So after my good appointment with Dr Ernst last week I received a phonecall today from the brompton about my Holter Monitor results, the conversation was very brief and left me feeling very worried
Basically they’d noticed a run of fast heart rate on the holter and asked if I’d noticed anything while wearing it.... I hadn’t other than the usual missed beats I’d been having, he then said I’m going to need to get this over to Dr Ernst team to look at.
Panicking I rung Dr Ernst secretary only to be told she’s unavailable until 29th but they would get a member of her team to ring me back
I’ve just got off the phone to one of her registrars who said that they’d noticed a short run of fast heart rate, however it wasn’t from the atria so was nothing to do with the ablation or af... this had come from the ventricles, and was far far more dangerous than atria tachycardia, he asked me some worrying questions like have I had any family members who have died suddenly and few other questions I don’t remember as I froze and went into a cold sweat and panic...
The outcome is I have to go in for a mri of my heart to see how my muscle is working and what’s causing this fast heart rate..... google isn’t painting a very good picture, I’m left now just waiting for my appointment and worrying myself sick... not the outcome or news I wanted
I hoped the battery of tests I’ve had up until now would’ve picked up if there was a problem
Sorry to read this Jugsy but I think this is probably them being over cautious. When I had my little problem in February this year I ended up having all sorts of tests and spending a fortnight in hospital to end up with a clean bill of cardiac health (well as clean as my age will allow) and no explanation other than just one of those one in trillion chances.
I think the other tests you have had done would have shown other problems.. If the registrar really used words like"far far more dangerous" he should go on a course to learn people skills.
I quite understand how suddenly worried you are but you know that worrying only increases the heart irregularities. One misplaced word can send us all into despair, you are reacting to those words as we all would.
Trust the MRI, the appointment with your cardiologist is not too far away.
Do not read any more about this , we always home in on the worst scenario.. All the best.
Juggsy, so sorry to hear this when I thought you were back on the straight and narrow .
The registrar seems to have been a little clumsy in his questioning but I suppose some questions have to be asked.
As you say, one would have thought that the tests you had beforehand would have shown up any problem.
Keep away from Dr Google now until you see Dr Ernst..not long.
Good luck with the MRI and appointment with dr Ernst. It's a worry for you and I understand your concern. Best wishes for an outcome which can put your mind at rest. They will ensure you are back on good form and will be well taken care of. X
Yes unfortunately google paints quite a poor outlook for ventricular tachycardia’s, this has really taken my feet from under me
Please remember, Google, for all it's benefits, is NOT a diagnostic tool. It's really easy to get upset over things that are very rare - Google always paints a dark picture. I know, I've been there....
As RosyG said, if it was really serious, you would be in there having treatment now.
😱 What a thing to say to someone specially in a short telephone conversation! I am sorry you have had such a shock and disappointment as you thought everything was going well. Let us hope the registrar who phoned you is a bit of a dramatist or completely mistaken but if not at least you are in the care of Dr Ernst. Best wishes 💜
Juggsy, this is bound to be a worry for you, especially since you seem to have spoken to someone with no tact whatsoever.
Look at what you know - a short run of tachycardia, you didn't notice it, previous tests found nothing at all wrong and you are having the best care possible.
I had 11 fast beats on a Holter monitor and was told it could be VT. Like you, I panicked but it turned out to be aberrant conduction - apparently aberrant conduction and VT are hard to tell apart and cardiologists will not rule out VT until they are sure.
The questions which you were asked were essential in trying to get a firm diagnosis but should have been done in a supportive setting and certainly not over the phone to a worried patient. Remember that anything you read on google is the whole picture which rarely applies in its entirety to everyone.
Try to focus on the successes you have so far and look at this as something to be investigated via the MRI. When you know the outcome and have the full picture as applied to your own situation, then you can deal with it. Worrying about the maybes and what ifs is natural - we all do it.
Best wishes with the MRI - let us know how you are.
I was told mine was non sustained ventricular tachycardia, 15 beats lasting 5 seconds, so it’s definitely vt and not an aberrant conduction I would’ve thought,
I know that it is frightening and my EP's report said 'aberrant conduction but, obviously ventricular tachycardia cannot be ruled out'. I specifically asked my cardiologist 'Are you concerned about this?' His reply was no - these are only 11 beats out of hundreds of thousands.
