cardiactec

[hey jess, my doc just prescribed motilium(domperidone). havent tried it yet though. i dont vomit, thank God!, but i do get very nauseous. hey anne, i too was just prescribed domperidone. havent tried it yet, so i have no clue as to what to think about it! welcome to the forum by the way!!

prominent inferior P waves usually indicates a pulmonary/lung process (COPD,emphysema,pulm. HTN)etc) or right-sided heart problems (severe tricuspid regurg/right ventricular chamer hypertrophy). if they have ruled out all those things, than yes, you are right, there is no need to worry....P waves that look that like can also indicate specific types of arrhythmia's that are rate dependent. i guess i really dont care as much for treatment options as i do in getting a diagnosis because i dont want to just take meds that could work for four or five different types of conditions, whether or not it is all encompassing and it takes care of all conditions x,y, and z. i guess my point is, i dont just want a band-aid that is sufficient enough to work for any kind of "cut" if you know what i mean. stiches are meant for deep cuts, bandaids are made for minor cuts and not just any cut in particular. i think it is important to work first for diagnosis and then to investigate treatment options. there are a lot of people on many meds that are not needed and actually a lot of meds end up causing more symptoms than people started out with before taking any meds. i guess i am just at a point, working in the med field, where i have seen too many meds handed off to cover a multiple of problems that could be going on, that'll work for problem x,y, or z. funny that many practitioners (NOT ALL) never want to try and spend some time to figure out what the x,y, and z could be....docs can sometimes become very "loose" in their practice by taking short cuts in never trying to find the root of the problem and instead bump up pharmaceuticals to hush up the patient, or perhaps yes, to just make their problem or symptom go away. i disagree with this type of patient care. diagnostics always come before interventions....and if the root of the problem cannot be found diagnostically, than meds should be a last resort and yes, i agree with you -- exercise, eating well, lots of sleep, etc, is the way to go.. hopefully we'll all get the answers to what is going on at some point! thanks for your post. take care amy!

congrats lulu! so so proud of you!!! i too am in the medical field and it's a blast to be able to help people and play detective work to try and help someone get the answers they need/and want to get better (you, I, and the rest on this sight know the importance of this)........so happy you were well enough to get through it and to do such a great job! congrats to you!!!

hi there, thanks to all for all the replies.... just really upset that nobody can figure this out......i work in cardiology and know ekg very well and it appears to me that this is not a sinus originated tachycardia. my P waves look nothing like sinus P waves. they are HUGE, like mountain peaks, which is strange because usually when we see that on EKG it signals that there is some sort of right heart failure or pulmonary problem. i have neither, confirmed with echo and even a cardiac catheterization to check pulmonary pressures......but i am still left with these funky looking P waves. every doc that sees it immediately says "wow, are those your P waves?" because they look so strange......it is bizarre though because the tachycardia can and only seems to be triggered by things that would alter autonomic responses, such as standing, exposure to heat, minimal exertion, raising the arms over the head (which increases blood return to the heart and increases the action and workload of the heart, hence the heart works harder, tachy, etc), eating, bending up and down (but i dont have "typical" pots symptoms with it, i dont get dizzy/light-headed, etc)........ ......the doc i just saw is completely baffled. he is trying to figure out whether or not there is such a thing, beyond just postural sinus tachycardia, that can mediate or induce other types of heart rhythm disturbances with position change (such as atrial tachycardia)......i doubt it though, as does he, because there is such a correlation with me and the tachy between not just standing and tachycardia but also with certain activities and things i am exposed to (heat, exertion, eating, stress, etc) - which implies that there is an autonomic response happening. if i was just sitting or lying down and this tachy of 190 started, than i would think it less likely to be due to autonomic dysfunction and more likely to be due from conduction pathway abnormality....... i have heard inappropriate sinus tachy many times. there are a lot of cardios that consider pots and IST the same condition, and some say they are two different conditions that can occur together....actually my EP doc said he thinks it is pots with features of inappropriate sinus tachy but i think he is just getting technical when he says that. he is a very smart doc and i think he is great, i am just not completely convinced that this is completely autonomic triggered and not also something to do with a messed up conduction system (which no one will ever know exists or not because nobody will do an EP study on me!!! and when i say an EP study, i mean catheters and all, inside the heart, mapping the pathways, pacing, etc ...not just another tilt table tesst.....argh!) the docs just say my P waves are "huge", "peaked", and once my rates get really high, you cannot discern the P waves from the T waves (the hump that occurs before the P wave on ekg), they all mush together (which is a characteristic in it's morphology/how it looks on ekg of PSVT or atrial tachycardia or AVRT).......it looks this way, but usually meds or different maneuvers like valsalva or carotid massage can instantaneously stop these type of rhythms dead in their tracks and convert it back to sinus tachy or normal sinus rhythm, and mine does not do that......the rates just progressively slow and then slowly creep back up with no sudden offest or onset in the fast rhythm and the P waves look the same while lying, sitting, or standing.....it is just typical in cardiology, specifically to consider any regular rhythm over 150BPM as SVT but sinus tachy IS essentially a type of SVT as well if over 150BPM. it just doesnt look sinus on my ekg .......... frustrated.... thanks for your posts though guys....

