Had my heart stress test at the Bristol Heart Institute this week to discover why I've started having episodes of breathlessness/pressure on exertion. The plan was to use an exercise bike to increase my heart rate ti 128 bpm then use ultrasound echocardiogram and ECG to look at my heart, Before I'd even started to pedal my heart rate was 130 and it was hard to see from the ECGs if I was in Sinus and if so what would explain the hgh rate or whether I was experiencing an atrial flutter . I had to stop my Bisoprolol 48 hours before the test and have now started it again and heart rate settled somewhat. My ECGs are going to be viewed by others now and I guess I might need further tests or if it is decided it was a flutter I may need another ablation. I really cant fault the treatment I receive at the Institute.
None the wiser: Had my heart stress... - Atrial Fibrillati...
None the wiser
Hi Daisy
"Before I'd even started to pedal my heart rate was 130"
I wonder if that was nerves - I know I'm always that way when I go to hospital.
"I had to stop my Bisoprolol 48 hours before the test and have now started it again and heart rate settled somewhat"
That's great news - Bis seems to working for you.
"it was hard to see from the ECGs if I was in Sinus"
That seems strange to me. An ECG should answer that. Flutter can be harder to pick up (I have both) but the ablation for flutter is easy compared to the ablation for afib. I wonder if it's worth getting a Karda to check yourself ?
Good luck with it anyway. I'm pleased the Bis is working for you - it can very effective.
Paul
By the way Daisy we are not medic's on the forum - your doctors advice will be far better than the forms advice. However do you have copy of your ECG you can copy and paste on the forum ? It's easy to tell from that if you maybe in sinus or not. Look to the top line and if that's normal your fine - if so your heart beat sounds good. Normally you have 4 readings on an ECG. The top one is the most important regarding afib. I won't get in to P waves etc but it's quite easy to read. If you can put a screen shot on here please do so. Serious here. I once saw a GP and showed them an ECG reading and she said I don't know what that means - you couldn't make it up. Just unreal TBH but it's true.
If you have a copy put it on here and I'm sure members might be able to point you in the right direction. This of course is only to discuss with your doctor and won't be medicial advice.
I hope you do this - you may get some good pointers to discuss with your medic.
Cheers Paul
Lol Paulbounce, I had that selfsame reaction on not one but two occasions from separate GPs when I presented them with a read out! Either we have some pretty dumb GPs or it's 'doctorspeak' for "stop bothering me with this"! The rudest was the one who also told me I was very liable to have a stroke at my age, with or without AF, who pointed at the offending article which I'd left abandoned on her desk, and said "and you can take that thing with you"!
I showed my previous GP a Kardia recording of what I think was bigeminy and she said, ‘I don’t know anything about hearts, you can send it to your cardiologist if you think he’d be interested’ - as I’d been discharged from cardiology that was extra unhelpful 😠
It's all a bit jaw-dropping isn't it Buffafly, but tends to go along with the contempt that some GPs seem to have for heart arrrhythmia!
Hi Call.
Heheh - I have found (most) some GP's to be lovely and others as rude as hell. TBH I like the rude ones - you can give 'em some back chat which takes your mind off things. It's fun to do and they hate it - yeah I like the rude ones as the barrier comes down right away. It's true of consulants too. Some are so far up their own backside it's unreal. You just feel more relaxed with the rude ones some how as you don't give a flying one if you upset them or not.
My tale about the GP not being able to read (or understand my ECG) is true. Blows your mind really.
Enjoy your day.
Paul
Thanks for your response Paul. Unfortunatey I don't have my ECGs . The lead echocardiographer and a couple of colleagues looked at the results and said they would take it to the ablation team to decided if it was flutter or just a high heart rate. I was anxious and my BP indicated that but not sure it affected me heart rate as it was still around 130 later when I was quite chilled ( came down after taking Bisoprolol) I am in two minds about the Karda as dont want to become obsessed with checking etc. though I think it could be useful as I dont seem to feel it when I have AF(my GP had a gizmo that told me I was experiencing AF when I went to see him.
Ive had a couple of ECGS, US echocardiagram x 2, and the stress test all within a month or so since I first went to the GP re my breathlessness so I think I am being well served here.
I was seen at the BHI last April. Waiting for a follow up appointment but been told they are way behind. I saw a wonderful EP there who went through all my test results with me and explained everything. I too couldn’t fault them.
SuziElley I have been there twice in the last month once to see the cardiac nurse practitioner and then for the stress test he referred me to. Inbetween I also had a USechocardiogram at Southmead Hospital so I havent been subjected to any delays and have been told I will get a report from my latest visit within 2 weeks so heres hoping.
Do you mind saying which EP you saw? I'm considering paying for a private consultation so would be useful to have the name of a good EP.
It's good to hear that the NHS is doing its job well! I was under the impression that atrial flutter (which I had in 2019) produced a characteristic ECG that had an obvious "saw tooth" shape, and produced a heart rate that was a fixed ratio of 300 or so, i.e. 1:2 = 150bpm, 1:3 = 100bpm and so on.
Let's hope the cardiologist who reviews the results is able to resolve the issues and set you on the road to normality. Breathlessness and discomfort are so very worrying.
Steve
Thanks Steve. Not sure I understand the ratios but my GP (and me ) should get a report within 2 weeks when the EP has had a look. The last and only time I had a flutter I was given an ablation and my GP told me when I saw him recently I had Afib having used a device linked to his phone ( is that a Karda?)
Sorry, I could have been clearer. Atrial flutter only allows the heart to beat at a very regular fixed rate, one that is always a ratio of what the right atrium is beating (or “fluttering”) at, which is around 300bpm.
So, when a person has AFl, their heart can only beat at one of: 300bpm (i.e. 1:1 ratio, which is rare and dangerous); 150bpm (1:2); 100bpm (1:3); 74bpm (1:4) and so on, with no smooth rise or fall, just a step-wise shift between each ratio (i.e. you can’t slowly fall from 150 to 100, only step down in one go).
When I had this before my ablation, my pulse often was 105bpm which meant my flutter rate was 315bpm (1:3 ratio).
Steve
How long do you wait in atrial flutter before you go to the ER?
Panic attack and/or AFIB
Atrial Flutter.
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