Hypertension with mild LVH prognosis

[A_fi_bR]

Hi, anyone got experience with this. Ive been diagnosed with hypertension and mild lvh as a complication. I also have sinus bradycardia and get a lot of ectopic beats both atrial and ventricular along with very fast beat runs of maybe 10 seconds or so but not as frequently as the single extra beats with a pause. The only advice I’ve really had is to take the amlopidine and to go back if I start passing out. Anyone know what the longer term prognosis might be?

[TheAwfulToad]

Unless you're an ex-athlete, LVH and bradycardia suggest ... how do I put this ... you've spent many years not looking after yourself?

If that's the case then the old Chinese saying applies: "the best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago; the second-best time is now"

Don't take this as official medical advice, but the best possible thing you can do for yourself is to throw the TV in the trash and commit to some regular, light exercise. If you have a sedentary job then take time off sick and spend every hour you have on strolling around. You'll have to be really careful about it and work with your doctor, but if you can do that (and I'm assuming this isn't a congenital problem) then I reckon the long term prognosis is pretty good. Bodies are good at repairing themselves given an incentive to do so. How's your diet?

[A_fi_bR in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Yes I’m now walking about 15 -18 miles a week on the treadmill now. Nothing strenuous. Lost nearly a stone so far with at least another 1.5 to lose. The heart stuff is hard to cope with mentally, especially as there’s no real “solution”.

[TheAwfulToad in reply to A_fi_bR]

That's fantastic. I can imagine how scary it is to have your heart misbehaving, but you'd be surprised. There might not be a quick fix, and you might never be 'cured', but you'll be a whole lot better this time next year if you can keep up the exercise.

Did they discover an ectopic pacemaker? It's usually really obvious on the ECG (the QRS vector changes, indicating a different location). If not then you might find that that problem resolves itself too.

[A_fi_bR in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Ive been back to the GP a few times about the heart rhythm but my last 24 hr monitor came back with ‘nothing significant’, so I’m trying to ignore it but it’s difficult. Feels like I have a gun to my head every time it starts bouncing around. Like this is going to be “it”.

[TheAwfulToad in reply to A_fi_bR]

Did you have a bunch of leads on the left-hand side of your chest with the Holter monitor? Those are necessary (or very useful, anyway) to identify the reason for ectopic beats.

Ectopic beats feel a whole lot worse than they really are - you do get that awful sense of doom from them, but they're really not a big deal. Fibrillation is a problem (because the blood isn't going anywhere); the odd missing or extra beat, usually not. Try to take them at their word - if the cardiologist says it's nothing significant, he's not going to risk getting sued.

Paradoxically feeling stressed and scared just makes it worse. With luck, as you exercise plan progresses, the symptoms will recede somewhat and you'll feel a lot safer in your own skin.

Just try to keep active. Sitting down and lounging around is the enemy. If you have daytime to yourself, revive the art of the flaneur: stroll around and observe life.

btw how old are you, if you don't mind me asking?

[A_fi_bR in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Can’t remember tbh. I was using a Kardia monitor and got some results from it that needed checking but doc reckons it’s not accurate enough to warrant a referral for more tests. So stopped using it. I think it causes more worry. Thought about paying for a stress test privately but after emailing a cardiologist even he thinks it’s not worth it. So it’s now a case of “cross your fingers” and keep fit I guess!! Even though the heart stuff is a daily occurrence. I had the beats several years before we found the hypertension. So I reckon it’s been going on longer than I think. Ive been taking meds for about 12 months or so now.

[TheAwfulToad in reply to A_fi_bR]

>> I think it causes more worry. Thought about paying for a stress test privately but after emailing a cardiologist even he thinks it’s not worth it.

It's a funny thing - a lot of medicine is like that: having information that there might be something's wrong can be far worse than not knowing there might be something wrong. There's an ongoing debate about breast-cancer screening, which revolves around the statistical properties of the test and the enormous amount of stress someone is subjected to if they're called back for further tests after a false positive - or, worse, receive treatment for a cancer that isn't there.

Anyways, at 49 your body is a lot more capable of sorting itself out than it would be at, say, 79. It sounds like you've got some good medical professionals behind you and a good number of years ahead of you. Good luck.

[A_fi_bR in reply to TheAwfulToad]

I’m 49 btw. The “can’t remember” reference was to the monitor leads and thanks for the responses. This is really useful to me.

[A_fi_bR]

Got one more question on this. After about 20 mins of walking I can really feel a lot of extra beats going on with an uncomfortable feeling in my chest. Not pain exactly. I’m also struggling to “get my breath”. Not sure if this bit is just psychological though. Does that sound right? I mean, I continue for another 40 mins and it doesn’t get worse, though I do get more when I’ve rested.