palpitations

I did not finish explaining on my condition, my fault. 

I had minor palpitations during the day but , this was seconds, it was the ones that occured on the hour, they would last for about a minute or more and they would stop as suddenly as they started. Anyway the last adjustment has stopped the 21 hour problem but not the ones during the day.

2 Comments

Palpitations--Good news and bad news

by Gotrhythm - 2018-09-04 15:23:47

Palpitation is a general term meaning any arrythmia. There are many arrythmias. A few are dangerous, but the most common ones are not The commons ones are PACs, pre-artial contractions and PVCs, preventricular contractions. 

If you're being bothered by palpitations--enough to go to the ER--it behooves you to learn exactly which kind you're dealing with.

In my experience, cardiac personel are quick to reassure us that "everything is fine," and slow to recognise that their reassurances seem empty to us when we continue to feel our hearts skipping and jumping. We begin to wonder if they know what they are talking about. They begin to think we are crackpots because we keep coming back with the same complaint when they've already told us "everything is fine."

The best way out of this viscious circle is to ask specific questions.

Find out if you are having PVCs. If you are there's good news and bad news. The good news is that PVCs are harmless, and so common they are considered "normal." The bad news is that your pacemaker can do nothing to keep PVCs from happening.

If you find out the problem is PVCs, come back. Lots of us have experience with dealing with them that we'll be happy to share.

PVC's are not always harmless!

by BOBTHOM - 2018-09-07 14:04:49

For me and my heart condition, PVC's are certainly NOT harmless.   As an example, when I was going through cardiopulmonary rehab and my heart was being monitored I discovered that when my heart rate reached or exceeded 94 I would through a few PVC's and then go into a round of tachycardia that would leave me breathless and took 10 to 15 minutes to recover from.  The medtechs at the rehab center were also certain that PVC's weren't dangerous and did not believe me when I told them that I could feel them and based on that knew exactly when the tachycardia would start.  Of course we all know that tachycardia is a dangerous condition and if it does self resolve will lead to the ICD firing.

On the 21 hour thing, my ICD would do a recalibration every night at 12:30am.  EP and staff did not believe me and could find nothing wrong.  I called Medtronic and they told me it was a "feature" that could be turned off.  After I informed the EP of this they scheduled me the next day to come in a turn that feature off.  I still get the random ones and I assume that since the nightly is turned off it is doing some type of sensing/calibrating.  No has provided me with an answer to that.... yet.

Just my 2 cents from my experience for my device and my heart condition.

Just adding my 2 cents.

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I am just now 40 but have had these blackouts all my life. I am thrilled with the pacer and would do it all over again.