Sorry to disagree, but sinead has never had the arrhythmia documented, and therefore does need an event monitor. They probably also need an echo, but it may be PVC's or it may be some afib. It is not that easy in all cases to differentiate from bunches of PVC's in an irreg. irreg. rhythm, from a run of afib. I thought I would surely be able to tell, but NOT! Whatever it is, it needs to be documented first.
Degrassi, I would kindly ask you to refrain from being rude &/or antagonistic on my threads. Your comments are not helping anybody & are not welcome.
PVC man thanks very much for your HELP.
I appreciate it, as do others here.
Thank-you.
The event monitor is to establish the type and frequency of Irregularity--it has LOTS of diagnostic value as does an echo. BOTH tests are indicated.
Unreal.
Thank you so very much for your thoughtful reply PVC man. I went to the Dr today & asked for the event monitor, they will call me to schedule an apt (hopefully soon). It means a lot to know that other ppl care & understand what this is like to live with. Although I hate to think of anyone else suffering too.
Kind words of advice & encouragement are so important for all of us. Your post really re-affirmed to me that I deserve proper care & should be getting it! Thank-you. Its awful to feel so scared all the time.
Take good care :)
You've come to the right place as many of us suffer with the same thing. PVCs for me feel VERY prominent in bed and can make it VERY HARD to sleep. This just makes things WORSE as PVCs get worse if not enough sleep....a vicious cycle. PVCs can feel very different for different people as there are some who don't feel them at all...lucky for them...I can feel every last one.
It IS TRUE that there are many unsympathetic doctors out there... I have had more than my share. Tell your MD to take a hike and DEMAND a cardio referral...the dopey doctor doesn't know what its like to suffer like you are...you WILL get through this...step 1 is to get a doctor who will prescribe an event monitor for you...they DON't HURT and are easy to use. Once the diagnosis is made, the new doc can make a treatment plan for you. A stress test and echo are also painless and good tests.
I feel that assuming you are having PVCs, that a b-blocker may help A LOT. Also, sleep is VERY important so do whatever you can to get 8 hours...if the PVCs keep you awake then maybe he/she can RX a sleep aide also. Remember no caffeine; and limit alcohol
Don't let the assinine GP dictate the situation...take control of the situation and DEMAND better. You deserve it!!
Let us know what happens
Good luck and feel better!!
Yes, it feels like runs of pvc's mixed up with normal beats... sometimes one every second beat, or every third, fourth, fifth etc... all jumbled up & floppy feeling. all equally hellish & terrifying.
I wish I had a cardiologist! I have a GP who blows me off every time I tell him how badly these damn things are disrupting my life. I would love an event monitor... how does it work exactly? isn't it for a month? I would be sure to catch these buggers working with that window of time... I had a holter which caught nothing... as it was only 1 day.
Any suggestions on how to get somewhere with my Dr? He wouldn't send me for a stress or echo, because "the holter report was ok" and he fancies it "unwarranted". It would be easier to accept all this & move on if I KNEW these flops were occuring in a "structurally normal" heart....
this is very hard, last night whilst trying to fall asleep I was tormented by dropping beats in runs & bigeminy... I feel like I will die in my bed alone & no one will know until they find me a few days later.
No one should have to live like this, this is hell.
You should see your cardiologist for an event monitor. It's impossible to say what it is just from the described sensation. A lot of arrhythmias feeling like a tumbling sensation.
Hi Sinead, There's really no way of knowing unless it's been caught on a monitor as arrhythmias are felt differently by different people. I get this sensation too occasionally and I think, in my case, its just runs of PVCs. It's never done me any harm. I just about get time to think to myself 'this feels weird, what's going on?' before it clicks back into normal rhythm.
Sounds like various runs of PVC's...salvo's, couplets, maybe some NSVT mixed in there.
I have the somersaults a few times every couple of months, especially when I'm over-heated, stressed or tired.
Hang in there! As my cardio says, "These too shall pass"...