Heart Monitor "results"

[Beccapooh]

I've finally captured a fainting "spell" on my heart monitor, after wearing it for two days without one!!

My husband ran over and pushed my little recording button right after I fainted. Good thing he was home, aye?

Anyway, after I called the company and transmitted my recordings they told me that had to call me doctor right away and to wait for his call. I wasn't worried, I just figured that it was protocol, you know.

So, my doc calls me back in like two minutes and he says that "I've been keeping my monitor busy, haven't I?" I kind of had to laugh because I don't even record every "episode" like they said to because I feel like I'd be pushing that bloody button 100 times a day!! Alright, so that being said.....he procedes to tell me that I have severe Ventrical Coupling, chronic PVC's, the craziest heart beat he's ever seen, sometimes Tachy sometimes Brady; I'm skipping beats and then doubling up in the wrong places.

Okay NOW I was getting worried. He told me to be careful over the weekend, stay out of the heat, don't push too hard exercising or anything and that I'd be seeing my new doc (the cardiologist) this Thursday anyway, so I'll be fine.

Fine?? FINE!!??? I don't remember the last time that I felt fine, no less WAS fine!???!?!!?

Can anyone tell me if these heart beats, rates, whatever are normal for POTS? My husbad (the ex-ER Nurse) is now stating that he thinks that it might be something more than POTS, ie. a blockage or something. Does anybody have these same heart issues?

I have all of the symptoms of POTS though..............can't it just be POTS??? PLEASE????

I have a really crazy "symptom" but I'll post it separately.

Rebecca

[goldicedance]

Rebecca...That's quite an episode you had. It would seem to me that if the doctor thought you had a blockage he would have told you to get thee to the hospital. Saturday to Thursday is a long time to wait if he thought that was the case.

Perhaps to ease your mind, you should recontact your doctor now and ask him those questions. I certainly would if I were you.

Lois

[Beccapooh]

Lois-

It wasn't my doc that suggested the blockage thing, it was my husband. My doc is just a GP and doesn't really know a whole lot about the whole heart thing.

I didn't experience all of those symptoms with that one fainting spell. I'm sorry if it came across that way. What I was trying to say is that my heart has done all of those things within the last three days. He was just commenting on all the readings that he's been faxed by the monitoring company. That's been three days of monitoring that showed all those items, not just the one episode. Again, I'm sorry that I wasn't clear.

I'm sure that that is the only way (reason) why he said that I'd be fine over the weekend. I'm sure if anyone had all of those symptoms, together, in the course of 90 seconds (how long my monitor records for, after I press the button) they'd probably be dead!

I was just wondering what EXACTLY POTS means. I know what the "definition" is and I know what the web sites say about it, but, it really just seems to list the symptoms on most sites and I know that I have 99.9% of those. I was more wondering about the true "features" of POTS. What, exactly is wrong with our hearts, etc?

I know that I can and will ask my Cardio on Thursday, I was just hoping to get more information prior to my appointment. Mainly, I hate going into an appointment feeling so ignorant!!!

Rebecca

[goldicedance]

Addendum:

I am even more convinced that all of us should follow up seriously with our physicians when they do not give us an explanation or tell us that take it easy until your appointment, etc.

This past week, I learned that my cousin had 4 stents put in for blocked arteries during the past 3 weeks.She first went to the doctor because her husband convinced her that she was out of breath when going up the steps. The doctor did an EKG and said everything was ok.

A few days later she had left arm pain. This time she went to the hospital ER. She actually had 3 blockages for which she required stents. She had not yet had a heart attack.

The following week she again developed left arm pain. By the time she got to the hospital she did have a heart attack and got a 4th stent. This was a person who played tennis regularly.

Several years ago, my husband became short of breath. He thought it was allergy and went to the doctor that afternoon. The doctor did an EKG and said everything was ok. He called a cardiologist who met my husband at the hospital for an echo cardiogram. Now, mind you, this was late Friday afternoon (about 5:30 p.m.) The cardiologist thought everything was ok but told him to take it easy until Monday when he wanted my hubby to have a stress test at which time they identified some blockages.

What is wrong with these 2 scenarios? The first involved a woman; the second, a man. Doctors, particularly men, seem to take complaints like shortness of breath much more seriously for men than for women. For us women...they attribute things to stress, nerves, anxiety, etc. For men...they do a full workup.

Next scenario: Last month my husband was in Florida without me. He was itching at night so he went to Walmart at about 12:15 a.m. He fainted...was rushed to the hospital and admitted. They would not discharge him until they ruled out cardiac problems (blockages) as well as neurological (i.e., seizures).

Would they have done the same thing with us? I am beginning to think perhaps not. I really like having a female internist as she thoroughly investigates symptoms and does not rush to conclusions. I think woman to woman makes it easier for her.

