Heart Disease Or Pots? Im Scared

[nikigrl8883]

i would liek to know how you know if you have heart disease since its one of the things that can cause pots...i have chest pains all the time papaltations i sweat constantly even when im cold just walking make me sweat... ive had ekgs blood work for the heart echocardiogram and a treadmill stress test passed all of em except tachardia on stress test,,,im concerned that i have an infection or somthing in my heart (viral) possibly how do people get heart disease what is the cause of heart disease?

[Sunfish]

heart disease is a very broad term with various causes and manifestations. but...with all the testing you have had you would know if heart disease was an issue for you. the same goes for an infection.

i know that you really want to know the cause of your POTS and that's understandible but as many have mentioned many if not most people don't know the cause of their POTS (or other dysautonomia for that matter). and POTS can make you feel absolutely horrible, and not understanding what is causing that can be frustrating and scary. but POTS is NOT life-threatening and there are still a LOT of treatment options for you to try that will most likely help at least some...and quite possibly significantly.

melissa

[wareagle]

I think Mel was trying to say POTS isn't life threatening....

I understand you're scared but it seems like you've had extensive testing and all of the symptoms you've described are can and DO occur with POTS...so maybe you can give yourself a bit of a break and focus on finding some treatments that will work for you.

[Sunfish]

yikes....obviously not a good typo to make. thanks wareagle! i went back and made the correction...

melissa

[cardiactec]

if you have had a full cardiac work-up, which is sounds as though you have had with echo, stress testing, bloodwork, ekgs, and all came out normal than there is no need to concern yourself with possible heart disease. it is quite understandable though that you may "feel" like it's heart disease because the symptoms of pots are so cruddy and since it involves the heart as an INNOCENT by-stander (as in the majority of cases with pots) with reflex tachycardia, it may feel as though something is majorly wrong with the heart, but rest assured from your negative cardiac workup that it is not. actually in some literature regarding pots it says that people living with pots/dysatuonomia experience similar symptoms or lifestyle presentation as those living with COPD or congestive heart failure, so you are not crazy for FEELING like it's some serious heart issue because POTS can present that way. most docs are very good to first and foremost rule out any serious heart issues, whether structural or mechanical, and it sounds like your docs have done well to do that in your case.

sorry you feel so miserable with your symptoms. hopefully your docs will come up with a better game plan with treatment options so you dont feel so symptomatic.

hang in there.

[nikigrl8883]

ok im gonna tell you why i think it may be a heart infection. Please dont think im crazy,,,one day i was very upset crying and i started praying for an answer to why i am so sick i went to bed and had this dream if you wanna call it that...it consisted of nothing but a womans voice telling me i have a viral infection in my heart caused by a common childhood virus / cockasackie virus,,she then told me there was nothing i could take for it but to drink alot of water and juice and to try t o get my immune system up as much as i can,,,i then asked her if i was going to die and she said she cant say that ,she said either you make it or you dont...it was like somone was talking to me on the phone,, it wasnt like a dream at all to be honest but i was sleeping i think..im thinking the dream was to inform me,,,i mean i know to you it proably sounds like wishful thinking but ive experiecened things like this before and they have come true,,, she also told me it was just starting and i just had this dream last month / ive been sick since late april with flu like symptoms,,,so it makes sence too..im gonna have my primary give me an echocardiogram again next month to check for inflamation//im convinced its that casuing this..im thinking that maybe the virus was in my system before attacking my immune or autonomic system and now it went to my heart...its just my intution....thank you for your replies im scared about this... i didnt say anything before becasue i know it sounds crazy

[persephone]

I can understand it being frightening to experience POTS symptoms. Sometimes they are truly terrifying. But I would trust a whole host of scans before a dream. If you have POTS this is NOT THE SAME as a heart infection. You will NOT DIE FROM POTS.

Try to look for the positives instead of the negatives. There is no reason why you cannot look forward to a full and happy life with POTS. It is not going to kill you. It may disable you, but you can learn to make adjustments and still live your dreams and ambitions, just in a slightly different way. Instead of waiting for the worst to happen, why not work with your Dr towards treatment options that may make you feel a whole lot better.