Heart Rhythm Conditions – Welcome to the group

Hi there .My name is Allen.
Iv recently been diagnosed with left branch bundle blockage. I went in to have steps completed for hip replacement
and after EKG a echocardiogram were ordered and this was the findings. I don't have any symptoms that are noticeable
but my surgery was postponed and am now on drug therapy for it. I'm 60 and still working with about 5 yrs. before my projected retirement
What is my options to get my surgery at a faster pace then the Kaiser cardiology dept. is taking. I'm getting very disappointed in the time
Its taking and my hip dysfunction is interfering with my job duties. Any suggestions? Thanks Allen

Hi there .My name is Allen.
Iv recently been diagnosed with left branch bundle blockage. I went in to have steps completed for hip replacement
and after EKG a echocardiogram were ordered and this was the findings. I don't have any symptoms that are noticeable
but my surgery was postponed and am now on drug therapy for it. I'm 60 and still working with about 5 yrs. before my projected retirement
What is my options to get my surgery at a faster pace then the Kaiser cardiology dept. is taking. I'm getting very disappointed in the time
Its taking and my hip dysfunction is interfering with my job duties. Any suggestions? Thanks Allen

I am a 70 year old female with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation/flutter.I do not have any significant coronary artery disease (I was told by one cardiologist that the echo showed my arteries were "squeaky clean" 🙂 ) I am in regular sinus rhythm most of the time but have episodes of arrhythmia. I may go days, weeks or months without an episode, but when I do have an episode I am very symptomatic with severe chest pain, some shortness of breath, and a very irregular heartrate. I have been told that I have a rapid ventricular response with the episodes, meaning the ventricles also beat rapidly. My understanding is that as a result the ventricles don't have time to fill completely between beats and that can lead to sudden heart failure. I have had two cardiac ablations. The first ablation was unsuccessful. I did well after the second ablation for about 5 years, but the episodes have reappeared and I was recently told by my electrophysiologist that I need to have a third ablation. My arrhythmia has never responded well to medications i.e. none of the antiarrhythmics have really prevented the episodes. With the episodes the chest pain becomes so severe I have to go to the emergency room. Usually I am given a bolus dose of diltiazem followed by a diltiazem drip and that necessitates a 1-2 day hospital stay. I know there are many people who have a-fib and aren't even aware they have it because they have no symptoms or they only have occasional palpitations. My a-fib seems to be a "horse of a different color," and the experience has been very frustrating and disheartening. But at 70, I am grateful for the care I have received that has helped me cope with my condition. (I understand there is a genetic component to a-fib. I am pretty sure my father had it; I know he had episodes of chest pain and a rapid heart rate. He died at age 61, and I often wonder how much longer he might have had if he had the care I have received.) At any rate, I was just curious if there are others on the site that have symptomatic a-fib/flutter and what their experience has been. (Haven't read all the posts, so maybe I will find others who have had similar "journeys.")

I am a 70 year old female with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation/flutter.I do not have any significant coronary artery disease (I was told by one cardiologist that the echo showed my arteries were "squeaky clean" 🙂 ) I am in regular sinus rhythm most of the time but have episodes of arrhythmia. I may go days, weeks or months without an episode, but when I do have an episode I am very symptomatic with severe chest pain, some shortness of breath, and a very irregular heartrate. I have been told that I have a rapid ventricular response with the episodes, meaning the ventricles also beat rapidly. My understanding is that as a result the ventricles don't have time to fill completely between beats and that can lead to sudden heart failure. I have had two cardiac ablations. The first ablation was unsuccessful. I did well after the second ablation for about 5 years, but the episodes have reappeared and I was recently told by my electrophysiologist that I need to have a third ablation. My arrhythmia has never responded well to medications i.e. none of the antiarrhythmics have really prevented the episodes. With the episodes the chest pain becomes so severe I have to go to the emergency room. Usually I am given a bolus dose of diltiazem followed by a diltiazem drip and that necessitates a 1-2 day hospital stay. I know there are many people who have a-fib and aren't even aware they have it because they have no symptoms or they only have occasional palpitations. My a-fib seems to be a "horse of a different color," and the experience has been very frustrating and disheartening. But at 70, I am grateful for the care I have received that has helped me cope with my condition. (I understand there is a genetic component to a-fib. I am pretty sure my father had it; I know he had episodes of chest pain and a rapid heart rate. He died at age 61, and I often wonder how much longer he might have had if he had the care I have received.) At any rate, I was just curious if there are others on the site that have symptomatic a-fib/flutter and what their experience has been. (Haven't read all the posts, so maybe I will find others who have had similar "journeys.")

A quick medical profile:
I'm a 64 year old male
6'1" 210 lbs
Walk 4-7 miles a day
I take magnesium supplements
I drink 1 cup of coffee per day
I avoid sugar
I eat no red meat
Yet, I've had 2 heart attacks and have had 3 stents placed
Test data says the plumbing in my heart is great, but…

I experience as many as 34,000 pvc waves per day, 72% are classified as bigeminy, some trigeminy.
– To date they're benign; not increasing with exertion
– Symptomatically, I can become light headed, dizzy and sometimes short of breath
– I can be out of breath after feeding the dog, but be fine 20 minutes later doing a 3 mile walk.
– I had an attempted ablation, but the origin of the PVCs was not accessible.

I've subsequently been diagnosed with severe central sleep apnea… my breathing stops on average of once every 60 seconds (severe apnea is considered more that 20 times a hour.)

Additionally, my brain has become desensitized to the constant stopping of breaths and surges of adrenaline resulting in Cheyne-Stokes breathing.

Both of these are likely drivers of my PVC's.

I'm now on a type of CPAP; an Adaptive Servo-Ventilation (ASV) sleep machine that has eliminated the occurrence of apnea events and seemingly reduced the PVC load. By how much is hard to say until I wear a monitor again, but interruptive symptoms are down to about one hour a day.

I'm here because I want to make sure I'm not missing anything in my control that I can do to avoid a lifetime of medication without compromising my health.
Are you aware of any holistic approaches to mitigate or eliminate pvc waves or interventions not requiring meds?

Thank You!

A quick medical profile:
I'm a 64 year old male
6'1" 210 lbs
Walk 4-7 miles a day
I take magnesium supplements
I drink 1 cup of coffee per day
I avoid sugar
I eat no red meat
Yet, I've had 2 heart attacks and have had 3 stents placed
Test data says the plumbing in my heart is great, but…

I experience as many as 34,000 pvc waves per day, 72% are classified as bigeminy, some trigeminy.
– To date they're benign; not increasing with exertion
– Symptomatically, I can become light headed, dizzy and sometimes short of breath
– I can be out of breath after feeding the dog, but be fine 20 minutes later doing a 3 mile walk.
– I had an attempted ablation, but the origin of the PVCs was not accessible.

I've subsequently been diagnosed with severe central sleep apnea… my breathing stops on average of once every 60 seconds (severe apnea is considered more that 20 times a hour.)

Additionally, my brain has become desensitized to the constant stopping of breaths and surges of adrenaline resulting in Cheyne-Stokes breathing.

Both of these are likely drivers of my PVC's.

I'm now on a type of CPAP; an Adaptive Servo-Ventilation (ASV) sleep machine that has eliminated the occurrence of apnea events and seemingly reduced the PVC load. By how much is hard to say until I wear a monitor again, but interruptive symptoms are down to about one hour a day.

I'm here because I want to make sure I'm not missing anything in my control that I can do to avoid a lifetime of medication without compromising my health.
Are you aware of any holistic approaches to mitigate or eliminate pvc waves or interventions not requiring meds?

Thank You!