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My sister has Afib (caused by anesthesia many xs), stubbornly would not take blood thinners so
had a stroke as they warned..did have the ablation that didn't help.
What brings it on for her - just to add - *coffee/caffeine too many xs, *lack of sleep,
*heat, *over exertion, *red wine --any combo for days
and Oh my - she says, it's like a donkey kicking in her chest
and feels bruised the next day, rests...then she's fine on 3rd day.
I have 'flutters' - all my friends do that did cocaine in the early 90s, 30 yrs ago!, (in my town,
it was everywhere, hey, we were young.)
Reason I'm posting - Can't wait to tell my MD/PA next wk from last year's physical Medicare
makes you do - 10 months I did NO animal fat.
Red meat, even lean grass fed - dropped to once a month, only egg white omelets, no cheese, etc., for ex.
Anyhoo - my 'flutters', prob not palpitations exactly - stopped to almost zero.
Thought this group would be interested without me starting a whole new thread on 'flutters'- like
butterfly wings in your chest for no reason at any time...no stress, relaxing, low BP.
Take care- great thread!
PS my blood work was fine - but had too much magnesium!!! Who has that!? Lol -
I've taken it for decades, tho, knowing of the deficiency in the US.
Last edited by Miss Hepburn; 06-13-2020 at 06:23 AM..
Just wanted to jump in to update real quickly. I met with my cardiologist again couple weeks ago. Still having symptoms and COVID issues have gone away(meaning elective procedures are allowed again). So we decided on two things. First, I am wearing a 30 day event monitor. The episodes have already occurred while I have been wearing it, so should be able to find out a lot more now. Second, I am going in Tuesday for a cardiac cath.. I rather not, but my doctor said it will definitely rule out any real heart damage/disease and some other things they’ll be checking for during it. Possibly even diagnose an arrhythmia even. I know these are done fairly routinely but.. still a bit worried with complications. At this point I just want peace of mind and to be able to move on. My doctor agreed and with abnormal stress test results(Heart image should look rounded, mine is a bit deflated on left side during heart imaging, though told very possibly is breast tissue that blocks it) and symptoms I will feel better once the test is done and I can know more clearly what is going on. My doctor is still confident that it isn’t sinister.
Have not had a bad episode lately. Just little mild bits now and then coming and going. Never know quite when it will happen of course but with this event monitor on(hooked to a smart phone and continually sending the data to be watched, anything bad shows up they contact me) makes me feel a bit better. Technology is amazing. I am so ready to get the heart cath over with and get some real info! Just hoping for good news!
I can imagine you're not looking forward to the cardiac cath, but it does go quickly, and with any luck you will be able to breathe a huge sigh of relief at the results. I don't know if they do this everywhere but where I had my cath ( the cardiologist's office has a cath lab so it was there) they hand each patient a valium and a benedryl tablet as part of the preparation. This is meant to relax the patient and minimize the possibility of an allergic reaction to the contrast media used in the cath. And the stuff they give you makes you so relaxed and sleepy you don't care what they do. It might also comfort you to realize your doctor does a LOT of caths so has lots of experience, and is good at it. While the thoughts of having an invasive procedure like that is scary, the information and hopefully peace of mind resulting from the cath will be well worth having to go through it.
Glad you got the 30 day monitor, and even better that some of your episodes are occuring as you wear it. That documents what's happening with your heart as you have the episodes. So your docs can see just what it is and can go from there. With the monitor you describe, in the event of a dangerous arrhythmia or one that exceeds the preset thresholds ( such as a tachycardia over a number, say 170BPM or so) the monitoring company would contact your doctor and you'd get a call. So if that isn't happening even with your episodes that's good.
So you're well on your way to getting answers, and hopefully being able to manage whatever is happening to you. Just speculation on my part ( so take with a large grain of salt, LOL), but if it turns out to be something like a supraventricular tachycardia ( SVT), possibly from an abnormal electrical pathway around the AV node, you may be offered a referral to an electrophysiologist for an SVT ablation. Especially at your age ( IIRC you're in your early 30's), with a diagnosis of SVT, an ablation could be pretty much curative, and a great alternative to a lifetime of medication ( such as beta blockers) to control it. Other arrhythmias are also amenable to ablation as well, but those circumstances depend on a lot of other factors and discussion between the patient and his/her doctor.
