or something else. I have never been tested for heavy metal toxicity but I read an interesting article about a woman who suffered for years with a host of symptoms (fatigue, flu-like, dizziness ect) and was tested for heavy metals. She had a high mercury level, changed her dental fillings over a course of time and felt better. Was is coincidence or was that the cause? Who knows. I really wonder because there are a lot of times that I just feel totally perfect and if i would have taken a pill or done something different I would have attributed it to that.
I remember that chaos theory mentioned by hankstar, basically a healthy heart is governed by the need for chaos once in a while to maintain a healthy function, as does most organs of the body. Ectopics beats and irregular rhythms once in a while often reflect a healthy heart that is functioning properly, whereas a perfectly regular heartbeat often raises a red flag as a warning of sudden cardiac "events". If I'm not mistaken this has been documented.
That is why HRV (heartrate variability ) is often a predictor of longevity documented by the Chinese about 1000 B.C.
flip(Lyn)
I can trace my "skipped beats" back to when I began taking atenolol for rapid heartbeat. I simply accept them; I've had them for nine years now. They are annoying and can be scary I admit; I love reading the posts on pvc's/pac's as I know I'm not alone in this. Hankstar, I miss you!! You are needed here, dear friend.
Ok guys, it is 1 a.m. & I can't sleep due to "skipped beats/palps" (they've been ongoing for 6 hrs now). I was dx w/SVT in 1999 (had since very young), i'm 29 yr old female. Growing up I had SVT, not realizing what it was, would lay down for a while & pray & it would stop, 15 mins tops. After 10 yrs of this they got worse, over the last 10 yrs. I have had a number of serious eposides where I would have to go to ER & have injection to stop. I had an echo that is normal. SVT picked up on EKG & was told i'll be fine but need to take meds to prevent. So 1/04 I started taking 50 mg of Toprol XL. I am very sensative to meds. I got horible side effects, headaches, swelling, cramping. Doc said take 1/2 of 50 mg., as soon as I switched I started having SVT's everyday. Went back to 50 mg., still having SVT. NOW having PVC (self diagnosis) or "skipped beats", make me feel like i'm going to die, I would almost rather have an SVT. skipped beat comes on initially as a flutter, then a rush through my arms & then chest pain/tightness. I literally feel like i'm going to die. Right this min. I can feel it in my rib cage on the right side, it feels like my heart stops & I lose my breath. I went to ER when this first happened & they said i'm fine (nothing showed up on EKG), chest x-ray & enzyme levels normal. I go to my cardio. who says again "have the cath. ablation & you'll be perfect", he keeps saying why live your life w/out having caffine, alcohol etc..have the ablation & you can do all these things. He even said I could get pregnant the day after the ablation (maybe this was a metaphor, I am afraid to have a child because of heart) he discarded my complaints of the new symptoms of palps other than to say it is normal to have some chest pain w/skipped beats. Now i'm seeing in this forum that even after ablation the palps wont go away. But, if I have the ablation then I wont have to take meds to prevent the SVT. It seems the meds brought on the palps, so does that mean these horrible palps will go away? Also, I accidentally skipped a Toprol pill one morning (I was trying to switch to take them @ night since my symptoms of palps only come on in the evening) & missing the pill threw me into horrible SVT (220 beats per min. for 1 hr) w/chest pain, fainting feeling. I feel like if I stop the meds (which I was terrified to take to begin with) i'll die. I have a stress test on 3/30 & ablation set for 4/7, but i'm terrified i'm making the wrong decision. I just feel like noone understands what i'm going through. My husband had the nerve to tell me he thought that I had a mental problem (I do have axiety but it is because of this ****), he actually thought I was trying to "get attention". I try really hard not to complain when i'm having problems, lately I just go into my office & read the forum. I feel like i'm obsessed but this condition is taking over my life.
Do not be apologetic to anyone for what you feel inside your body, or the fear it causes. Being on the forums that I have been on, I see so many people with so many different symptoms and things going on. So it is different for everyone. The one thing that seems to be consistent is the anxiety and fear. No matter what their conditions are. The one thing I want to point out to you is that everyone, EVERYONE, has had that fear. I don't care how many people have come on or off of these forums they have all, at some point, felt the intensity of adreniline when your heart does something it shouldn't. Granite over time we learn to manage and deal with what is happening, but the fear will come back if the syptoms return or get worse. I have the fear daily. I will be the first to admit, I do not like it, or wan't to deal with it. I have PVC's and cannot comment on some of the conditions you listed, but I can tell you, you need to get regular sleep. Mine act up terribly when I am tired. You need to relax. I know it is a double edged sword with anxiety problems and PVC's, but if I get fired up with anxiety, "they" get fired up.
You seem to have a lot of questions about what is going on with you and your ablation. Pick up the phone and call your cardio. and get some answers. You know I don't care how much I annoy my dr. or his staff, I still pay an arm and leg for him to answer those questions.
Good Luck, Relax!!!!!!!
