This last week and manily past few days been having reaaly bad shortness of breathe feels like im being restricted and when lying down its very bad aswell.
Just walking around I feel VERY out of breath, I am convinced I got massive heart issues and heart faliure due to lying down and being short of breath.
I have had
2 x Echo done 3 months ago both "Normal"
48 Hour ecg last week which was abnormal, I had 17 atrial ectopics ( < 0.01 % burden) presenting as isolated beats.
Had a normal resting ecg which was normal "Today"
and Stress test also "Today" which came back normal.
See below for reports if it helps
Anyone ideas. Would what I have done so far rule out anything serious such as HF would I need more tests to be done.
" The dominant rhythm is sinus rhythm. Minimum sinus rate 61 bpm on Day 2 / 12:13:02 , maximum sinus rate 162 bpm on Day 1 / 22:37:00 , average rate 92 bpm. Normal diurnal and nocturnal variation in heart rate seen across the recording period. Diurnal sinus tachycardia observed with gradual onset/offset. 17 atrial ectopics ( < 0.01 % burden) presenting as isolated beats. Examples to include aberrant conduction. No evidence of ventricular ectopy. Diary returned with symptoms of nocturnal palpitations reported. ECGs correlate with sinus rhythm with rates between 82 - 91 bpm with isolated PSVCs. "
" The echo images were limited due to your size. As you can appreciate for patients with a larger BMI the image quality becomes compromised. Nevertheless the scan shows the pumping action of the heart to be normal and the aortic and mitral valves were working as they should. "
Two months ago and going back earlier over the months you asked for help concerning heart related and other health issues, and told us you were 25st but trying to lose weight. Now you tell us you are 26st. You have a BMI of about 50, so no wonder you are short of breath, let alone anything else. I suggest you seek professional help to lose weight and stick with it, and some of your heart related issues might be lessened or better disappear. Which is pretty much what I and others said two months ago.
I did lost weight for a month then put alot on last month due to me giving up all hope after I started to put weight back on. Unless you been this weight for a long time you have no idea how hard it is. I have asked for help MANY of times and doctors do nothing,
My son has the same problem with weight. He lost 5 stone then started to put it back on again. He started at 24 stone but he persevered and is now down to 18. Doing it alone doesn't work for some people. Join a slimming club. There's one in particular that suits him. I'll ask what it's called. Weightwatchers just wasn't a method he could follow. Your test results so far look ok to me but they will become a problem if you don't lose the weight. You know you can do it so start again.
No its all good I gone in to debt going private cause the NHS doctors said im "to young" for any tests with heart. So yes I can slag them off useless noone is EVER to young x
and I 100% agree with me weight haveing a MASSIVE inpact on my life and my illness ect but I dont want everything put down to obeseity when it could be more xx
As someone that was formerly morbidly obese, I get how hard losing weight can be. I also know that unconscious bias can lead to professionals blaming weight and obesity for genuine medical problems: when I was big it happened to me several times. However, other than somewhat high blood pressure, which most likely will be down to your size, those test results are normal, and my understanding is that an echo can detect abnormal pumping action of the heart as you would see in heart failure. Ectopics are extremely commonplace and not of concern in their own right unless you’re having runs of three or more without a normal beat in between, or if your daily burden exceeds more than 10%, which is the equivalent of around 10,000 ectopics a day or more, so also not a problem with the numbers you have.
I’m saying this from a place of understanding and compassion, but you’re feeling restricted when lying down because you ARE restricted. It’s as simple as that. Your excess body mass is putting pressure on all your internal organs, causing them to struggle to work efficiently. You’ll struggle to breathe purely from the effort required to expand your lungs with the resistance of your body size working against them. However, as long as you restrict your calorie intake, physically losing the weight at your size is quite easy because you’ll burn a lot more calories doing even the most basic things. Your body already needs more calories than a healthy weight person just to maintain essential functions like breathing. I can tell you with total certainty that what’s causing you to not lose weight, or even gain, is entirely mental: no one gets to be morbidly obese unless they have a poor mental and emotional relationship with food. I say this as someone that lost more than 10 stone. At my biggest I was a XXXL top and a 48 inch trouser with a BMI of 48. I’m now a 32 trouser and a medium top with a BMI of 24 and have been maintaining that for the last 4 years. If you don’t shift the patterns of thought and the emotional factors that lead you to continue overeating - and whether you recognise it or not, you are massively overeating to the tune of several thousand calories a day to maintain your weight, never mind gain more - you won’t lose weight. We know that obese patients that have bariatric surgery, or even those who just follow meal replacement diets, often regain all the weight they lose without doing the work to change their mindset. But until you lose weight, you’ll continue to live in fear of a heart attack or serious cardiac issue, whilst continuing to put yourself at massively increased risk of those things happening to you at the same time.
The issues I was concerned about weren’t cardiac in my case, but in the end, the doctors were wrong about all the things they were dismissing as just my size. The only way I was able to prove that to them, though, was to lose the weight. Whether it should or not is a separate issue entirely, but losing weight has lead to me receiving much better medical care, generally. The only person that can do anything about your weight, though, is you. Not the doctors. You.
The results of your tests are pretty reassuring, I wonder if anxiety might be playing a part in the onset of your symptoms?