In any case, the very best of luck to you. You seem to have a great attitude and perspective about the whole thing, and that helps more than you may realize.
My sister has Afib (caused by anesthesia many xs), stubbornly would not take blood thinners so
had a stroke as they warned..did have the ablation that didn't help.
What brings it on for her - just to add - *coffee/caffeine too many xs, *lack of sleep,
*heat, *over exertion, *red wine --any combo for days
and Oh my - she says, it's like a donkey kicking in her chest
and feels bruised the next day, rests...then she's fine on 3rd day.
I have 'flutters' - all my friends do that did cocaine in the early 90s, 30 yrs ago!, (in my town,
it was everywhere, hey, we were young.)
Reason I'm posting - Can't wait to tell my MD/PA next wk from last year's physical Medicare
makes you do - 10 months I did NO animal fat.
Red meat, even lean grass fed - dropped to once a month, only egg white omelets, no cheese, etc., for ex.
Anyhoo - my 'flutters', prob not palpitations exactly - stopped to almost zero.
Thought this group would be interested without me starting a whole new thread on 'flutters'- like
butterfly wings in your chest for no reason at any time...no stress, relaxing, low BP.
Take care- great thread!
PS my blood work was fine - but had too much magnesium!!! Who has that!? Lol -
I've taken it for decades, tho, knowing of the deficiency in the US.
Super glad to hear your "flutters" seem to be under control ( or even a thing of the past, maybe) with an improvement in your diet. Sounds as though your overall health is also improved.
I read that high magnesium levels can also cause cardiac arrhythmias ( some of which can be dangerous) "palpitations"-guess depending on how high those levels are.
Maybe that had something to do with your flutters?
Super glad to hear your "flutters" seem to be under control ( or even a thing of the past, maybe) with an improvement in your diet. Sounds as though your overall health is also improved.
I read that high magnesium levels can also cause cardiac arrhythmias ( some of which can be dangerous) "palpitations"-guess depending on how high those levels are.
Maybe that had something to do with your flutters?
I wonder too. Some meats can have magnesium, so stopping that would decrease the amount of magnesium she was getting as well. I started a supplement to help with menstrual migraines recently, although I do eat some magnesium rich foods like spinach/greens.
When you have indigestion caused by gallbladder disease, it can irritate the vagus nerve and cause heart palpitations. DH actually ended up in the ER and they did a full cardio workup but could not explain what was causing an abnormal rhythm and palpitations. They fell back on "it's stress." A week later he had his first gallbladder attack, followed by another a week after that. He decided to have surgery but it took three weeks to see the various doctors you see before elective surgery. During that time, he ate no fat because he was so afraid of the pain returning. Not only did his pain stay away, but his heart issues resolved as well. Since having the surgery, he has gone back to his old eating habits (not good) but the symptoms have not returned.
I wonder too. Some meats can have magnesium, so stopping that would decrease the amount of magnesium she was getting as well. I started a supplement to help with menstrual migraines recently, although I do eat some magnesium rich foods like spinach/greens.
As I understand it though, it's pretty hard to overdose on minerals ( or any nutrients) when you get them only from dietary sources. You just can't eat that much of whatever it is to overdose on the minerals, vitamins, whatever you're looking for in that food.
Taking way more than you could possibly need of a supplement containing magnesium, or other mineral, vitamin or whatever, and their accumulation in your system might contribute to a "hyper-..." state. Or possible kidney issues, which might be responsible for electrolyte imbalances, could do this also.
Another update!! I had my heart cath this morning. It was not something I would want done again but it was not terrible either. My doctor and nurses were awesome which helps a lot. So he reviewed it all with me and no issues found! Yey! Said the stress test was just my normal and not related to heart disease or function. Good news! Also cleared to have another baby which we may try for next year. Only concern was two arteries had a 15-20% blockage. He said this isn’t a big concern and even fairly “Normal” for my age but wants to discuss risk factors and lifestyle changes to reduce risk at follow up appt. also I qualify for cardiac rehab.. which we will discuss and I may do just to get more info and tips. I certainly take it serious and want to prevent issues with my heart in the future.
