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Did they tell you your palpitations were due to a-fib? That's the only reason I can think of that you'd have to take an anticoagulant ( blood thinner), unless you are taking it for a DVT or another condition?
Cardiomyopathy is often accompanied by PVCs, and many docs prescribe anticoagulation for cardiomyopathy, although the evidence for benefit is lacking.
Did they tell you your palpitations were due to a-fib? That's the only reason I can think of that you'd have to take an anticoagulant ( blood thinner), unless you are taking it for a DVT or another condition?
Whatever it is, I'm glad to hear the palps have let up and given you some relief, though if it is afib you'd likely need to continue the meds (including the anticoagulant), as it may be the beta blocker and maybe the blood pressure med (depending on what it is) that's responsible for keeping the palps under control. Life style measures (healthy diet, exercise, not smoking, drinking in moderation, etc) can be of help in that regard as well.
Stay well and hope the normal quiet heart you can forget is there to stay!
I haven't been able to see a cardiologist during this time so unsure exactly what type of arrhythmia it was. But since it's gone now, the GP today said I could ease off the blood thinner and arrhythmia drug but stay on the beta-blocker since I have high BP anyway. He said "You're way too young to be on all those drugs. Now if you were 80..." Blood thinner was due to stroke risk of arrhythmia.
Yes, it's wonderful to have a heart I cannot detect, again! The only way I can feel my heartbeat is in my feet, lying in bed.
The doctor was quite surprised my heart returned to normal. Only reason I'm not dancing in the streets is fear of it returning.
Today at work was so bad that the women insisted they take my blood pressure and oxygen levels on the spot. The palpitations lasted about and hour or so.
Later, I went to the ENT. I told him I have been waking up in the middle of the night since I was 18 from mucous dripping behind my throat. He took blood to test for allergies (they said I am slightly allergic to milk a couple of years ago). They gave me some tube to breathe ina Nd long as I could and also some other breathing test. Everything in the office was normal. I will wait for the allergy results but I don’t think they are related to anything. He gave me nasal rinse and some medication. I have an appointment with a sleep apnea doctor on Thursday but the RNT said I probably shouldn’t bother until we rule out the post nasal drip. Should I go anyway?
Today was my worst day so far. I was awokeN at 5 am this morning by palpitations. I just laid there for a couple of hours and it did not go away. I heard my kids wake up. My son was bothering his sister about something and they were yelling and running around. I needed things to be quite while I was going through this. Then my daughter was crying and screaming daddy and all that. I had no strength to answer. They came by me and started in and I simply lost it on my 12 year old son for always teasing her. I was screaming out of control but the fear I was experiencing sent me in full panic mode. All I could think of was that I want this all to end now. Oddly, as soon as I was done screaming, The palpitations completely stopped. It was the complete opposite of what I expected to happen next.
Obviously, these simple little palpitations that my cardiologist insist are nothing, have now taken over my life. And now, they are happening every other day, and for hours and hours at a time. That shows me that it is getting worse than when it was Only happening once every three weeks. I am more disTurned by my behavior. I sounded like a monster. The worst part is that I am confident that no one will be able to fix this and that is a terrible feeling to have. I am no closer to getting better than I was 8 months ago. In fact, i am even further away from an answer since no one has one.
Since the palpitations stopped when you were screaming, there is a good chance that one of the techniques I posted upthread will work to stop your palpitations. One of the methods is coughing, and screaming (although not mentioned specifically, LOL) probably mimics that. I was able to stop an a-fib episode by using the "bearing down" method. Basically, you are putting pressure on the vagus nerve and that slows the heart. If you haven't already, go back and read it and see if something in there will work for you. It's definitely worth a try and may give you more peace of mind.
I thought the same thing. Maybe, next time, instead of screaming, maybe go out and do something physical like ride a bike or walk. I was doing the opposite. I was laying down trying to not put any more pressure on my heart.
I saw a sleep apnea doctor the other day. I will be spending the night at their clinic to see What they find out this week. I also saw a cardio physiologist. He couldn’t say much without seeing the records from my current cardiologist so he asked for a copy and I have to go back in a few weeks. He gave me an ekg. The results say “sinus rhythm with marked sinus arrhythmia. Otherwise normal EKG”. Not sure if that is something to be concerned about but doesn’t sound so good to me.
Sinus arrhythmia just means your HR varies with your inspirations & expirations...When you breathe in, you suck air into your chest, but you also suck more blood in so it takes your heart a little longer to fill in diastole before it beats in systole...Not to worry. It's normal.
Just updating with results. Had follow up to 30 day monitor. Everything was fine. I did have skipped beats and begimny(sp?) but was told it was all fine. Well under the 20% threshold of needing treatment(apparently way under it, crazy as it felt like it happened all the time). Told me I am more sensitive to my heart that I would push the button when in sinus rhythm also. So basically the feelings I am feeling are benign. After an echo, stress test, monitor and heart cath.. I am hoping I can have more peace of mind.
