Sinus tachycardia

[WorryWart15]

Does anyone know how to read an ECG?...Back in January i was in the hospital for dehydration my heart rate was 154, they discharged me when my heart was still 125 and said it will be fine your just dehydrated...i never went back to see a doctor about it...but my heart never did return to "Normal" it continued to stay between 110-145 on the odd day my heart rate will be 93-99...i recently had an ECG For an upcoming day surgery...and my heart rate was 111 and it said Sinus Tachycardia...my V-rate was 99, PR 176, QRSD 86, QT 328 and QTc 446...is this normal? I DO! have anxiety and im aware it could be the cause of my fast heart beat...but i dont want it to be overlooked incase its NOT anxiety...can anyone help?

*UPDATE**

I had surgery all went well..but the nurses kept saying "I see you have a heart rhythm problem?" Yet I've never been told I do? And no doctor has called me about it...should I be concerned?

[MichelleP_3811]

You are not annoying anyone.  It is understandable you would want to get a handle on what is going on with your heart.  It is important that you do if only for your own peace of mind.  It is possible the nurse was looking at sinus tachycardia as a sign of arrhythmia.  You will come across many medical personal who do not necessarily know the distinction or who get all worked up about things when a cardiologist wouldn't blink an eye.  I had an svt my whole life that was very infrequent when I was younger but became more frequent when I got older.  I went to a doctor about it and she was super anxious about me seeing a cardiologist about it that she called me repeatedly to make sure I made the appointment.  But after seeing the cardiologist and EP they both were pretty unphased by my issues.  The EP even went so far as to say it was my choice whether or not to get it ablated.  In my heart, because of the symptoms, I knew it was probably a pretty good idea, my symptoms were disrupting my life but in the cardiology world I wasn't in mortal danger.  The point is my doctor was more stressed and anxious about it than I even was.  I grew up with it and it always stopped on its own so I never feared it.  And I have heard of other non-cardiology medical staff get as worked up as well.  So I suspect that the nurse was misreading your medical notes but if you want to be sure then ask the hospital or wherever you saw the nurse for copies of your medical files. They should be obligated to provide them. They are in the States but not sure what the Canada laws are.  

[WorryWart15]

Hello...it's been awhile since I've done an update...I was finally referred to a cardiologist! Someone finally listene and sent me to see one, I had a 24 hour holter monitor which revealed that I have SVT...I am now on medication for it, but my doctor keeps pushing for an ablation which really scares me..I'm not sure what to do! Also have had an echocardiogram but still waiting on the results from that. Michelle I know you told me you had SVT, is there something that causes this? Like an underlying issue? Hope to hear from you!

[MichelleP_3811]

If you had the type of svt that I had then it is actually caused by having extra muscle fibers in your heart that can conduct electricity in the wrong place causing the heart beat current to get caught in a loop beating well over the normal rate.  Mine was clocked at 230.  The only way to fix it is with ablation.  I was told by my EP that medicines really don't do anything to stop the episodes.  They only serve to slow them down when you have them.  Ablation is unfortunately the only cure.  I had one done in Sept 2011 and have not had an episode since.   I do still have pacs and pvcs but no more svt and my heart is pretty calm and steady now.  I can tolerate running which was always hard for me before for some reason.  

I know it is scary to think about having an ablation but it really is not that big a deal.  If you click on my name and go to my profile page you can read about my ablation.  I was super scared but it turned out to be a piece of cake and they really are pretty safe with high success rates and very low complication rates.  It may be worth a shot to try and get rid of it for good but it helps if you are active because they have to get it going to know where to ablate and that can be a bit tricky when a person isn't very active.  How often do you get episodes?  

Well anyways, I am here to talk and help you with any questions you might have.  Take care.

[WorryWart15]

Thank you Michelle, I think I will try to obtain the notes from surgery. I did take a picture of my Ecg results when I had it done but have no idea what any of it means lol. But I'm guessing if something was really wrong someone would have called me...but I will try looking into it. I'm not even familiar with the Canadian laws about these things lol!

[WorryWart15]

Just before surgery 2 different nurses both opened my chart and went over basic things,(ex: known allergies, last time I ate or drank) and then said so you have a heart rhythm problem? And when I said..not that I'm aware of? I just am aware I have a fast heart rate..and they both looked confused and said oh..yup I see everything's fine your good to go. And it wasn't very comforting! I know I have bad anxiety but I'm just worried, I haven't had a doctor in 5 years and it's hard to find one (shortage in Canada)

Sorry if I'm annoying anyone! I really do appreciate your input

[MichelleP_3811]

You should be able to contact the office or hospital where you had the ekg and ask for your records.  They will mail them to you.  Though I am not sure what you mean by saying when they asked me about my heart rhythm?  Do you mean they asked what your symptoms were or if you knew you had something specific? That was obviously quite a while ago so just find a doctor and go get checked out.  You don't need to know what happened last January just take it from here.  In any event, it does sound like some sort of sinus tachycardia which could be due to issues within the heart but usually is due to other factors outside the heart so just go and get a proper check up and mention that you seem to have a persistent high heart rate.  Best of luck sorting it out but try to not hyper stress about it.  Anxiety in and of itself can be raising your rate.  Take care

[WorryWart15]

Thank you caregiver222, I know for sure I'm not dehydrated this was the beginning of the year...my heart has still continued to be high, I guess I'm just worried, since I was suppose to be called for a follow up on my heart after the January incident and never received a call...so worried it's the same situation!

[caregiver222]

I have had a heart rate of 106-110 for the last fifty years. In the absence of any arythmia I wouldn't worry too much. A rate over 100 is called "tachycardia". Dehydration causes a compensatory increase in heart rate. A low hematocrit will also result in a higher heart rate. If there were abnormalities other than a fast heart rate they would have brought therm to your attention.

[WorryWart15]

I didn't actually see a doctor about my heart...I mentioned to a nurse during my pre-op I was worried about my fast heart rate and she told me to come in for an ecg, I never did get a phone call about it my surgery was still booked. When they asked me about my heart rhythm I said "I wasn't aware I had a heart rhythm problem I just know my heart rate is fast" and they just kind of looked at me confused and said ok...I do not have a family doctor so I don't know how to get access to my medical records, or if I should be contacting a doctor about all this and be checked

[MichelleP_3811]

Did you ask them what they meant by that?  Maybe get a hold of your medical records but they could have just been referencing the sinus tachycardia.  You need clarity but I doubt it is of any concern otherwise the doctor who saw you about your heart would have mentioned something.  But when someone says something like that try to not be shy about questioning them to be more specific about what they mean.  If they can't ask that they have a doctor come and explain things to you.  You have a right to know.