potsyturvy Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 I went to a cardio today for a follow-up of when I was having hundreds of heart palps a day (I'm used to 3 or 4 a day). My normal cardio was diagnosed with cancer not long ago and is getting treatment in another state, so I had to go to a cardio who doesn't know much about POTS. Before the cardio came in, his PA asked me about symptoms and listened to my heart. She said she could hear it make a "flump, flump, purr" sound a couple of times. When the cardio came in, he couldn't hear it and she couldn't find where it was doing it again, so he brushed me off and said since I'm going to Mayo in a couple of months they'll figure it out. Now, I'm kind of curious what that sound could be. Do any of you have any ideas? (on a side notes, I had a holter done a week ago and the doctor told me my results were not "anything really super major abnormal". I have no idea what that's supposed to mean lol. I don't like having to see doctor's that do not understand POTS though!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lieze Posted August 12, 2011 Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 Hmm I'm still wondering about a heart mumur a nurse practitioner thought she heard on my daughter.We scheduled the appt for her to see the gp she works under the next round to check out her crooked leg poor thing and her heart. It really made me suspicious that there was not just one but two abnormalities...but I had an amniocentesis with her that was normal.So genetically she was normal???But the gp didn't hear the murmur and I mentioned it to our present doctor and she didn't hear it either.But my suspicion remains that there could be something there. Maybe that NP has really good hearing!So I can relate to that getting you concerned.Maybe it would be better if they didn't tell us and let their superior know what they think they are hearing behind closed doors so we don't get so alarmed.I'm definitely the worry wart type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potsyturvy Posted August 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 Yeah, I can get a little worry-wartish with my health too. The doctor said something about how it could be something that just occurs on occasional beats and not every time. Maybe that's what happened with your daughter?I made an appointment with my EP-cardio though (I was overdue with an appointment with him anyways) so I guess I'll bring it up then. Lucky me, I also have had a hard time with prolonged bleeding lately too and excessive bruising. I guess I'll have to bring that up too. I went to the hospital today and got some tests done so that I can volunteer there. They had to do the tb skin test and I had blood running down my arm after it. Then I had to get blood drawn and my blood soaked through the cotton ball they put on top of it. Hopefully my ep-cardio will take me serious about some of this stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louloutinks Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 I thought it sounds like a murmur too.About a year ago,I had a 24hr holter monitor and they said it was okay - few PVC's and pacs but that it was normal. No brady or brachy either. Max HR 149 minimum 55. They did not ask me to keep an event log or even ask what I was doing (most of the day I was holed up in bed) just popping down for drinks and some food later on in the day. They didn't even mention my BP rising from 74 to 118 in the letter but just wrote BP ok on the day. He did tell me to drink more water - this was before my dx.I hope you get it sorted Potsyturvy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potsyturvy Posted August 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 Thanks Tinks! You've got to love doctors that aren't very thorough lol. The 150 bpm heart rate should have made the doctor think something was wrong! I had a doctor not long ago who looked at my pulse of 120 while laying down and on beta blockers and he said "wow, you have a really good heart rate!" I almost burst out laughing;) Hopefully, my ep-cardio will take me more seriouly when I go see him again. I think I'm a couple months overdue for my autonomic work up anyways, so he should be pretty thorough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lieze Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 I felt the same way at the end of my cardiac ablation.I felt like I was on the verge of you know what and they said "Wow you are in such great shape!' Your bp and pulse are just fabulous for what your body has just been through!!!! Thanks a lot lady I used to be in great shape but for the last nine months it was at that point I felt on the verge of something catastrophic a good majority of the time.I just can't wrap my head around if our bodies are just sending us all the wrong signals or what??? Maybe there is no need for alarm when we get the alarm.I wish the same as what I've just read here recently and what probably many of the rest of you are feeling, that someone could just tell me I'd be okay and the second most important part that I would truly believe it with my whole heart. Hugs everyone. I'm so sorry for everything we go through. My heart goes out to each and every one of you here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allene Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 I can't begin to tell you how hard it would be for any of us to know what your heart sounds could be without being trained, and without hearing it