Confused after appointment with EP

[Careful1]

I had an episode on April 15th where my heart went into a fluttering type feeling that took my breath away and lasted for 10 seconds. It felt exactly the way my PVCS feel but instead of a quick flutter and done, it just kept going and scared the crap out of me. I do have a loop recorder and so I pushed the button on the patient assistant to mark the ECG and got an appointment with EP to go over it which was today.

I went in today and explained to him that in the last three months I have had a huge increase in ectopics and other weird episodes. He said he reviewed the strip from 4/15 and it was a very fast rhythm. I asked how fast and it said over 200 beats per minute lasting 8 seconds. I asked him what the rhythm was and he said it was difficult to know but that it was either SVT or ventricular tachycardia but that it wasn’t life threatening since it only lasted for 8 seconds. He said that in a young person with a healthy heart it’s okay. This response doesn’t sit right with me 🙄 how do I know my heart isn’t having a problem? I haven’t had an echo or stress test since 2017. I have been dealing with serious shortness of breath for months now, on and off chest pain and the increase in ectopics has me worried. I have never had PVCS the way I have been having them these last three months.

It’s bothering me that he doesn’t seem to know which of the two arrhythmia’s it is. Isn’t that the entire point of the loop recorder? To know what type of arrhythmia your having? And I was told it would automatically record abnormalities but apparently it isn’t. If I didn’t push the button they would have never known it happened. Now I wonder if there have been other things that went unnoticed and I’m frustrated not to mention seriously scared. I do have an echo set up for this coming Monday, a stress test for the first week of June and a CT coronary was ordered but not scheduled yet but I’m gonna be on edge until I know my heart is sound and that there isn’t something that is causing the increase in ectopics and the other episodes. I think even if I do get the green light I will still be concerned that I could be having runs of NSVT. I feel like will be less scared having SVT then NSVT. I don’t know I’m just really afraid. The only other thing he said was that it would be good for me to start taking my beta blocker daily verses as needed.

[Zemer]

I read your message a few days ago and see again now. I am experiencing e topics last few months and have had occasional in the past. They are very worrying and disturbing when they happen.You have a few appointments lined up so I hope you will get some answers and some relief from these episodes. I'm waiting on appointment with AFib clinic and trying to resolve digestive issues in hoping mine will settle and I won't notice them so much.

Good luck with your scheduled tests! Heather

[meadfoot]

I hope your loop recorder has caught your heart issues and your cardiologist can sort things out for you. I would so value a loop recorder. Good luck and best wishes for a solution to your symptoms. Chin up.

[Careful1 in reply to meadfoot]

Yes it did catch a very scary episode I had on 4/15 but when I went in for my EP to review the strip he said he couldn’t be sure if it was SVT or NSVT. I mean the entire purpose of this loop recorder was to see what type of arrhythmia a person is having and so I’m really disappointed especially since SVT and NSVT are two completely different arrhythmia’s. I was also under the impression that my loop recorder would automatically capture events but it doesn’t appear that mine has been doing this. No matter what the settings are I would think any heart rate over 200 beats per minute even is it was sinus tachycardia would have been auto captured. Now I got a copy of the ECG strip forge on my episode and had a handful of people take a look at it and every one of them said that to them it looks like ventricular tachycardia. It lasted 8 seconds, 24 beats at over 200 beats per minute of something that looks very much like ventricular tachycardia in someone who has never experienced this before I think deserved more then a just “don’t worry about, see you back in a month”.

I did have my echo this morning and have a stress test set up in June but that’s a ways off yet. I think they should have also ordered a cardiac MRI to make sure my heart is okay.

Forgive my rant, I’m just really upset and scared. At this point I much rather have an event monitor since it’s monitored in real time and will record stuff even if you don’t feel it. How do I know if I have had episodes of something that I didn’t feel or while asleep and so couldn’t mark the ECG myself. I wonder how much stuff it could have missed in the last two and half years. I suppose I would still recommend someone to get it, I just probably wouldn’t solely rely on it.

[meadfoot in reply to Careful1]

It really is hard coping with a heart condition and the unknown. Last week at this time i was in a mri scanner in London, the stress of constant tests and episodes is extremely daunting and not getting answers is difficult to keep taking. Hope things improve for you. I have been on the afib and svt journey since 2009.