Here's another thing I know from research I used to do in a prior lifetime...Pancreatic cancer is frequently missed in women in the early stages. In the early stages, women complain that they are tired and have some stomach problems. Doctors tend to blow them off, saying anxiety and stress. By the time the symptoms become more recognizable the cancer has become full blown.

Sorry for the venting but I am extremely upset by my cousin's recent heart attack and the lack of a stress test when she first complained about the symptoms.

[Jacquie802]

Hi,

I would have your results faxed over to the cardio you are supposed to see ASAP....I know some people have pacemakers put for that type of problem (depending on severity, etc. I'm not saying you would need one), but you obv need the cardio to review everything.

Goodluck and let us know how you make out!

[Beccapooh]

Lois-

My husband and I have had this same conversation time and time again. He's so sick of them blowing me off and just sending me home from the ER, ICU, doc's office, wherever, with yet another anti-anxiety med. I think that I've been on every single one they make, plus about 75% of the anti-depressants. I've had severe SOB, chest pain, shakes, fainting spells (even twice IN THE DOCS OFFICE!!!), seizure "like" activity, etc. etc. since I've known my husband. We've been married nearly ten years now!!! And I've been the one the push the heart issue AGAIN just recently and am finally getting somewhere. I believe that this is happening mainly because I've already seen an ENT, speech therapist, pulmonologist, neurologist and PCP and have had about a zillion tests run. I've been being treated for MG for over six months now, with some improvement.

The treatment that I was given was Mestinon and IVIG. Funny........what drug do some of y'all take? Mestinon!!! I've asked all of my docs why Mestinon would work on me if I didn't have MG (as the blood work for MG came back normal) and I was told that the only disease that Mestinon worked for AT ALL was MG. I was basically told that I was lying about feeling better with the Mestinon because I clearly didn't have MG (which isn't even true, the blood work alone doesn't make or break a DX!). My doc suggested AGAIN that I try a new anti-depressant/anxiety med!

My husband on the other hand had some chest pain and was rushed into to a Cardio guy and lo and behold he has a hyaetal (spelling?) hernia. You would have thought that he was about to die!!??!?

I think that something should be done for those of us that happen to be FEMALE and ILL. What a concept, huh? My husband was somewhat surprised that my doc just told to take it easy over the weekend and that I'd be fine. I'm seriously waiting to have a full blown heart attack and die, right in front of my children!!!

Rebecca

[Ernie]

Hi,

It would be safer to wait until you see your doc to get a diagnosis.

[Beccapooh]

I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you mean? I am waiting to get a DX. Did I say something that implied otherwise? My mind is kinda "OFF" these days and I'm sure that I could have said something and didn't mean it the way that it sounded. Sorry!

I'm not expecting anything to happen prior to Thursday. I'm just still taking my Mestinon. I've been DX with MG by two Neuro's and un-DX with it by another. Regardless, the Mestinon helps some, so I'm going to keep taking it until something else happens.

Rebecca

[Ernie]

Can anyone tell me if these heart beats, rates, whatever are normal for POTS? My husbad (the ex-ER Nurse) is now stating that he thinks that it might be something more than POTS, ie. a blockage or something. Does anybody have these same heart issues?

I have all of the symptoms of POTS though..............can't it just be POTS??? PLEASE????

Rebecca

[Beccapooh]

Oh, gottcha. Yeah, I seem to type like I talk. I wasn't being literal, I'm sorry. I was simply asking out loud, if all my wacky symptoms could be POTS. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that it's not something scarier that would require immediate surgery. My life has seemed to go that way; it takes them forever to figure out what's wrond and then BOOM it's suddenly urgent and I need surgery!! Even though I've been telling docs for years that I think something is wrong with my heart; no one ever listened until I became so ill I couldn't function!!! I ended up having an EMERGENCY HYSTERECTOMY for the same reason. Have you ever heard of a woman having an emergency Hyster that wasn't in labor and bleeding out?? Well, that person would be me!!! (Although I did have a severe bleeding problem when I had my last child, ARGH!!)

I'll try to be more careful in the way that I type, but I can honestly say that I'll probably run into this issue again as, like I said, I tend to type as I would think or speak. I know that not being able to hear a tone of voice makes these forums a breeding ground for misunderstandings.

Again, I'm sorry for any confusion!!

Rebecca

[mom4cem]

Wow, that was some episodes... I've not experienced the same stuff, but I am on a monitor now also. Good that you were wearing it and hubby thought quick to hit the button.

Hopefully the cardiologist can help you sort things out now. It is very humid, at least here it is and can make you feel ten times wors.

Hope the rest of the weekend is a calm one for you.