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Ventricular Bigeminy
Hi, I just has some tests back from the hospital. Spoke to the nurse and she said I was having venricular bigeminy (I wore an event monitor and pressed the button a couple of times when I got symptoms).
I have been taking CoQ10 tablets for the past couple of weeks and the PVCs have got much less frequent but I think this may just be co-incidental as 2 weeks is very quick. I have been getting chest tightness and pains in various parts of my chest and have stopped the coQ10 just in case they are the cause although Ive had this on and off for 10 months now, doc seems unconcerned and cardiologist said it doesnt sound like angina. Im seeing the doc in 2 days. The pains and tightness are nothing new really, have had many tests. Cholesterol is 3.9 (total), Echocardiogram and ECG all completely normal, exercise ECG completely normal. 6 Day event recorder completely normal apart from the PVCs, Thyroid normal, no cardiac enzymes in blood when I was tested in A&E in October.
I think tiredness seems to cause the PVCs for me most of all, get them on an evening when Im relaxing, perhaps playing on the computer. When they happen I usually need to lay down and often end up just going to sleep, very often before 9 pm. If i go for a walk they seem to stop.
Any ideas on preventing the PVCs? When they happen it makes me feel dreadful and cant do anything apart from sleep.
I have been taking CoQ10 tablets for the past couple of weeks and the PVCs have got much less frequent but I think this may just be co-incidental as 2 weeks is very quick. I have been getting chest tightness and pains in various parts of my chest and have stopped the coQ10 just in case they are the cause although Ive had this on and off for 10 months now, doc seems unconcerned and cardiologist said it doesnt sound like angina. Im seeing the doc in 2 days. The pains and tightness are nothing new really, have had many tests. Cholesterol is 3.9 (total), Echocardiogram and ECG all completely normal, exercise ECG completely normal. 6 Day event recorder completely normal apart from the PVCs, Thyroid normal, no cardiac enzymes in blood when I was tested in A&E in October.
I think tiredness seems to cause the PVCs for me most of all, get them on an evening when Im relaxing, perhaps playing on the computer. When they happen I usually need to lay down and often end up just going to sleep, very often before 9 pm. If i go for a walk they seem to stop.
Any ideas on preventing the PVCs? When they happen it makes me feel dreadful and cant do anything apart from sleep.
Best Answer
No numbers were mentioned, the letter from consultant just said i had pressed the event monitor twice and these were the ventricular bigeminy. It's certainly not constant, to be honest a few times daily, sometimes I don't notice any. Once I notice it, which is on an evening most if the time, I feel worn out and want to lay down. I'm easily tired it seems, something else that I've told docs and consultant and I just get told it's nothing. As I mentioned in earlier posts, the chest tightness I also sometimes get is dismissed as something to ignore.
This morning I changed the bed, not much of an exertion. My shoulders on both sides near collar bone felt tight, so did my chest. An hour or so later I walked 3 miles in the snow, no problem or tightness whatsoever! It did make me tired though and have slept a couplemof hours this afternoon (luckily I'm on holiday from work currently and can be a bit lazy)
I didn't feel this way a year ago even though back then I was 265 lb and smoked 20 a day! I stopped smoking in Feb and lost 56lb, I have a fair bit of weight still to lose I know although everyone says they don't believe I weigh 15 st still, well the scales don't lie! Losing that weight, stopping smoking and eating healthily was a major effort for me, it was to improve my health and instead it seems to have made things much worse. It makes me feel quite despondent, I find myself thinking about my health, worrying about having a heart attack or angina every single day. If I ignore it or don't think about it I get reminded by chest pain happening or a spell of ventricular bigeminy. I just want to go back tomfeeling the way I did a year ago and to stop having to contemplate my own mortality.
This morning I changed the bed, not much of an exertion. My shoulders on both sides near collar bone felt tight, so did my chest. An hour or so later I walked 3 miles in the snow, no problem or tightness whatsoever! It did make me tired though and have slept a couplemof hours this afternoon (luckily I'm on holiday from work currently and can be a bit lazy)
I didn't feel this way a year ago even though back then I was 265 lb and smoked 20 a day! I stopped smoking in Feb and lost 56lb, I have a fair bit of weight still to lose I know although everyone says they don't believe I weigh 15 st still, well the scales don't lie! Losing that weight, stopping smoking and eating healthily was a major effort for me, it was to improve my health and instead it seems to have made things much worse. It makes me feel quite despondent, I find myself thinking about my health, worrying about having a heart attack or angina every single day. If I ignore it or don't think about it I get reminded by chest pain happening or a spell of ventricular bigeminy. I just want to go back tomfeeling the way I did a year ago and to stop having to contemplate my own mortality.
did they give you a number or % of pvc's you're having over a 24 hour period? that's important
if it's sporadic bigeminy, like once daily no biggie but if it's constant then that's another matter
if it's sporadic bigeminy, like once daily no biggie but if it's constant then that's another matter
Have spoken to cardiac nurse at British heart foundation, I was told that ventricular bigeminy is nothing to worry about and there is no treatment. I was offered no advice on potential ways of improving symptoms (ash I asked several times). All avenues seem exhausted, as am I.
