New here. Heart concerns

[Sunflower318]

Hey everyone! I'm here cause I'm a mess and need advice. I have been having palps and chest pain for years. I saw a dr like 5 years ago and he told me that it was nothing to worry about, maybe MVP, and nothing to worry about. I wore a heart monitor for 24 hours. He said there was meds to slow my heart but they would make me tired. He did ekg and ultrasound and it was good. Fast forward to now. I saw a different dr that put me on a heart monitor for 2 weeks. I pressed the button when I felt pain or palps. He also did stress test, ekg, and sono and they were all good. When I went back to see the results from the monitor the first thing he said was the company that examines the monitor said it was a life threatening rhythm, but he went over it and said it was wrong. He said there was a procedure to do that might stop my palps but might not
Then he said I might be vitamin deficient, but he didnt think so. Then he said he could try to beat blocker and if it made me tired I could stop it. Trying to ease my fears, i asked him if it were possible for my heart to just stop when he was off rhythm. He said probably not. I'm 33. I have 2 young kids and a good life. So needless to say I'm a wreck. The treated me like crap and made me feel crazy. I'm going to find a second dr and get their opinion. I'm having a hard time getting over the fact that the company that does the monitoring says its dangerous.

[Sunflower318]

Hey everyone! I'm here cause I'm a mess and need advice. I have been having palps and chest pain for years. I saw a dr like 5 years ago and he told me that it was nothing to worry about, maybe MVP, and nothing to worry about. I wore a heart monitor for 24 hours. He said there was meds to slow my heart but they would make me tired. He did ekg and ultrasound and it was good. Fast forward to now. I saw a different dr that put me on a heart monitor for 2 weeks. I pressed the button when I felt pain or palps. He also did stress test, ekg, and sono and they were all good. When I went back to see the results from the monitor the first thing he said was the company that examines the monitor said it was a life threatening rhythm, but he went over it and said it was wrong. He said there was a procedure to do that might stop my palps but might not
Then he said I might be vitamin deficient, but he didnt think so. Then he said he could try to beat blocker and if it made me tired I could stop it. Trying to ease my fears, i asked him if it were possible for my heart to just stop when he was off rhythm. He said probably not. I'm 33. I have 2 young kids and a good life. So needless to say I'm a wreck. The treated me like crap and made me feel crazy. I'm going to find a second dr and get their opinion. I'm having a hard time getting over the fact that the company that does the monitoring says its dangerous.

[Sunflower318]

Anyone?

[lofwyr]

I have used a beta blocker for a couple of years for my aortic aneurysm. Honestly the first month I was tired all the time, but after I feel no different than normal except a little calmer if I am honest. But I am on a pretty high dose, 50mg twice a day.

[Careful1]

First off, if the monitoring company thought you to be in a life threatning arrythmia, they would have contacted you right away. Normally when something abnormal comes through but its not an emergency, they would forward those strips to your doctor to have a look but if its something that requires immediate care, they would ha r contacted you directly and told you to go to the hospital. The doctor did not mention what this so called life threatening arrythmia was?
Secondly, the procedure you are referring to is called an EP study. Once you have a documented arrythmia, they can can do this study where they take you into the cath lab and insert cathers into your groin and thread them up into your heart. Once there they will try to provoke an arrythmia by sending small electrical impulses through the cathers and injecting you with adrenaline. If they are able to provoke the arrythmia long enough to map your heart they can sometimes find the problem area and burn it to cause a tiny amount of scar tissue so that instead of the electrical impulses trying to go through that pathway, they will go around it. This is when the EP study turns into what's called an ablation. I have a few different arrythmia's and have had this procedure done. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't and sometimes it works but only for a time. There are no guarantees but I find it strange that your doctor would suggest this procedure after saying he saw no concerns with your results. This procedure is not done just for tachycardia (fast heart rate) it's done for an irregular heart beat and it's never the first line of defense for people with documented arrythmia's, never mind someone without one. The first line of defense is beta blockers, then anti arrythmia drugs unless it's one of the very serious arrythmia's which I wont name here.

Lots of things can cause tachycardia but so long as the rhythm is fast and regular it's really not a concern, it's more of a nuisance. There are also lots of things you can do and things you can avoid to bring your heart rate down naturally. Your dr is right. Beta blockers can slow your heart rate down but there are side effects like drowsiness. I personally would try to do what I could on my own before turning to medication but thats just me.

