Topic: And my Saga continues

[Keith]

Thanks again guys.  it can get scary to me.   Imagine everything going fine.  Your sitting watching tv and then you have a feeling in your chest...your heart stops for a few seconds....then everything is normal again for a few seconds. 

I'm getting used to it now, but I want it to stop!  I'm sure I will do fine on the stress test.  I have heard ALOT of people say that it will wear me out.  It just might do it, but I went for 30mins the other day on an elliptical machine and I was fine.    What's the worse that could happen, I die?  LOL   Miss out on paying all of my bills?        Just kidding guys. 

[Aftrthought051]

  Guys.  I think we could have a thread for all dads w/ heart problems.     Good luck Keith.  Regardless, I think it is great that you cut out that caffeine.  Joey is addicted to the stuff, drinking a case of coke a night.  But best of luck w/ all Keith.  I hope they figure it all out and get your heart running back right.   

[joey791]

good luck Keith

[AIRWAVES]

I also had ablation surgery done back in November. My heart was running wild for who knows how long. I was in a dirt bike accident a year before which they think cause my heart failure broke alot of ribs and they think one scared the heart. My heart was shot, from running 200-210 beats a minute when it wanted too. Would go from 60-80 right up to 210 for a minute or so.They ablation didn't help much. Was a 9 and a half hour surgery. The doc said as soon as they put be under my heart went into a normal rhythm. So he just did all the common ablation surgeries to me. It helped a little. Still on about 7 heart drugs and cumdin so i don't throw a blood clot for a few more months. Still waiting to see if my heart will recover and get my EF back to normal. If not I get to have a implantable defibrillator. Doc wanted to put it in last month, but I really don't want to be walking around with a big shock box in my shoulder.

[Keith]

No, I haven't had them or any heart problems before.    Just the high blood pressure first and then the PVCs.  He doesn't know what caused this.  The stress test is to either find a problem that I have or to rule out my heart as the problem.   If my heart isn't the problem, then I'm sure the problem stems somewhere, whatever makes my heart beat.  LOL

Thanks guys!

[Frobozz]

Has he explained what might have caused the PVC's in your case or what causes them in general?   I assume you haven't had it for 30+ years.  Are there any treatments for this that would have any permanency aside from lifelong meds? 

When I had atrial flutter in 2003, it was because of scarring in my heart from an illness (likely Scarlet Fever).  I had an ablation performed (they insert leads up to the heart and burned/thickened the scars with radio waves, making the scars thicker so they would no longer conduct electrical impulses), it worked like a charm and the problem went away right there.

Good luck in figuring this all out.

[z_randy]

Good luck Keith!  I had a stress test a couple years ago.  You'll glow in the dark!

[Keith]

As some of you know, last October I was told that I had high blood pressure.   My dosing has changed over the months and I am now on 40mg of Benzapril and 5 mg of something else (can't remember the name).

In December I developed PVC's (http://www.daddyplace.com/index.php/topic,14466.0.html).  My doctor had me wear a 24 hr. heart monitor.  I went and saw him yesterday for the results.   He told me that people with PVCs may have a few hundred over the 24 hrs.  He told me that I had well over 2000 PVCs.  He quit counting.  LOL   He did tell me though that my heart rhythm wasn't anything that looked bad, it was just skipping beats everywhere.

Now having said that, since the heart monitor I have quit drinking all caffeine.  My PVCs have calmed down drastically, but I still have them on occasions.

My doctor made me an appointment to see a cardiologist next Wednesday and to have a heart stress test.  The one you do on a treadmill.

So, wish me luck in them finding out what the hell is wrong with me.