Odd rythmn during exercise

[darkphoenix]

Hi there

I had a stress test today on a treadmill, for severe shortness of breath, tight chestedness and nausea while exercising.  I also have complete heart block, with a resting rate somewhere around 50bpm.

While i was walking on the machine I was able to see the pulse ox machine but not the main computer screen.  The tech  said to tell him when I was tight chested or had any symptoms, and so after about 30 seconds of walking I said I had.  The machine I could see seemed that my heart rate dropped from 58 to 38 and my oxygen levels plummeted too(but thats normal for me).

At the end of the test he seemed very anxious to know if I had felt any palpitations, and I said that I didnt think so.  He then said that when I reported that I was tight chested, my heart went into a funny rythmn a few seconds before I said it and then carried on while I walked.

My question is, what kind of rythmn might it have been (it looked very very squiggly on the screen), that I experienced as tight chestedness and breathlessness, but he thought Id have experienced as palpitations?

Any ideas?

Looks like I'll end up with a pacemaker... I'm scared to go out now until I see my cardio in a week or so....

[darkphoenix]

Ive got a benign asymptomatic form of complete heart block that is extremely rare.  I was told by an expert about 7 years ago that it will eventually change into pacemaker requring heart rythmn problem - hence my quickly arranging a stress test when i started getting symptoms recently.


I was not born with an SA node due to an absent right atrium - i have 2 left ones.... but the right left atrium has a collection of cells that do a very similar job to the SA node and while the rythmn has always been very slow the top and the bottom chambers have been pumping away at about the right times for years and years - despite not communicating with each other.

But, as I said, this rare, but harmonious set up has not been expected to last forever - I was told 6 years ago that i could be back in her office the next day or in 10 years time.

A doctor popped in for while i walked on the treadmill, then left again, and the tech just told me to not do any intense exercise until my team of consultants have had a proper look at my ecg.

It just doesnt fit with my understanding of heart block that a 'funny' rythmn as he put it would occur on exercise, normally with heart block the heart just doesnt beat quickly enough to get the blood where it needs to go, and in some people  this leads to fainting etc.

I am just worried that i have developed another heart rythmn thing on top of what i already have....

I guess I shall just have to wait until my ecg is examined by an expert.... I hate waiting.

I go to a specialist heart and lung hospital in the middle of london, so i know that I am getting the best care there is in this country - its just not helping me much that i shall probably lay awake all night in a panic.

[Brooke_38]

Hello...

Who told you that you had or have complete heart block? That in of itself is a medical emergency. If a permanent pacemaker can't be placed immediately, than they will use transcutaneous pacing (a wire inserted into the heart to pace) There is no way that you'd be waiting a week to see your cardiologist...

It is heard to say what rhythm you experienced during the test, since all the tracings are squiggly to some degree.

If you were in any immediate danger, they wouldn't have let you leave. I think that you should call your Dr's office tomorrow and ask them to explain to you what was meant by this comment "complete heart block"

Let us know what they say:)

[Jerry_NJ]

Are you saying that a cardiologist didn't supervise your stress test?  Maybe things are a-changing, but to the best of my recollection (one stress and three nuclear stress tests) there was always a doctor supervising the test.

It seems strange to me too that a technician would say anything that might alarm a patient, regardless of what s/he thought.

That said, if you were not given any cautions on you activities, I would assume you are not in any immediate danger.  

A HR that slows with exercise seems very unusual, but not unheard of...I'm sure I've seen it a few times on this community, but I don't remember what the outcome(s) was/were.