See also fallingtopieces reply with a link where we discussed it. Mine has not recurred either in over 3 years and the only precaution I was advised to follow was to avoid alcohol.
Finvola - what a lovely sensible reassuring reply to Juggsy. We could do with you on a touring bus visiting those of us with concerns and worries! Just what the Dr ordered.
I’ve just found this recording of mine which was classed as ventricular. I certainly felt it at the time but as it was just caught on the two lead Alivecor, no one knew for sure. I had further tests and all were normal.
I was pretty scared too but I’ve been alright since.
Juggsy, you've been given some good advice here and Finvola certainly gives some reassuring information.
Throughout life we are often sent into panics over what something 'might' be. At times doctors give us a subtle warning, by saying I'll get you an appointment with a specialist asap and of course our minds build a picture of what the outcome may be. I've lost count of the ones I've had, which have turned out to be nothing serious, in fact they usually turn out to be nothing to worry about at all. I remember a specialist telling me that the lump I had could be one of two things and although it wasn't said I knew one of them was cancer. It wasn't!
A few careless words by the registrar you spoke to have caused you worry. He was wrong to say that. Please do your best not to worry over what may not be.
Awful and tactless thing for any professional to say to you, like all the best advice above I'd wait until your seen before googling things, I've had specialists be so wrong about so many things causing unnecessary worry it's ridiculous,and made it worse by googling until I convinced myself of things that I didn't have, and as the guys say above , if it was as severe as he made out then they would want you straight in, please try to keep calm and think positive as worry is sometimes the cause of many of our own symptoms, thoughts are with you.
Oh Jugsy I am so sorry to read your post. You have been through so much and so bravely. An inspiration to all of us. I do hope you get reassuring news very soon. Anne x
As an anaesthetic nurse we see this a lot, short lived and back to normal, if they were really worried they would have had you in, as someone has already said, and if you suddenly do feel weird in any way, just call an ambulance,
Jugsy im so glad you've had such reassuring and thoughtful replies, to counterbalance such a dreadful way of receiving medical information. I feel for you so much and hope you are feeling more reassured.
Just to add my personal experience, my loop recorder picked up a run of Ventricular Tachycardia which worried the technician who was downloading it. She arranged for me to see my cardiologist, who was very unconcerned - he noted it as significant because it means there are certain rhythm control drugs he wouldn't give me, but didn't even send me for further tests or MRI. It definitely was VT - there's no doubt. But he said 'most of us will probably have an episode or two in our lives if we were being recorded - I'm not worried.'
That's only my experience - but it was about 5 years ago and neither the cardiologist or the ep has said otherwise yet...
Please keep us posted - sending hugs & wishing you peace of mind and heart xxx
Don't worry yourself, and just wait to see your doctor.
I had episodes of Supra Ventricular Tachycardia for 37 years and had to go t Emergency a few times to be injected to bring beats back to NSR. Mostly, I could convert myself with carotid massage or something taken to relieve gas/indigestion build up. After a big burp - I would convert to NSR and not have to go the ER.
I was given various drugs over the years to keep the beats below 200 bpm as my 1st episode was.
Since my terrible ablation this past April when I was told I now also had A-Fib - which was successfully burned off - and many trips back to EF and a 7 week hosp.stay.
When everything settled down - I've been PAT or SVT ('d been told both over the years)
free to date.
I'm just waiting until my next appointment with the Cardiologist on Nov 8th to hear the latest news of what's been discovered afer this latest Echo Test.
Keep you hopes up and do not despair - wait to see what your next doctor visit tells you. Good Luck, Jugsy,
Sorry to hear about this news. Very strange that they discharged you recently and told you everything is ok and to get on with your life. I am referring to your last post.
You would have thought that they checked all the tests you had before your discharge.
Anyway hope this is nothing to worry about.
Best Wishes
Barry
Upon discharging me Barry I was still wearing the monitor, I wore it for four more days then posted it back last week, I can only assume as I’d never had any nsvt on any other test they weren’t expecting anything out of the ordinary on the last one...it’s a very worrying and depressing time at the moment..
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