It's good to get a second opinion if you dont feel comfortable with the first doctors assessment but if the second doctor agrees with the first, accept that your heart is okay and try not to worry about it anymore.

Please do not drive yourself crazy with thoughts of your heart stopping. Your heart is an amazing organ and it knows what its doing. Even if one has an arrhythmia it doesn't mean their chances of going into cardiac arrest are greater then someone who doesn't. Most arrythmia's while scary and uncomfortable are benign. You are okay and you will be okay (((hugs))) 🤗

[nomorepanic]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your thread was merged with another of your threads.

Please when posting on similar topics add it onto your previous post rather than starting a new one.

It is nothing personal it is just to make it easier for people to follow your story and to give you advice as a whole.

[nomorepanic]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your issue.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

Please also read this post:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=213239

[Sunflower318]

Thank you for the kind words. The Dr. Did mention a few names of things but after he said life threatening I kinda blanked out. He just said it so fast and callous it hit me hard. I was thinking and I dont see how the monitor could be very reliable. It was just a big sticker I wore on the left side of my chest. My 2 year old hit it and pulled at it when he could and it just seems like my daily moving would mess it up. I think I am going to call around and find a dr in my area that will be able to get me in asap. If he also suggests a beta blocker I will try it. What you said about the company calling me directly makes sense. They actually contacted me a few times, once to remind me to send it in when I was done and another to tell me the bill will be sent soon lol.

[Careful1]

Well believe it or not those stickers are pretty reliable but artifact does happen and sometimes it looks like something is there when there isnt. I have had strips that very much looked like a very dangerous arrythmia but when viewed by a trained eye it was nothing. Also a lot of that stuff is read by a computer first. The monitor thinks it catches something and sends it to the monitor company, computer says X arrythmia is happening or has happened, the monitoring company has a trained person look at strip. This person will determine weather or not the computer is right or if the monitor in fact caught an arrythmia or if it was just artifact. If they see something worriesome they will reach out to you and since they didnt I am willing to bet that this is exactly what happened. Those monitors are sensitive so a lot of the times it thinks it detects a rhythm disturbance but really it's just artifact from you moving or coughing or your little one hitting the monitor. I have had many late night phone calls from cardio net asking me how I felt because something came through from my monitor not serious just perhaps a long run of my normal stuff but they wanted to make sure I was okay and so they are deff always watching. Those sticker monitors were by far my favorite monitor to wear until my loop recorder was implanted. Now I have a monitor that is inside of my body and will monitor my heart for 3 years or until the battery dies.

Are you seeing a primary care doctor or a cardiologist?

[Sunflower318]

Yes I have a few drs I see pretty regularly. It's just stressful. I get pain in my chest that are sharp and stabbing and then I get out of breath. They go all the way around me chest and back. Like I'm being stabbed my multipe knives. The cardiologist thinks that might be something other then my heart. But here in the US medical bill add up quickly so I dont want to go to a dr more then I have to. I have transferred my records to a different dr and I'm waiting for them to call to set up an appt with me. Thank you everyone!

[wavey]

Just a thought, but have you looked at dhydration and electrolytes? It's quite a basic really, so you may have already, but low electroclytes can cause palpitations and racing heart beats. I had quite bad palpitations for a while this year (they were even waking me up at night) until I looked into electrolytes (I think it happened because I had changed my diet quite drastically). The result was that I added 2 glasses of coconut water and a couple of bananas per day to my diet, to up my levels (mainly potassium - we need about 4700mg per day and most don't reach that). My palpitations stopped within 24 hours and if notice anything with my heart now, electrolytes/dehydration are the first things I look at.

Magnesium is also important - again most are slightly deficient and it can affect the heart like all electrolytes. I now soak my feet in a bucket with warm water and 500g epsom salt for 30 mins 2 or 3 times per week (you could also soak in a bath but I just find the foot soak easier).

[Sunflower318]

Update: I went back to a second dr and he was so much nicer than the first. He said that he wouldnt recommend any procedures or a beta blocker. He did give me a pill that I can take when my palps are being bothersome

He said that its not anything that is going to kill me and he told me some things to try also, like squeezing my chest, pinching my nose and blowing out, rubbing the side of my neck, and breathing deep. Also said getting back into exercising will help. So now I need to find motivation for that LOL.

[Careful1]

Glad you got a second opinion and now have a better understanding of what's going on.
There will be good days and bad ones but in time you will learn your triggers and things to avoid to keep palpitations at bay (((hugs)))