Mental health is something we should all be addressing, and it can impact on our relationship with food and motivation to exercise as well (speaking from experience). I'd suggest if this is something that you struggle with, ask your GP to be referred to mental health with the intention to lose weight - most doctors are keen to encourage weight loss, especially if the patient is willing. A friend of mine was recently given access to a psychologist, a dietician and a free gym membership through her GP in an attempt to tackle her depression and weight.
It's not a quick fix, and weight loss is rarely linear (sometimes we plateaue, sometimes we gain), but overall the journey is so worth it... especially as it will improve overall health, and reduce your chances of a cardiac event.
In the meantime, a Mediterranean diet is advocated by most health professionals as heart healthy. Trying this and keeping a food diary might help you keep on top of things. Set lots of small goals in between now and your bigger targets to help stay motivated. And try to remember a "bad" meal doesn't mean it has to be a bad day, a bad day doesn't mean it has to be a bad week. We all slip sometimes... just acknowledge it and move on.
I am a big lad but lost weight if you want to get weight off gradually cut carbs and cut any form of food man made biscuits pastry cheese bread anywhere it’s been changed by man don’t eat it . Cut out as much oil as you can . Buy a slow cooker amd look online for ideas stews chilli etc again no carbs not much oil at all in them . Then buy protein shakes use water not milk with them take 2 a day and 4/5 pieces of fruit when hungry only no snacks they ate about 300 cals each . Eat your evening meal before 7pm make sure 3/4 of your plate is vegetables ( not spuds) . Then try to walk half a miles out half mile back 4/5 days a week month 2 try a mile out mile back
I promise you your lose weight with protein shakes very low carbs and a slow cooker if you want something like chicken breast grill it
You have been given good and sensible advice on here.
Don’t lose anymore of your best years to being trapped in an oversized, uncomfortable, unhealthy body as your problems are only going to accumulate.
Eat carefully and increase your activity gently but consistently. Once you have lost a considerable amount of weight you can evaluate if any of the problems remain, but hopefully and probably you will feel like a new person.
Please stop hesitating/delaying and get yourself fit and well. Mentally and physically you will appreciate it.
Someone needs to give you tough love. Everyone on this board can see what your problem is. Your weight. If the other tests show you are otherwise as healthy as can be expected you need to lose weight. You have the rest of your life in front of you. Please don't waste it. Drastically change your lifestyle and start doing what you know is essential-to get down to a sensible weight and keep it there.
Inducing shame is not going to help anybody. My advice, for what its worth....and you are free to ignore if its not helpful...is to not focus too much on stuff that just make you feel bad. I dont know you but im guessing feeling bad about yourself is part of the cycle of gaining weight. There is much more to you than this, things you are good at, enjoy, relate with etc. Its more helpful to tap into that than focus on others (and your own) judgements.
You know, of course, you would benefit greatly from losing weight and there is some helpful advice here if you sift through. You are right to be concerned about your heart health given your overall health status but those results look pretty reassuring. I hope you can move forward with support and care.
Good luck with the weight loss. Here is a great post from my local on-line newspaper! This lady did it with slimming World! derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/d...
Your age is very much in your favour, so take that as a big plus. You know your weight is too much, and don't need people pointing the finger at you for that. The over eating is also an illness/behaviour issue and you do need some sensible help with that, which should be available via your GP. Do you have any family support at all? If your ECG was "abnormal" that needs further investigation and or explanation from the medics if they think all is well. Being overweight does makes an Echo more difficult, but not impossible as they can do a TOE which is an internal Echo via camera down oesophagus - which would show any leaking valves etc.
Once you know for sure in your own mind if there is a heart issue or not, then you can start the weight loss journey. Don't beat yourself up, or let other people do that. Things can change very much for the better and you can do it. Good luck.
I saw your post and wanted to reply. I your case I don't think more tests and scarce NHS resources used, need to be done . You say you have had echos tests , was that the one that they put done your throat? If that came back normal it means that your heart is pumping fine then that means no heart failure, trust me you would know it without a test because you would be extremely aware of severe murmur for instance. I had a perfectly healthy heart until I contracted infected Endocarditis, whilst I was in a coma having suffered respiratory arrest. I had the acute kind which destroyed the Mitral and Aortic valve in my heart very fast. No one thought of it because it is rare, but I had sepsis and I was unable to fight off this simple everyday staphylococcal infection that had developed in my lungsThe symptoms can be chronic or acute in my case I had heart failure within 24 hours and two weeks of silent progress. The first sign was my legs swelling then I could not breathe , I had a litre of fluid in and around my lungs.
I'm sorry but the combination of obesity and anxiety would produce shortness of breath in your case. Although obviously I'm not an expert but I have had experience of heart failure I am in stage four be ause my heart failed which did damage to heart muscle before I had two new valves replaced. Weird fact the valves were from a cows pericardium, my friend came to visit and let out a moo and made me laugh although it hurt to do so.
Lastly I just want to say , please don't make disparaging remarks about the NHS . I cannot praise the doctors and nursing staff enough or the paramedics! We are all very lucky to have it in the U.K and when I was in a critical state the NHS it was there for me and millions of others day or night. My American friend is in awe at fact it was all free , he said his insurance barely covers his medications for diabetes and he worries all the time.
The heart surgery alone would have cost in a range at the cheapest 300.000 dollars.
You will be fine , try to lose some weight get help for the anxiety and things will improve . Having more over priced tests and putting yourself in debt is that really going to help?
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