Hi guys

So due for my annual check at the Brompton in Nov, I had letter saying it's been put back to Feb as Dr Ernst isn't there in Nov,

Some of you may recall a scare we had last year where they picked up a run of nsvt on my holter, only for Dr Ernst to say it was only artifact after an MRI,

Well last night while in work I experienced something I've not felt before, I was chatting to a colleague when I felt s sensation in my chest and felt very lightheaded, my instant reaction was to feel my pulse to see if it was eratic, but there was no pulse, nothing at all, I panicked and coughed hard and felt myself feel normal again, took myself to local hospital where ecg, and blood pressure were all normal, I've rung the clinical nurse this morning who's going to arrange a monitor as matter of urgency for me...needless to say Google isnt painting a great picture for the fact I had no pulse, I was also told if the monitor picks nothing up then I may need an implanted monitor to get to bottom of this, it's kind of knocked the wind out of my sails if I'm honest, hit me wondering if any of this had happened if I hadn't had the ablation done😩😩😩

[BobD Volunteer]

On the other hand it could have been much worse? Always look forward. You can't back life like a car.

[Hidden]

Gosh Juggsy, how frightening for you. Keep us informed as to what happens next. Seems ages since we heard from you.

Sandra

[heartbeat4]

Sorry to hear this hopefully when you get it checked out you will feel more positive It may not be as bad as you think.

[meadfoot]

I have those pauses regularly juggsy, they are alarming. Had one Sunday just gone for example. Here's how it goes with me. I feel a strange sensation in my chest, then heart pauses (can't feel a pulse), I get wind in my chest which comes and goes quickly, I get a few seconds of af then a few seconds of tachycardia then a gasp then things go back to normal. It feels dreadful and very scary. It seems to go on for a long time but in reality it is seconds not minutes.

My EP is aware of them is watching them in as far as if they get longer in duration and or more often. Currently he seems unperturbed by them.

Contrary to you I haven't had an ablation so can't see that your past ablation is the culprit. Hope your monitoring helps get to the source of things. X

[Hidden in reply to meadfoot]

Thanks, that's first time I've felt lightheaded, last year one Dr rung me and mentioned sudden cardiac death links, which is now playing on my mind

[meadfoot in reply to Hidden]

Good heavens that was harsh to receive from a medic. Forgot to say I feel light headed and on occasions feel as though I will pass out, haven't done though. Feels dreadful when it happens. I am trusting my EP in his assessment of these episodes. He isn't worried about them for me which is helpful in the main. Might be a different story if they are longer in duration or frequency though I suspect. Hope monitor gives clues.

[Hidden in reply to meadfoot]

Trouble is this is first time I've ever felt this, so could be difficult for monitor to pick up without having one implanted

[meadfoot in reply to Hidden]

Ask for an implantable one. I wanted one but it was deemed not needed. These two week and shorter duration tapes can often not show much if symptoms are infrequent. Go for a longer implantable one.

[doodle68]

Hi Juggsy can I ask did you take the pulse in your wrist or the carotid pulse in your neck.

I often have trouble feeling the pulse in my wrist particularly when my heart rate is very low and sometimes it feels like I don't have one it is so faint, I find the pulse in my neck is more pronounced and easier to locate.

[Buffafly in reply to doodle68]

I had a 'run' of pauses of up to 5 secs which I was able to catch on my Kardia thus proving that there really was no pulse to feel. I know these feel terrifying and of course can't be ignored because of safety concerns but I am not sure they are an indicator that you are likely to have a cardiac arrest. Did your googling suggest that Juggsy?

[Hidden]

Yes felt my wrist, it probably was only for s couple seconds but the clinical nurse said that I probably felt light headed due to my heart not pumping enough blood or even tot pumping at all, which has made me panic even more

[Buffafly]

I had those before I had an ablation, that's why I had one 😀

[Hidden in reply to Buffafly]

Google dissent paint a very good future for me at the moment😩😩

[Hidden]

Hi juggsy75

I have read all your posts going back 3 years, and I understand why you are anxious. As someone on long term medication for my own anxiety, my input is focus on strategies for managing your anxiety before it gets out of hand like last time.

You have a plan in place to quickly sort out your heart problem with a team at one of our premier hospitals. There is no point asking us why this happened, we can only speculate and that won’t necessarily help you. Maybe the ablation caused this, much more likely it didn’t. Only the medics will have an informed opinion about this.

What matters is what happens next, and in your situation, I expect it will be fairly straightforward to sort this out. I say that because I get cardiac pauses that cause a sudden fall in blood pressure, like a lot of other people here, so I have some understanding of this.

For me, cognitive behavioural therapy in the past has been helpful. Perhaps let the medics do their job, and read around on self managing anxiety in the meantime. Your wife has the background to support you in this.

[Mike11]

I'd ask your GP to write to the consultant and ask for a 2 week Holter monitor test to be arranged before you see them next.

[Hidden]

Hi Juggsy, I had a loop implanted which diagnosed my af and I have now had an ablation. When I used to get attacks of af, I would get lightheaded and I would be unable to feel a pulse at my wrist during most of the attack. I always thought this was because my heart was going so fast. This wasn't a "pause", it felt like there was no pulse yet I knew there must be as I was still OK. I used to just go and do something preferably active to take my mind off it until it passed, if you can. I found that sitting there thinking about it just made me feel worse. Good luck!

[radagast58]

I would be very wary of trying to locate a carotid pulse while you are having an arrhythmia as carotid sinus massage can in itself induce arrhythmias and your attempts to find a carotid pulse may mimic this

[doodle68 in reply to radagast58]

Hi rad see the NHS and BHF websites re taking a pulse...

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

nhs.uk/common-health-questi...

If someone is unable to locate a pulse in the wrist and is anxious about it, taking the pulse in the neck seems like an option.

There is no mention on either site of not taking the carotid pulse in case you accidentally attempt Carotid Massage, a type of vagal manoeuvre.

[radagast58 in reply to doodle68]

I agree that the risks are very low but still worth considering. I would rather look for a femoral pulse but I suppose this may lead to strange looks in Sainsbury's!

[radagast58 in reply to doodle68]

quora.com/Would-feeling-my-...

[Dickydon]

Sounds like a complete heartblock scenario If your heart-rate went that low. It was happening to me very frequently brought on by simple exertion. But a pacemaker was fitted and has sorted that low heart-rate issue out. No more dizzy faint lightheadedness but I still get very breathless from walking up steps, bending over, etc... good luck.

[Gwersey]

I have an implanted Reveal device, just over a year now. My consultant is however having me fitted with a holter monitor within the next 6 weeks. Maybe the Reveal is limited in what it picks up?