ourselves. It could be PVCs or PACs. It could be a murmur caused by Mitral, Tricuspid, Aortic, or Pulmonary regurgitation/insufficiency/prolapse/stenosis. It could be a third heart sound. It could be a fourth heart sound. It could be anything.The reason the doctor dismissed it is probably because he couldn't hear it himself, and therefore would have no idea what the sound is. Also, he probably figured that if your holter didn't turn up with anything terrible then the sound was probably one of the not-so-terrible things they found :/Do you know if you're having PVCs or PACs? The definition of palpitations is "awareness of heartbeat" and that could mean anything. I'm aware of my heartbeat all the time, but that doesn't mean my heart is doing anything wrong that it doesn't do already. I also have what I consider "palpitations" which are PVCs (premature ventricular contractions). The "flump, flump, purr" could have been a couplet or triplet PVC. Or PAC (premature atrial contraction- not as common). Since they don't happen every time your heart beats (that would be ventricular or atrial fibrillation respectively), it could have been that. Do you have any structural heart problems/deformities? It probably isn't valve regurgitation/etc, since that is a constant and your doctor should have heard that. I don't know anything about third and fourth heart sounds, but I think they're pretty rare. PVCs are benign in themselves, and many people have multiple ones a day. They only become dangerous when the heart becomes trapped in the premature contraction cycle, because it leads to fibrillation, which leads to death. I have enough heart problems for three people, and my cardiologist has never been concerned about this happening to me despite the fact that I get PVCs on a regular basis.So my best guess, without having actually heard the sound for myself, is that it was a PVC. I am, however, not a doctor, nor have I had any medical training. I'm basing this off knowledge I've accumulated over the years by visiting my cardiologist and hearing about my own heart problems (I was born with atrial and ventricular septal defects, as well as faulty valves. I've visited the cardiologist regularly for the last 21 years). I hope that I've been somewhat helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovebug Posted August 14, 2011 Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 Thanks Tinks! You've got to love doctors that aren't very thorough lol. The 150 bpm heart rate should have made the doctor think something was wrong! I had a doctor not long ago who looked at my pulse of 120 while laying down and on beta blockers and he said "wow, you have a really good heart rate!" I almost burst out laughing;) Hopefully, my ep-cardio will take me more seriouly when I go see him again. I think I'm a couple months overdue for my autonomic work up anyways, so he should be pretty thorough.What is an autonomic workup and what all do you have checked? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potsyturvy Posted August 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 Lieze, I totally understand what you mean about the doctors. It's crazy how our bodies can feel so terrible, yet because a couple of tests come back normal they think it's all in our heads. It's sad that we often get treated like the cause of our problems is depression or like we are just seeking attention when there really is something going on, they just aren't looking in the right places.Thanks so much for your response Allene! I didn't know that pvc's could cause a sound like that. I don't know anything about the results of my last holter, but the one before showed hundreds of pvc's and a bunch of couplets and triplets. I had gone in because of palpitations and a pvc showed up on my ecg so that would definitely make sense that that could be what she heard. I definitely feel better knowing that! Lovebug, my doctor uses the term "autonomic workup" loosely. Basically, I'll do a stress test, echo, tilt, and sweat test, with a few other tests thrown in (don't remember what all they are, it's been a while since I had one). It seems more like a cardio work up to me, but the term he uses is autonomic workup. Hope that helps clarify Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovebug Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Thanks Posty, that does clarify. My doc keeps a cardiac w/u on me as well b/c of my family history with heart disease (plus he's a cardio, LOL). But I've never had a tilt or sweat test....not sure what that one does. Anyway, thanks for the info. BTW, what you described as a "purr" sounds like a murmur to me. Then again, it could be the PVC's as I've never heard one before. I'll have to try and listen as I bring my nursing students to a Telemetry Unit for clinical. Regardless, I hope you are feeling well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potsyturvy Posted August 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Thanks for your reply Lovebug! The sweat test is where they put some electrode like things on your arms and legs and they make you sweat. Then they measure how much you sweat to see if your body is regulating your sweat glands correctly. Sorry, it's not a better explanation, but I don't entirely understand how it works I'm definitely bringing up the heart sounds to my ep-cardio next week! While it probably is nothing, I still want to make sure!! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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