hey all, i am back from a research study and was told that i have "normal flow", a little higher than normal than what normal people pool in their legs while standing, and normal vasoconstriction. i was told that the only thing that was really "off" was my heart rate while standing (190BPM)......they think that i have a B receptor problem and some sort of conduction problem in the heart because my ekg's didnt look "typical" for a pots patient (i guess my P waves were crazy peaked and that it didnt look sinus)........they said that i was a bizarre case because i didnt fit any type of pots at all, and that i only fit pots because of my crazy heart rate and they dont know what is causing it other than this suspected B receptor issue and/or an actual heart rhythm disturbance........ i was also told that because my primary symptoms were tachycardia and fatigue, that i REALLY dont fit the bill for typical pots because most pots patient's primary symptom is dizziness/lightheadedness........is this everyone's primary symptom? has anyone here been diagnosed with a specific type of POTS, like high flow pots, low flow pots, or normal flow pots? i guess i am a little frustrated because i was hoping to get some sort of answer, definitive, as to what is causing this crazy heart rate and the research crew was just as confused, if not more, than when they were done with testing on me.......though i didnt get an answer, the doc was great and ended up sending my ekg to an EP doc in canada for a second, third, fourth, or whatever number opionion this is on the morphology of my P waves on ekg..........the woman that did my ekg freaked out! she had me supine all hooked up to a 12 lead ekg and my rate was like 120, then she had me stand up to take another ekg and my rates jumped to 190. she just about had a heart attack and couldnt believe that i couldnt feel my heart going that fast! anyway, that was my time the past couple days with research. if any of you can tell me if you have been told/diagnosed with an exact, precise cause of your POTS, i would appreciate it.....i know i was told that my thermo test at mayo was "non-specific" for a small fiber neuropathy. argh, gotta love that "non-specific"!!

i was actually thinking about doing that! haha!

that is what i have been told as well, that it doesnt necessarily go away unless it is triggered post viral. the cardio that said that wasnt my cardio. i was just assisting him during a cardiac procedure that day.... it seems like there is a lot of confusion in the medical field over POTS and auto dys...and seems like there are a lot of people who think this is just a "young women's HORMONAL contributed problem". yes, the majority of the people who present with auto symptoms and who are diagnosed with POTS/auto dys STATISTICALLY seem to be the younger crowd and female gender, but that doesnt mean that older people dont get it or that some males arent afflicted by this either.

i was tachy at 160 the other day while working in the cardiac catheterization lab and had to slip out of the room after starting in with the lovely POTS symptoms. the nurse followed me out, took my pulse which was 160 standing. i said to her "want to see a magic trick" and then, still attached to pulse oximetry, laid down on the stretcher and bam, 60PBM within 3 seconds of lying down. she ran out of the room and was telling one of the tech's when the cardiologist that was performing the cath asked where i went...the nurse told him that i was lying down in the other room because i have POTS and he said "oh, well she'll get better over time, i have never seen any patients over the age of 40 with POTS". the nurse said to him "so she is only 24, you expect her to live with this for the next 16 years??" ..... ..........my question is, is this truly a condition that yields to a particular age range with a cut off mark of 40 because it seems like there's some folks with POTS on this site that are over 40?????

hello mom2abby, my symptoms have been nausea (especially waking me in the middle of the night), stomach burning, and stomach pains. i started out having an upper GI cuz the docs thought i had an ulcer from all the burning that was going on. when they did the endoscopy, they noticed that there was a bunch of fluid in my stomach and considering this test was done after a 12 hour fast, the doc suspected gastroparesis (especially given my autonomic dysfunction diagnosis of POTS)........so he sent me for the gastric emptying study last week and they just told me yesterday that gastroparesis was confirmed..........

wow melissa.....sorry to hear you have to put up with all of this.....do the docs hold out hope that this will get better for you? how long have you had to deal with the GI paralysis?

how many of you have both gastroparesis and pots? is it common to have both? if you know, what was the percentage of your emptying study? i was just diagnosed with gastroparesis and the report said that my stomach only emptied at 41% after 101 minutes and that a normal emptying is 50% and over at 90 minutes.....

hey jacquie, that was the first test my electrophysiologist made me have. they did the 24 hour urine. i dont remember them drawing any blood to test it though (except for when i went to mayo clinic in march and they had me lay down and then stand and they drew blood before and after standing to compare the levels of catecholamines - i guess if your catechol's are like super high, they start looking into pheochromocytoma as a possibility)..........hope you get some answers!