It's possible the test details will follow eventually, the delay may be due to some confusion because a new hospital opened here in Peterborough between my seeing the consultant and the tests being completed, all staff and patients were transferred from the old hospital over the course of a few days. We now have a 'super hospital' as it's known here. It is a huge hospital, one of the largest in Europe I believe. On a positive note I now live within a 10 minute walk (2 minutes by car) of perhaps the most modern emergency room in the UK, I hope it never happens but if I have a heart emergency my location is quite good fir rapid treatment.
In the UK I can seek a second opinion relatively easily but I may have difficulty convincing a new doctor to refer me to see a cardiologist again. I don't think I need to have a new cardiologist really, just the opportunity to speak to her following my test results. Due to waiting lists the earliest chance to do that us 5 months away.
I could pay to see the cardio privately but if I did that my understanding is that I opt out of the NHS route and if I needed any treatment it would have to be paid for also. I don't have the money to do that unfortunately.
I will speak to BHF soon, I'll post once I do that.
In the UK I can seek a second opinion relatively easily but I may have difficulty convincing a new doctor to refer me to see a cardiologist again. I don't think I need to have a new cardiologist really, just the opportunity to speak to her following my test results. Due to waiting lists the earliest chance to do that us 5 months away.
I could pay to see the cardio privately but if I did that my understanding is that I opt out of the NHS route and if I needed any treatment it would have to be paid for also. I don't have the money to do that unfortunately.
I will speak to BHF soon, I'll post once I do that.
Hi, I took your advice and asked for a copy of the recent event monitor and echo. Doc did not have these, he showed me on his computer, all there'd was was a letter from the consultant scanned on. It mentioned ventricular bigeminy and told the doc to reassure me all was ok. I therefore Dont feel ive moved forward, the symptoms remain.I'm told it's down to stress mostly and that I can just ignore the pains/tightness as well as the PVCs. It's amazing what stress can cause, but I find it hard to believe this is all stress. Of course I'm worried about what is wrong but I think that would be an understandable reaction. Stress seems to me more like a convenient catch all diagnosis (bit like blaming a virus is often perceived as).
Im unsure where to go from here. The NHS route seems exhausted form the time being. I do have a follow p appointment with the consultant in April, this date is the earliest availablemfor that clinic in my area. If I went to another doctor I don't thing I'd get referred any quicker. Only option is to see what happens and be very firm if my situation remains the same when I next see the cardiologist.
I don't know how many pvcs I have, runs of bigeminy of about 45 secs is the record, usually 10 seconds or so. But makes me feel so unwell imhave to go to bed usually. Actually today I have only noticed one short run of bigeminy this morning.
Any pointers on where I might get advice would be most welcome. I was thinking phoning British heart foundation?
Im unsure where to go from here. The NHS route seems exhausted form the time being. I do have a follow p appointment with the consultant in April, this date is the earliest availablemfor that clinic in my area. If I went to another doctor I don't thing I'd get referred any quicker. Only option is to see what happens and be very firm if my situation remains the same when I next see the cardiologist.
I don't know how many pvcs I have, runs of bigeminy of about 45 secs is the record, usually 10 seconds or so. But makes me feel so unwell imhave to go to bed usually. Actually today I have only noticed one short run of bigeminy this morning.
Any pointers on where I might get advice would be most welcome. I was thinking phoning British heart foundation?
one thing I would do when I see the dr - ask for a copy of all of your results and look them over; there could be something else going on or something they didn't explain to you
dr's seem unconcerned over everything believe me - I had multi focal pvc's caught on an EKG and they were so unconcerned they sent me home - 1 month later during my EPS I went into VFib and the dr seemed shocked yet he shouldn't have been given my history with that EKG and other things
you need to see how many pvc's /24 hrs and see if you can find your triggers; such as being tired - it's possibly due to your HR lowering in the evening and relaxing
dr's seem unconcerned over everything believe me - I had multi focal pvc's caught on an EKG and they were so unconcerned they sent me home - 1 month later during my EPS I went into VFib and the dr seemed shocked yet he shouldn't have been given my history with that EKG and other things
you need to see how many pvc's /24 hrs and see if you can find your triggers; such as being tired - it's possibly due to your HR lowering in the evening and relaxing
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I would send in writing to the dr and to the consultant and get a copy; they're your records. You need to see the specifics of what's going on, not just take the old "dr cop out" i.e. yours are caused by stress or anxiety, but that happens to all of us.
I would try the foundation and ask what step to take next; it may be a bit different in what to do next than here in the US. Can you switch cardiologists? I know here in the US it depends on your insurance and if you need referrals etc.