No luck getting treated. Seeking input.

• by frozenrope
• 2016-02-08 09:02:50
• General Posting
• 947 views
• 4 comments

Hello, I'm a 35 year old male, diagnosed with SA node dysfunction/sinus bradycardia(same thing I think). My resting heart rate is typically 40-41bpm, but I've seen it as low as 36 while awake.. I was instructed to document my HR when I'm feeling especially symptomatic. I've got a HR/BP machine at home.

I've probably had this problem since birth, I've always had a low pulse. When I was a kid, I remember passing out many times after standing up too quickly, maybe there's some orthostatic hypotension, not sure. BP has always been on the low end of normal. I've kind of learned to work around that, but I'm know if I got up too quickly, stretched and yawned I'd be out within seconds. I've had a few of these episodes recently.

But what's been really been bad the last few years is dizziness, getting winded easily, I always feel tired, overall very weak feeling, poor circulation in hands and feet, feeling like I'm going to pass out, and I feel like I'm in a fog. My coworkers tell me pretty often that I'm looking pretty rough(nice bunch, really), very pale, not alert. Some days are better than others. A few years ago I had some sleepwalking episodes, so I saw a sleep specialist who saw my heart rate(36bpm) and told me I would probably need a pacemaker, and immediately referred me to a cardiologist. This scared me a lot, so I really dragged my feet for a long time before I went in.

I got put on a 48 hour Holter monitor which got me diagnosed with the SA node dysfunction and bradycardia. Then I saw the doctor for a follow up appointment which I also put off for months. He'd seen I wasn't taking any medications, and had recent blood work including thyroid done, and everything there was fine. He asked how I felt about a pacemaker, and I told him I really didn't like the idea. But now, if it would help I'd be all for it.

He said that during the monitoring, my heart rates didn't really match up with normal daily fluctuations, and that and the low overall rate warranted having an EKG, stress test, and echo done. I put this off for months also(seems like a pattern of mine). I went in, during the EKG my rate was 40. During the stress test, my heart rate increased like it should have, I didn't get dizzy, it went fine.

I didn't hear back from the doctor for months, so I finally called because I was tired of dealing with all this. The nurse said everything on my tests checked out fine except for the pulse. She stated the doctor said since I'm feeling fine, there's nothing to worry about? I told her I wasn't feeling fine at all, and mentioned the symptoms again. She said that in the doctor's opinion, my bradycardia shouldn't be causing any symptoms, and if I am having them, it must be something else, maybe sleep related since that's how I got referred to them. So they referred me back to neurology, even though that doctor doesn't think anything is wrong...

I'm almost positive my symptoms are related to my HR, and I think the doctor might be reluctant to put a pacemaker in because of my age due to some comments he's made.

I've gathered all my test results(Holter, EKG, stress, echo), and I'm going to get a second opinion. Everything I've read says when heart rates get down as low as mine, most people will get symptomatic. At this point I would like a pacemaker put in if it will help, I really want to feel better and move on, but it feels like it's not being taken seriously.

If anyone could offer any input or advice, it would be greatly appreciated. Does it sound like I would benefit from a pacemaker? What I want is to find a doctor that would be willing to do something, and if I'm a candidate for a pacemaker, to put one in. But I'm not sure how to go about finding the right person.

Thanks
-frozenrope