i dont know your medical history, but they say that people with MVP develop symptoms of shortness of breath while lying down, especially lying on the left side..... hope you feel better...

hey there lthomas521, it's with julian stewart, POTS research. contact me for more information about what the study involves..... i think it's at new york medical center...

so i have been weening off my beta for a NY pots research study that i will be in on monday and tuesday next week. i am still on 80mg's of beta (down from 160mg's) and today while at work my rates were up to 166 and i literally didnt even know it. i only checked my rate with a pulse oximetry monitor at work because i felt pretty hot/sweaty because it is so HUMID. i didnt feel anything other than that. do any of you ever only know your rates are high because you check it or do you always feel it? i guess my body has just gotten used to being fast all these years!

hi there, i have heard that birth control helps for some. for me, i have been taking birth control for complexion problems (not really for the POTS) but i have noticed no change during menstruation with symptoms. actually, right now i am on my cycle and feel really nauseous and weak.......not fun. i'd give it a shot though, it may work for you. everyone is different....

hey all, this http://www.ipej.org/0602/raj.pdf is a very informative site. helps to break down the "types"/causes of different kinds of POTS. enjoy!

haha, thanks dizzy dame. i was hoping someone would reply with some sort of answer!

hey all, just wondering, anyone here taking beta blocker notice that it helps combat or decrease the noticable signs of pooling/purple discoloration appearance in the legs?

hey stacie, sorry to hear you arent feeling well. hopefully it is just a virus that'll quickly resolve. i know how you feel. i have been sick with some wierd throat/chest/head cold or something for like two weeks and i, too, am off to the docs in a little bit to see what the HECK the problem is. feel better and hang in there...

hey girl, sorry your having a rough time. i know that you have posted that you have been severely nauseated lately. i know with me, the nauseous feeling makes me anxious, because i have a huge fear of vomiting and so the nausea provokes the anxious feeling that i am going to vomit. anyway, are you still nauseated? do you think your palps may be from feeling queezy? if you are trying to dicipher whether or not it is tachy from something other than anxiety, it is sometimes hard to tell....tachy can cause anxiety and anxiety can cause tachy.........the beta would (OR SHOULD) work either way for tachy, whether anxiety from tachy or tachy from anxiety (unless you suspect the tachy is something other than sinus tachy, from what you typically feel).......... i hope you start feeling better.

hey have they checked you for gastroparesis? i am having a GI motility study tomorrow cuz i have chronic nausea too

hey bec, i am so sorry to hear that the appointment went over so horribly. first off, ignore the PA's comments of you being an actress. how rude of her. terrible. second, i would DEMAND to see your cardio or find yourself another one. third, there IS such a thing at MVPS and anyone who denies it, you should pay no attention to because they are ignorant for ignoring their patients and their symptoms. the PA most likely prescribed you toprol xl, it is the long acting beta, good for palps, tachy, tremor..........take it and try to look past the PA's understand of giving it to you just to "make you happy", the toprol will most likely make you feel better. i would follow up with your cardio (either give her/his office a call tomorrow and demand to see t he cardio and NOT THE PA, or i would look into seeing another cardiologist)......... as for the 24 catecholamine test, the cardiologist can order that test and the PA's idea to send you to a specialist in adrenal disorders is ridiculous. that is a very simple test to order. you get a jug and pee in it for 24 hours. it's that simple. geez, if the PA needs you to go to another doc for that test, she is LAZY! hardly involves any work on her part. or yours! man...... i hope you get to see someone that understands MVPS/dysautonomia. there ARE docs that acknowledge it, and i truly wouldnt believe MOST PA's to understand and be educated in the dynamic pathologic and physiologic components of dysautonomia, especially a PA that assists a cardiologist........perhaps if she was a PA to a neurologist it would be a different story. dont give up. i know it is frustrating....

hahaha!!! oh my gosh kitsakatsa! haha. geez. hmmm, out of the india, boat, and haunted house, i'd prefer to be somewhere other than any of those places. perhaps they make clonidine in different chemical form specific to the likeness of what ''location'' you want to permanently psychologically be! haha. hmm, wonder if they make one that'll send me to a tropical island! hahaha. yeah, i thought i was dreaming at first, but i was actually awake in bed and saw an old man lying on my floor dying every night. at least you got a boat ride and trip to india!... i got stuck with some dying, decaying old man! hahahahaha! all joking aside, clonidines side effects are serious. anyone experiencing stuff like this should TELL THEIR DOC. once i told my doc, he took me right off of it. i was scared to tell him about seeing dead people cuz i thought he'd think i was out of my head and that i didnt have POTS but what just a crazy person! thankfully he took it seriously, and didnt think i was crazy and was glad i told him what what going on. dangerous med!!

wow, what's your pulse like on all those betas!!!!??