24 hour monitor - Please give me some reassurance

[Mike_NY]

Hey guys,

I've just got a 24 hour monitor put on and i've to try and make myself have some PVCs before this time tomorrow but after talking to the doctor beforehand he made me TERRIFIED when he was talking about Ventricular tachycardia. He said he wants me to take the monitor to make sure I don't have the bad types of PVCs.

The PVCs I get feel like a huge butterfly in my chest and last one or 2 seconds I think and I usually cough if it's a big one. I told him I don't feel a thump after and I check my pulse and it's steady.

Can someone PLEASE give me some reassurance? If I had Ventricular tachycardia would I know? How would it feel? Would it last a second or 2 and go away or be constant fluttering for an extended period?

I didn't even know about Ventricular tachycardia until I spoke to him and now i'm in a panic.

---------- Post added at 23:54 ---------- Previous post was at 21:21 ----------

I done some high intensity workout and during the resting period around 10-15 minutes later, I stood up and I felt a flutter in my throat and this made my heart rate jump away up with panic and I took my pulse and it seemed to be speeding up and slowing down. It was about 120-140bpm. Any other time I get a flutter not after exercise my heart rate remains steady and well below 100. I didn't feel any other flutters other than the first but I guess that doesn't mean anything.

Please anyone, am I just over-reacting?

[AnxiousChap]

Hey Mike_NY,
They say you never forget your first panic attack...I know I remember mine. 38 years ago I was on a treadmill when I felt a fluctuation in my chest and I panicked. My heart rate jumped up to 180 and I felt dizzy and nauseous. Visited the ER and found nothing wrong with my heart yet the attending wanted to have me wear a 24 hr monitor in the event my issue was tachycardia. All was well, turns out I had Gerd and was running too soon after eating. The acid caused esophageal spasms. I say all of this to say just because you're wearing the monitor doesn't mean you have a heart rythm issue. Just think how good you'll feel to get that ruled out.
Best wishes,
B

[Mike_NY]

Thanks B. I wish the cardiologist hadn't told me about VT and just let me do the 24 hour monitor as normal. Right after I got a PVC I went into a panic and I just feel horrible now. I've taken my blood pressure like 10 times tonight and keep checking my pulse and now I'm convinced I have it.

He told me if they are just PVCs then he won't be worried, I may but he won't, that's what he said. I wish they took into consideration how people feel about this stuff and what it does to them. I have the seed of doubt planted in my head now and it's going to feel like forever before I get the results back.

[Mike_NY]

Anyone please? There have been 60 views on this thread and 1 reply and probably most people who browse this forum have had a 24 hour monitor.

These forums have become so quiet lately, I deleted a thread a couple of days ago because it went days without a reply but over 100 views.

[Bearinmind]

I never had 24 hour monitor, but I did had some big ectopics. It felt my heart had skipped a beat or two, like someone had kicked me suddenly in the chest, followed by accelerated heart (140, measured on an oxymeter) and some serious coughing (not one or two, but 5 to 10). It kept like that for some weeks, then when I fixed my diet and my sleep hygiene it stopped.

PVCs and PACs are normally nothing to worry about, 99% of the time they're benign and just a sign of stress/or some nutrient deficiency.

Ventricular tachycardia it's also not something to worry about too much, because there's a big difference between tachycardia (your whole heart is beating fast) and ventricular tachycardia (your ventricles are beating too fast). Ventricular tachycardia (and actually, any form of pathogenic tachycardia) are not responsive to relaxing stimuli. When you're having ventricular tachycardia your heart rate stays up (more than 140+, usually) no matter what position you're in and what you're doing. You would be lying at bed for much time and still have a very accelerated (+130) heart beat. If your heart rate lowers when you try to calm yourself, you're not having ventricular tachycardia, it's that simple.

The hard question then becomes, how do you know you have truly calmed yourself to then check your heart rate? It's tricky. For me, I go lay down, close my eyes and do some breathing/meditation/hypnosis exercises for about 20 to 40 minutes and then check my heart rate. From my experience, I noticed that when I'm truly calm and relaxed I don't feel any hurry. No urgent need to go somewhere to do something fast, I feel somewhat hopeful and careless. That's truly relaxed.

[Mike_NY]

Thank you Bear. Recently I have been checking my pulse when I get a big PVC and it feels steady usually 60-70bpm. I drank a cup of coffee last night, had a lot of nicotine and went out for a fast walk in 35 degree heat and really bad humidity then came home and went really hard on my exercise bike for a couple of minutes to really get my heart rate up. I did this in the hope of catching one because I haven't really had a PVC in 2 days just sitting at home. I was sat down on my laptop and my heart rate was going down over the space of 15 or 20 minutes or so then when I stood up and felt one I immediately felt my pulse and it was fast and some beats were close together and this immediately sent me into a panic and my heart rate went up even further.

It was terrible. I eventually calmed down but I have had a real feeling of dread and a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach ever since. I have to take the monitor off at 4.20pm today and return it, so I have no idea when they are going to give me the results.

[Bearinmind]

Accelerated heart beat after an ectopic it's common, it's how the heart corrects itself. Most ectopics are just a result of blood going where it shouldn't for a second or two, because there was some weird heart beat, (usually because there's a faulty signal on the nerves that control heart contraction. 99% of the time, the faulty signal conduction through the nerves are not pathogenic nor serious, they're just signs that your peripheral neural system is stressed, either because you're stressed [anxious/not sleeping well] or because you're not eating well.) so what your heart do to fix that hiccup is to accelerate, to accomplish two things: remove the blood from where it shouldn't have gotten to and to re-synchronize it's rhythm (think it like a clock missing a beat and then do a full complete circle to go back where it should have been).

Your results will probably come back normal.

