Palpitations, ectopic and fibrillations

[Russ65]

Hi all,

I am 54 years old and I had a HA 11 weeks ago. Stent fitted and put on usual meds, which included ticagrelor.

Shortly after discharge I started to get palpitations, ectopic beats and fibrillations.

I now get them on a daily basis and I can have up to 15 plus palpitations during a day. I am being woken up by them and they happen at rest, doing basic things and on gentle exercise.

I have also started to experience unstable angina that is eased by gtn briefly.

I am constantly tired and my wife says that the sparkle in my eyes has gone.

I have been to the doctors regarding all of the above and I have also been sent to A&E with it. All of the gp's and doctors are saying the same thing, and that is that my heart is getting used to the stent, and the medications.

Personally, I don't believe this and feel as though something more "sinister" is going on.

Has anyone else experienced such things and what did gp, etc do for you, or can anyone give me advice please.

[Neodog01]

I had a heart attack about 4 months ago and since then my heart has felt different, I have degenerative disc disease and that can give me pain in my chest which can be hard to differentiate from heart pain, also I’ve noticed anixity and stress even small amounts can make my chest/heart feel uncomfortable, I get random small episodes of pain in the area of my heart that I am attributing to my stent, as well as other unusual feelings that I definitely didn’t have before my HA, so I think with your heart being a muscle it must be the same or similar to other muscle’s in your body, if you are working or training and have an accident and you tear a muscle, the muscle repairs but it’s never as good as it was before the accident, even if it works the same, does the same job and looks the same, it will still feel different, a muscle can fix itself pretty quick it just takes a long time to heal properly, so I think the heart repairs itself to do the job it’s supposed to do after a HA, but it’s different, it’s damaged, maybe only a small amount, but it’s still damaged, so it feels different, and that coupled with the fear of having another HA makes you really feel the difference. I’m on all the usual heart meds but I’ve been prescribed something for PTSD as well, which I feel helps me, maybe ask your gp for some medication to help you with the mental side of things as well as the physical mate

[Russ65 in reply to Neodog01]

Thanks neo.

Greatly appreciate your reply. Take care and all the best mate.

[Hidden]

Having read post IS fitting with how I now find things given my own heart attack GIVEN my issues.

stents are something not offerd to me given my left anterior fisc block but was talk of pacemaker SO guess all see if I need AED fitted or Pacemaker.

But will add my dad after he’s heart attack heart failure resulted in heart failure and diabetes that he as had for 12 years and according to doctors 12 years is something not known of SO go’s to show how good Heart meds are really

In 12 years only meds Issue was ramiprill needed tweeting twice once for kidney stuff and other for BP issues.

The say after heart attack heart failure is what your left with given scaring.

Not a lot doctors I don’t think prescribe out to reduce scaring so might be worth a ask

[Casper020918]

It may be benign ectopics or you may have developed an arrhythmia. I would contact the cardiologist if you are under follow-up. Ideally you need to capture these events on an ECG

[Russ65 in reply to Casper020918]

Thanks for your reply Casper.

I had two ecg's done whilst at the hospital yesterday. And of course the heart behaved itself.

I am going to be put onto a 24 hour trace. So, hopefully, that will highlight something.

Take care bud.

[Qualipop]

I started having a fluttering heart about 2 months ago. The initial response was "Oh it must be angina" but I knew it wasn't so I started to keep a record. I wrote exactly when each episode happened, the duration and my BP and pulse at the time. After a couple of weeks a pattern showed. 90% or the episodes started about an hour after I'd taken my BP tablet and a diuretic so I started taking them 2 hours apart and carried on with the record. The length of each episode decreased from 60 to 90 minutes down to 2 to 5 minutes but still all happening about an hour after taking my BP tablet. When I read the leaflet it said "Can cause erratic heart beats. I then took the record t my GP who was delighted and agreed it's probably he tablets. They either don't like being taken together or it's just eh BP Tablet. We are now trying to find out which and I'm waiting for a holter monitor. Like you, by the t ime I got an ECG after waiting 3 hours at Urgent care, it would all have stopped. Unfortunately, if the holter monitor shows anything, it will only show which part of the heart is doing it but it won't show the cause.

[Russ65 in reply to Qualipop]

Thank you for that Qualipop. But, my palpitations are occurring right through the day, and I think, at night too, whilst I'm asleep.

Just recently I have been waking up with an increased heart rate as well. So, goodness only knows. I've had a very bad day today as I've had shocking pain through my chest, back, shoulders and neck.

Anyway, thank you for your reply and I wish you all the very best.

[Qualipop in reply to Russ65]

You need a 24 hour holter monitor to catch these episodes. Good luck and keep pestering your doctors. You know your body better than they do.