Only concern for me though still is the 15-20% blockage found during heart cath. It isn’t causing symptoms and they won’t do anything about it. Told by cardiologist that even babies can have plaque and it’s fairly normal for my age. The nurse practitioner said maybe slightly higher then average but nothing to raise any alarm bells. Course she said cannot rule out heart events in the future, even if heart was 100% fine which I understand but.. scares me knowing I already have plaque buildup. Like a ticking time bomb.. scared of having a heart attack, thinking could be anytime. Doctor prescribed taking a baby aspirin daily.. still hesitating to do so as I hate taking pills long term and there are some risks to taking it daily. Plus not knowing for sure if it will give any heart protection or not(though they sure think it will I guess). I will have another appt next May to recheck cholesterol(high last time but fine before). Said could been a one off and will recheck and see where it’s at. Said since I am younger, 32, they rather hold off on me starting cholesterol pills right away and see if the numbers go back down(saying pregnancy could of effected the numbers). Discussing my low risk factors(non smoker, not overweight and eat well, blood pressure fine etc) that if I do have high cholesterol it’s more likely genetic(both parents are on them and family history of heart problems, though not my parents so far). Was told I could try beta blocker for the palps but they prefer I didn’t since it isn’t necessary(that’s fine, opted not to).
So yea, I am pretty much fine.. meaning the palps were harmless and tests were good, except the mild blockage. They sure wasn’t to concerned though so I am trying to not stress over it much. I am glad to be past it all and know not to worry about the palps even though they’re annoying and distracting I at least am not scared of them anymore.
Just updating with results. Had follow up to 30 day monitor. Everything was fine. I did have skipped beats and begimny(sp?) but was told it was all fine. Well under the 20% threshold of needing treatment(apparently way under it, crazy as it felt like it happened all the time). Told me I am more sensitive to my heart that I would push the button when in sinus rhythm also. So basically the feelings I am feeling are benign. After an echo, stress test, monitor and heart cath.. I am hoping I can have more peace of mind.
Only concern for me though still is the 15-20% blockage found during heart cath. It isn’t causing symptoms and they won’t do anything about it. Told by cardiologist that even babies can have plaque and it’s fairly normal for my age. The nurse practitioner said maybe slightly higher then average but nothing to raise any alarm bells. Course she said cannot rule out heart events in the future, even if heart was 100% fine which I understand but.. scares me knowing I already have plaque buildup. Like a ticking time bomb.. scared of having a heart attack, thinking could be anytime. Doctor prescribed taking a baby aspirin daily.. still hesitating to do so as I hate taking pills long term and there are some risks to taking it daily. Plus not knowing for sure if it will give any heart protection or not(though they sure think it will I guess). I will have another appt next May to recheck cholesterol(high last time but fine before). Said could been a one off and will recheck and see where it’s at. Said since I am younger, 32, they rather hold off on me starting cholesterol pills right away and see if the numbers go back down(saying pregnancy could of effected the numbers). Discussing my low risk factors(non smoker, not overweight and eat well, blood pressure fine etc) that if I do have high cholesterol it’s more likely genetic(both parents are on them and family history of heart problems, though not my parents so far). Was told I could try beta blocker for the palps but they prefer I didn’t since it isn’t necessary(that’s fine, opted not to).
So yea, I am pretty much fine.. meaning the palps were harmless and tests were good, except the mild blockage. They sure wasn’t to concerned though so I am trying to not stress over it much. I am glad to be past it all and know not to worry about the palps even though they’re annoying and distracting I at least am not scared of them anymore.
Well, that's good news. Though the palps are annoying they're pretty much considered benign, and especially with the positive attitude you show, they seem manageble. It may well be that with a continued healthy life style, avoiding triggers if you know what they are (often caffeine, alcohol, stimulants-no energy drinks for you!) those palps will diminish, or even go away with time.
It's true with monitor testing, they tend to consider it a negative test if the person records symptoms when the heart is in a normal sinus rhythm. And generally, as I learned too, they don't consider PVCs or PVC bigeminy significant unless the numbers are above 20% of the heart beats or there is structural or coronary heart disease-even though they feel bad!
I can understand the concern over the little bit of plaque in your coronary arteries, but if your cardiologist wasn't concerned, even told you it was pretty normal, well, they know wherein they speak and it really isn't worth worrying about..
What you can do, is to maintain your healthy lifestyle, keep your weight and lab numbers good. If you aren't exercising to at least a moderate level at this point (they recommend at least 150 minutes per week) I'd suggest that's another excellent way to stay healthy, keep your blood pressure under control, and maybe even keep your arteries from gunking up and your lipids under control. Of course there are other variables (with genetics being a big one) that affect your health, but life style helps.
I wouldn't want to take cholesterol lowering meds at your age either, but there are products on the market that are touted to help with lipid levels. I take krill oil capsules (350 mg/day) and these seem to have (along with the exercise and diet have kept my cholesterol levels good. Don't know how this would work for anyone else, but they seem to help me. You can also check on your cholesterol and any other potential issues of concern with an annual physical exam as time goes on. Meanwhile live your life, you are young and have a lifetime and lots to look forward to ahead of you!
Best of luck to you.
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