[TheMitralGirl]

I wore a holster not long ago, 24 hr monitor. It was because my doctor couldnt figure out the reason for my palpitations and my increased heart rate. Turned out i have cardiac arrythmia along with my MVPS. having to wear a holster is not something to be panicked about. Your doctor just want to monitor the rhythm of your heart and to know the cause of your distress. Worrying about it would cause you panic attacks that would show on your monitor.

I have also posted here about my case and some threads that was posted later than kine have had lots of replies. I think theyre being selective. Meh.

[Mike_NY]

Is it a good sign that when I normally feel a PVC when I check my pulse its steady at 60-70bpm? I think because I had a vigorous workout and was in the recovery phase that I was stressed out and I went into a panic after feeling my pulse after learning about VT early in that day, so a panic attack happened and my heart rate shot away up. I didn't feel any more than 1 flutter which was the initial one in my throat. I haven't had the types of PVCs i've been having since I've had this monitor on and those ones are much worse, the ones that take your breath away when you are just sitting stationary.

[Aaahhfreakout]

There are a lot of different possible arrhythmias. You could just as easily be having a couple of harmless atrial ectopics, nevermind ventricular tachycardia. It'd feel the same. Also I know from my own testing that a single ectopic of any sort can feel like a flutter lasting perhaps a bit under a second. It could just be an ectopic couplet to make it feel like two seconds of fluttering. :)

[Mike_NY]

Thankfully they told me nothing to worry about. They told me I had 5 PVCs in 24 hours and they were just regular benign ones.

[AnxiousChap]

That's awesome news! Congrats!
B

[Mike_NY]

Thank you so much. I've an echo test and blood work next week and my annual physical tomorrow. I just need to rule everything out for peace of mind then I need to see someone I think to get my anxiety under control.

Not looking forward to seeing my medical bills! But you can't put a price on peace of mind

[DivineAngle]

Hi Mike

yes I have also felt butterfly in the heart area and as you said there is no skipped beats or a thud as you can tell just a quick sensation and pulse remains normal without any tachycardia

I had an event monitor with lot of these symptoms which I invoked to record when it occurred. I am having the results tomorrow and see what comes out of it. I am assuming they are all premature beats but definitely makes you wonder too.

When you had these, did they line up with when you recorded the symptoms? the holter will record everything so its good to confirm that when you had it was the time that holter recorded it too.

Hopefully I can share some info once I have it tomorrow. I also had the battery of tests like blood, ultrasound, treadmill test, lot of ECG's, 24 hour holter and event monitor, and cardiologist I saw said nothing to worry about so far and to monitor for 6 months.

[Mike_NY]

Hi Mike

yes I have also felt butterfly in the heart area and as you said there is no skipped beats or a thud as you can tell just a quick sensation and pulse remains normal without any tachycardia

I had an event monitor with lot of these symptoms which I invoked to record when it occurred. I am having the results tomorrow and see what comes out of it. I am assuming they are all premature beats but definitely makes you wonder too.

When you had these, did they line up with when you recorded the symptoms? the holter will record everything so its good to confirm that when you had it was the time that holter recorded it too.

Hopefully I can share some info once I have it tomorrow. I also had the battery of tests like blood, ultrasound, treadmill test, lot of ECG's, 24 hour holter and event monitor, and cardiologist I saw said nothing to worry about so far and to monitor for 6 months.

I actually hadn't had any proper ones for 2 days before I got the monitor (go figure) but I knew getting my heart rate up to 180 doing exercise would bring them on during the recovery period and it did bring a few on which was good for the monitor.

My cardiologist also has record of a couple I had after doing a stress test and they told me they were totally normal. He said I had 5 in 24 hours and my results were one of the better ones he saw. I said I went into a panic because I thought I had VT but he said I don't have that and would have no reason to have that cause it's usually something that occurs in people with heart disease or after heart surgery.

Next week I am getting an echo and blood work then if everything is good I'm getting no more tests. I need to learn to control my anxiety and thinking I'm going to die all the time. It's stupid really and it's cost me a huge amount of money in the last year on medical bills.

Good luck with your results tomorrow. It sounds like you just have regular PVCs so I wouldn't worry.

[DivineAngle]

Thanks Mike. Good luck on the remaining tests next week too. Funny enough I also get these if I go for a good 15-20 minute run, I get it at my peak and one or two in recovery too, maybe it's all the excess adrenaline we are releasing in the process.

It's funny usually PVCs are a skip and a thud which you feel but as you say too its like a butterfly and your pulse remains normal.

Medical bills may add up but its also imperative to get it checked out thoroughly so there are no hidden surprises, it's better to be safe than sorry in this case. It's totally worth the expense.

[Mike_NY]

Not everyone feels the thud, my cardiologist said. But he said its "nice" when you do feel one because it fits the profile more of how people describe them. But everyone's different!

[Mike_NY]

Just a quick and last update on this. So I haven't had any PVCs since the day of having the holter monitor on and I also had an echo last week and just got the results today, all normal. I haven't been to the gym in a few weeks because I know that high intensity exercise brings the skips on but I am going to start again from tomorrow.

At this stage it's safe to say that I don't have anything wrong with my heart and should I get any skips again, I won't let them bother me and I certainly wont be running to the cardiologist again. This is it. I know it's all down to anxiety and if I feel myself consumed by it again, I will see a therapist about controlling the anxiety.

Thanks everyone.

[DivineAngle]

That's great news Mike, happy to hear all the results were inconclusive of something serious. I also have started some exercise routines and also feel an occasional thud when exercising and doing cardio about 15 minutes in but it is what it is.

My followups were also the same feedback where everything looks to be ok, I still get occasional palpitation here and there but cannot let it consume your thoughts.