Heart Rhythm Conditions – Welcome to the group

@vicky77

“Maze Procedure”

This is Dirk. I am an 82 yo male in heart failure. I have had an mi about 22 years ago and a bimodal pace maker/defib about 10 years. My ef is about 20 percent and this is complicated by CTCL (cutaneous T cell Lymphoma) for which I get biweekly infusions of Romidepsin.

In spite of this I have a good quality of life and positive outlook. I did, however, have my first defibrillator shock from my pace maker about 3 weeks ago due to A tach.

@dirko I like your attitude, Dirk. None of us is going to leave the way we want to, almost none anyway. It's going to be a surprise one way or another, and that's only if we have all our marbles when we learn of it.

I'm slowly learning more and more about defibrillators and pacemakers....something as yet beyond my need....so far....but I do understand that someone up the chain is supposed to glance, at least, at your monthly record, or maybe there's also a concurrent warning/alert system to see if you have any events that are worth investigating. It sounds to me like you should be getting a phone call, a text....something inquiring how you're doing and if you felt the shock. I would think....

Newly diagnosed with Atrial flutter. Had cardioversion and am now on eliquis and metopolol. I feel much better but am getting a palpitation here and there, especially with heartburn after eating. I am two days out from the cardioversion. Is this “normal”?

@jfulford

Consider Google “metoprolol heart flutter”.
Consider the sources. Opinions mixed. But are they selling something “.com” or maybe not, “.org”, “.edu”. Credentials of author, if shown? Ads? Full source given? I, anyway, have a sense you’re gonna be 🏆!

@jfulford It might be normal for you, but it might also be temporary. You're aging every day, and sometimes it's just 2 hours when things can change from great to permanently over. Happened to me three years ago with my hearing in the left ear. Was standing in the kitchen doing something when my left ear went silent. Weird. I got shrugs from the experts who said it must have been viral. I now wear hearing aids, but the one in the left ear only improves my hearing in that ear to about a D- grade.

Your heart is becoming electrically disordered in some way. The palpitations you feel are almost certainly SVT (supraventricular tachycardia, or a fast heartbeat, but only in the top of the heart, the smaller vessels, not the larger ventricles at the bottom). They could also be PACs, or premature atrial contractions. If you get a pause followed by a thump, that's a PAC for sure. Cardioversions can work, sometimes once and that's it for ever. Others find they need one every other month. Or, for me, they don't work more than 16 hours, my longest time before I resumed atrial fibrillation.

You might wish to begin reading about catheter ablations. They are the gold standard of care for those with certain types of arrythmia like SVT, PACs, and AF. They are day surgery....you're home that night, or in a hotel if they want to see you next day and you've gone to an electrophysiologist out of town. The people that deal with heart arrhythmias are EPs, electrophysiologists.

You mentioned heartburn. That could be GERD, and it does act as a trigger for ectopic beats with some people. As I got heavier, I got more heartburn and it would sometimes set me into a run of AF for a few hours. Also, visceral fat is bad, and so is eating too much at one meal. For some caffeine is strictly off limits, in any form. Hypomagnesemia, or not having enough magnesium in one's diet. Heart valve disorders can cause arrhythmia, especially the mitral valve between the left atrium and the left ventricle. It can prolapse which can encourage AF.

The more you get on top of this, the earlier you get it controlled or managed, the better it will be and the easier it is to manage and to live well. If you put it off, it an lead to problems down the road, not least of which is making the job a great deal tougher for physicians who would like to help you.

diagnosed with sinus bradycardia. Likely caused from chemo or stroke. Having Chest pains, fatigue, balance,
always cold. Seems my heart is working harder than normal. Have abnormal labs for the following.

NT-Pro BNP: N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a protein that's an "ingredient" for making the BNP hormone. Like BNP, your heart makes larger amounts of NT-proBNP when it has to work harder to pump blood.
BNP: is a protein that's a type of hormone. A hormone is a chemical messenger in your bloodstream that controls the actions of certain cells or organs. BNP has "brain" in its name because that's where researchers first discovered it. Your heart makes and releases BNP into your bloodstream when it's working harder than normal to pump blood. The BNP tells your blood vessels to open wider and your kidneys to get rid of water and salt through urine (pee). This helps reduce the workload on your heart by lowering blood pressure and reducing the amount of blood your heart has to pump.

Troponin: Troponin is a protein found in the cells in the heart. It helps the heart muscle contract. When the heart muscle is damaged, troponin leaks out of the cells in the heart and into the blood
Am awaiting stress and sleep test before next steps.
Process is marked "urgent" but drags on for months.

Just joined the group. Had no idea there was one until I did a random search.Looking forward to communicating with others who live with arrhythmia. Kdog

Hi. I was diagnosed with afib with flutter on 23 December. Eliquis and Metoprolol were prescribed, by the ER doctor, for 30 days. His hope/expectation was that I would be able to see a cardiologist (an EP) within 30 days.

We leave for Aruba for 10 days on January 25 and it appears that I won’t be able to see a cardiologist until we get back. I feel fine. My blood pressure has been good and according to my Fitbit, my heart rate has been fine too.

My biggest question/concern is about stopping those medications at the 30 day mark and then leaving the country for 10 days without having had a professional consultation.

Thoughts?

@ddeiley First, travel insurance. They'll nail you if they learn of a pre-existing heart condition and it's why you have to pay USD$30K to fly you home. Even from Aruba.

Second, you may find the stress of traveling will set you off. Maybe not hauling your luggage to the ticket counter or conveyor, or going through security, or waiting to board, or waiting until the cops haul the idiot in 23E out of the aircraft....you know where this is headed.

Dehydration, loss of sleep due to excitement or trying to think of that last niggling detail before you lock the door behind you. It all adds up.

Why not call his clerk/receptionist, 'splain yourself, and see if he/she will agree to ask the doctor to give you a script for another two weeks.