Thing is.. I really have no big risk factors. I never smoke or drink. Not overweight. Not an athlete but not sedentary. Love to swim, bike and take evening walks. My diet is really not awful, vegetarian, never eat frozen meals. Do love snacks though. I limit sweets. Salt intake is low. Only thing is heart disease does run in the family. My dad is on cholesterol pills after trying so hard to change it naturally by diet and exercise. He was strict with it but still no change so went on pills. Otherwise I do not see much to really change for lifestyle. Will discuss all this at follow up. Still wearing 30 day monitor. Will continue it. My palps happened while in cath lab and the nurse saved the readings. Cardiologist said they are PVCs, harmless as long as no heart issues(which seem to be all ruled out now). Still interested to see if anything else is seen on monitor after the 30 days. Very happy though for still good results(although the 15-20 blockage scares me a bit, even though he was not worried about it). Least I can have some peace of mind now and know what still needs discussed. The heart cath is amazing, what impressive technology is out there. Sore right now, but hoping next few days will start to feel back to normal.
Another update!! I had my heart cath this morning. It was not something I would want done again but it was not terrible either. My doctor and nurses were awesome which helps a lot. So he reviewed it all with me and no issues found! Yey! Said the stress test was just my normal and not related to heart disease or function. Good news! Also cleared to have another baby which we may try for next year. Only concern was two arteries had a 15-20% blockage. He said this isn’t a big concern and even fairly “Normal” for my age but wants to discuss risk factors and lifestyle changes to reduce risk at follow up appt. also I qualify for cardiac rehab.. which we will discuss and I may do just to get more info and tips. I certainly take it serious and want to prevent issues with my heart in the future.
Thing is.. I really have no big risk factors. I never smoke or drink. Not overweight. Not an athlete but not sedentary. Love to swim, bike and take evening walks. My diet is really not awful, vegetarian, never eat frozen meals. Do love snacks though. I limit sweets. Salt intake is low. Only thing is heart disease does run in the family. My dad is on cholesterol pills after trying so hard to change it naturally by diet and exercise. He was strict with it but still no change so went on pills. Otherwise I do not see much to really change for lifestyle. Will discuss all this at follow up. Still wearing 30 day monitor. Will continue it. My palps happened while in cath lab and the nurse saved the readings. Cardiologist said they are PVCs, harmless as long as no heart issues(which seem to be all ruled out now). Still interested to see if anything else is seen on monitor after the 30 days. Very happy though for still good results(although the 15-20 blockage scares me a bit, even though he was not worried about it). Least I can have some peace of mind now and know what still needs discussed. The heart cath is amazing, what impressive technology is out there. Sore right now, but hoping next few days will start to feel back to normal.
That's good news but about the blockage issue, would not hurt to talk to doctor about Homocysteine testing. My MD started this test for me about 10 yrs ago and it was elevated and I've been taking measures to lower it in the form of supplements. My MD was not concerned about cholesterol.
That's good news but about the blockage issue, would not hurt to talk to doctor about Homocysteine testing. My MD started this test for me about 10 yrs ago and it was elevated and I've been taking measures to lower it in the form of supplements. My MD was not concerned about cholesterol.
Least I can have some peace of mind now and know what still needs discussed. The heart cath is amazing, what impressive technology is out there. Sore right now, but hoping next few days will start to feel back to normal.
The information a heart cath can provide is so incredibly helpful. Focuses attention where it needs to be focused and helps disable useless anxiety. See, sometimes the benefits of an invasive diagnostic test far outweigh the distrust and fear about it. I couldn't wait to see the saved recording of mine. Verified nice clean arteries, normal valves, good flow, etc. It was fascinating to see the heart at work.
Last edited by Parnassia; 06-20-2020 at 02:15 PM..
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