Interesting Article-Tachycardias

[Poohbear]

If anyone is interested it appears this is a fairly new article

http://www.clinicalcardiology.org/briefs/0...20ablation'

[Guest Julia59]

Very, Very interesting. Thanks---Poohbear.

Although there are some things in the article that are a little complex-----some things were pretty easy to understand.

I'm going to print it and add it to my collection.

Julie :0)

[jesse1919]

Didn't have time to really read it properly but it looks like a good article. Thanks Poohbear.

Jesse

[morgan617]

Thanks Poohbear, am sending a copy of this to my cardiologist that did a 40,000 dollar ablation that put me on disability without checking with the experts, before I knew better and he should have, morgan

[MomtoGiuliana]

This is a very interesting article. It indicates how important proper treatment and diagnosis for POTS may be. In that, no, POTS is not LIFE-THREATENING, but if not treated could be LIFE-SHORTENING. I thought it was interesting that there is epidemiological data that strongly suggests that there is an inverse relationship between heart rate and life expectancy in humans--i.e., the faster your hr, the shorter life-expectancy is. I didn't know this kind of data existed. One thing that puzzles me though--women on average have higher heart rates than men, but also a longer life expectancy--so how is that explained? That is not addressed in this article, but probably in some it references.

Katherine

[morgan617]

It used to be a big deal that women lived longer than men, because it was presumed men had more stress and risk factors than women possibly could have. Now that women are in the work force, smoke more and have much higher levels of stress over all, it's a much closer space. They finally discovered a few years ago that more WOMEN die of coronary artery disease than men, although for the last 20 years, women with angina were sent home with ativan and a psych diagnosis. The gap has pretty much closed on life expectancy I think between the sexes. I do think over all women tend to take better care of themselves than men do. But that's just the humble opinion of morgan.

[MomtoGiuliana]

Regarding life expectancy, my understanding is that there is a significant gender difference still --worldwide women live an average of 4 years longer than men do. During the 20th century, gender actually overtook race as a determinant of life expectancy (non-white females now outlive white males). Most of the overall improvement in life expectancy has been due to lower infant mortality (i.e., not much change at older ages).

BUT--yes, morgan, definitely--heart disease is the #1 killer of women, and that is only beginning to be accepted by physicians--and even the public!

I also found this on the NIH website: "New research shows that, contrary to popular belief, more than 95 percent of those who die from heart disease have at least one of its risk factors such as cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, overweight/obesity, physical inactivity, and diabetes."

Katherine

[RunnerGirl]

Poohbear: Interesting article, indeed. Thank you for sharing it. What I find particularly enlightening is the discussion of IST and POTS having some overlapping symptoms. I was told by a couple of different doctors that I had features of both, and didn't seem to fit neatly into one category or the other. Sounds like that is not terribly unusual.

What is more, I was always given the impression that IST involved a sustained high resting heart rate. But the article says there can be noctural normalization of the HR in IST - and this is precisely what would happen with me, when I was very symptomatic. My HR would often dip to the 40s and 50s at night (normal for me) - but I would awaken with it around 90 or so, still laying in bed. At other times, I would have a normal resting heart rate, but it would jump dramatically when I stood, and drop like a rock when I sat back down - which, of course, is more emblematic of POTS.

Katherine and Morgan: Good discussion of life expectancy issues, too! You both raise good points. I am puzzled by the persistent life expectancy gap between men and women, since, as Morgan notes, women are more likely today to have the same life-style / risk factors as men (high stress jobs, poor diet and exercise habits - which leads to obesity, high blood pressure, etc., excess alcohol consumption, and all sorts of other 'vices' that can shave years off our lives). Maybe the gap persists because women are more likely to engage in 'preventative health care' throughout their lives - ie, pap smears, mammograms, etc. Women are also more likely to seek medical assistance for a range off health problems - from depression to chest pain. (Whether we're taken as seriously as men who seek attention for the same issues is another story altogether!)

RunnerGirl

[MomtoGiuliana]

Runnergirl--yes, I was also struck by that statement regarding IST. It was also my understanding that IST was sustained during sleep and that was a characteristic that distinguished it from POTS. I also have the same pattern you describe--hr down as I sleep to lower than 60 (without beta blockers), but when I wake up my hr can be 90+ lying down. During the day, sitting, my hr can be 60-70 and then definitely shoot up more than 30 bpm when I stand. No wonder it is hard to differentiate IST from POTS!

Regarding life expectancy--I agree that women in our country and culture do seem to take better care of themselves than men do. But, this phenomenon is worldwide, and I wonder if it is the case in most places in the world that women take better care of themselves than men do. I have lived or visited places in the world where women's and girls' access to basic health care and nutrition, compared to men and boys, is limited (e.g., India). Yet, this life expectancy gap, worldwide, persists. Anyway, it is interesting--and something I know very little about!

Again poohbear--very interesting and helpful article!!

Katherine