Atrial tachycardia

Hi I am new to the site and have a daughter who is now twelve and a half and has been paced for over twelve years now. She is on her second pacemaker and it has approximately one year left of battery life. Reason for posting is that at last check the specialist noted a brief episode of atrial tachycardia which the pacemaker detected and dealt with. Unfortunately, I did not ask too much about this in the appointment as my daughter was in the room and I have to be mindful about questions which I ask. Her check ups have now been reduced to every three months. She is quite active and does quite a bit of dancing and I hope that she will be allowed to continue. Just wondered if this means that the settings may have to be looked at or they may consider a different pacemaker system? If anyone has any previous experience of this and they could let my know what route they took it would be very helpful. My daughter was born with other heart defects and does have mitral stenosis.

Thanks
Sue

4 Comments

a-tach

by Tracey_E - 2012-09-24 09:09:12

Atrial tachycardia just means going fast, it's usually a normal beat, just faster than it should be. It is totally different from fibrillation, when the heart quivers rather than beating. Please don't start googling a-fib and worrying! That's not what's going on with your daughter.

I've had a-tach off and on for years, mostly during exercise. It's harmless as long as it's not too fast (200+ in adults, probably more than that is ok in kids). In my case, it eventually got to the point it was affecting my workouts so I went on a low dose of beta blockers to keep my rate down. We worked around it by reprogramming the pm until I was in my 40's.

The younger we are, the more our bodies can compensate so little irregularities are not a big deal. If the dr isn't worried and your daughter is feeling good and able to do what she wants, don't lose sleep over this. Be informed, and it might be worth a call to have a conversation with the dr without your daughter present, but it sounds to me like something very small.

Atrial tachycardia

by Selwyn - 2012-09-24 09:09:43

Some brief episodes of atrial tachycardia could be considered normal- we all can get 'palpitations' when excited, after exercise, etc. Some medical conditions, such as an over active thyroid can cause such problems.

Classically mitral stenosis ( which puts added strain on the left atria) is associated with atrial fibrillation. This causes the heart to function less well when exercising. It can be detected on an ECG or a 24-48 hour ECG, and there are other methods.

Pacing will not in general stop atrial fibrillation (AF). There are internal catheter ablation operations that can stop AF and other atrial tachycardias.

I have ballroom danced for some years with my pacemaker and intermittent AF. I did develop atrial flutter dancing samba ( In Blackpool Tower Ballroom, which is quite large as a dance floor), though this settled by itself, and may have been the result of the medication ( Flecainide) I take to stop AF. My cardiologist has advised me to keep exercising - in general if the dancing is not extreme, it is a great way of keeping fit and is great for increasing social life.

Hope this helps,
Kind regards

Take off the bubble wrap

by ILoominatedEKG - 2012-09-25 01:09:49

Don't let your mind run away with you. You're gonna scare the ladies. Oh, wait, you are one. Well don't be scared anyway. I'm sure the speciailists was basically talking to himself or trying to impress you with his mediacal jargon ( are you hot?). Try to remember that the doctors didn't save your baby so you could keep her in bubble wrap. Relax until somebody tells you to get nervous. Even when things are serious, freaking out is one of the WORST things for a heart patient.

Being a rabid libertarian, I would be the last person to tell you how to raise your children, but if I were your daughter, I would DEMAND to know EVERYTHING about my care. She's old enough unless her emotional growth is stunted with your fear. Let her do whatever she can handle, and only she can determine that. But that's just my opinion.

Are you gonna censor me again Tracey?

Best wishes - Dave

A-tach

by Pacemum - 2012-09-25 03:09:01

Thanks for the replies.

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Member Quotes

I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for pacemakers. I've had mine for 35+ years. I was fainting all of the time and had flat-lined also. I feel very blessed to live in this time of technology.