ECG reading

[fairgo45]

Does anyone know what the QRS spikes are every few seconds I'd like to know what they mean

[fairgo45]

Should I worry?

[etheral]

Normally not significant and nothing to worry about.

[Singwell]

Yes, agree those are PVCs. They're usually considered benign unless up get lots close together. I get them occasionally. If you take a few moments to slow your breathing down to 6 or less breaths a minute that'll usually see the PVCs off. But I agree, send to your cardiologist pr GP. Any change always worth noting.

[Ppiman]

This looks similar to what I get daily, which is NSR with PVCs (ectopic beats or palpitations). Is it from a Kardia as it looks different from mine?

You would likely feel each PVC as a kind of heavier beat or "thump" feeling. I gather that it is generally of no consequence, hence called, "benign". Since my arrythmia began in 2019, and even after a successful abaltion for Afl, mine have become far more frequent. I'm having lots as I type.

What was your heart rate during this?

Steve

[fairgo45 in reply to Ppiman]

As I have afib my heart rate is all over the place ablations didn't help me its really low sometimes and it is from kardia I've just had the results of a 48 hr holter it showed over 200, 000 PVCs over that time over 10% of that amount of them is considered borderline for cardymyopathy.

I also had pauses of 3.4 seconds regularly day and night so I'm a bit concerned it would be useful to have input from anyone whose got this as well

[Ppiman in reply to fairgo45]

Well my, that must make life interesting and very difficult indeed for you. You have my sympathies. I get runs off irregularly spaced ectopics on occasions, mostly lasting for a minute, but sometimes for hours, with yesterday being bad for them. I can’t tell them from AF, which shows up on the Kardia much less often. That, too, can be of very short duration or for hours.

My Kardia always gives an average pulse rate even when it is all over the place. Luckily, since my ablation for AFl in 2019 mine never goes over 130 bpm (but my fingers remain crossed).

What I find odd is how I can feel this all as if it’s from the top of my stomach rather than heat - just under my left rib.

Steve

[splashrollandplod]

Interesting comments suggesting PVCs - how do you tell they are PVCs rather than SupraVentricular Ectopy? Fairgo is that a Kardia 1L reading?

[fairgo45 in reply to splashrollandplod]

As I've said waiting for the results of the holter I posted a kardia readout I now know for sure there were loads of PVCs they felt like missed hard beats I don't know how to tell the difference myself that's why I posted the ECG and Dr Dave said what they were PVCs. I don't know what the next treatment will be

[baba in reply to fairgo45]

DrDave01 invented Kardia.

[philologus]

I can't answer your question but I can put a link to the site I use to learn about it.

practicalclinicalskills.com...

[SeanJax]

It is junctional rhythm with PVCs. You did not say what medication you have for your condition. See with your EP if a pace maker is needed or change in medication. Echo is recommended to see the structure of your heart and more investigation if needed.

[fairgo45 in reply to SeanJax]

I was on 25mg metoprolol and 120 mg diltiazem, after holter results I was told to stop both by my cardiologist but I'm still getting low rates, no one has mentioned a pacemaker, how would that help me?

[SeanJax]

More investigations are needed and your cardiologist and EP might recommend a pacemaker given your pause of 3 seconds and more. It might help your heart get rid of the pvcs , which happened when the heart rate is low. If you don’t have symptoms like dizziness and no heart structure issues then keep monitoring your condition. Talk to your medic team. It is up to them. Given your low HR you cannot take any medication as rate control but anticoagulants if they prescribed to you.

[fairgo45]

My GP read the holter result and said I was between a rock and a hard place by cardiologist taking me off both those meds makes the heart rate spike to 200 but drop again to 40s.She thinks I should be going down the pacemaker route and is going to talk to my cardiologist to suggest it as he has never mentioned having one.

I've had 3 ablations and recently had a stent for a blockage in the LAD I'm on warfarin and do well on it.

Seems my GP maybe right about a pacemaker, both meds drop my heart rate really low so I have no energy but if I stop either one I get low rates and high rates seems I can't win.

Do you know if pacemakers stop high rates as well as low?

[SeanJax in reply to fairgo45]

Now you explain the whole background. A pacemaker is required to control the low heart rate allowing your medic team to prescribe the meds to control the high heart rate. It is a win-win situation. As I said talk to your medic team between the cardiologist and the EP. With the stent as background, high heart rate is never a good thing . So you have now the big picture. Life style changes are recommended to improve both conditions, arrhythmia and atherosclerosis. Avoid alcohol, and high glycemic meal. Small and low pace walk to start with your life style changes and go from there.

[fairgo45 in reply to SeanJax]

Thanks for your words of advice I will see if I can persuade my medics to consider a pacemaker for me.

[Palpman]

A pacemaker cannot lower fast pulse rate. It can increase slow pulse rate by injecting its own signals.

[fairgo45]

As I understand it the pacemaker would stop the low heart rates but need medication to stop spikes of high rates.At the moment both metoprolol and diltiazam lower the rate but seem to cause pauses of 3.4 throughout the day and night according to the holter monitor even though i had stopped metoprolol 4 weeks before the holter it showed these pauses and a PVC s every few seconds.

My dilemma is do I put up with low rates slowing g me down or stop the drugs which then causes the rate to rise or push for a pacemaker.?