Facts/Experiences regarding "heart problems"

I’ve had them for decades at least. The occasional EKG has never turned anything up. They are annoying as hell though. And I do notice them more when I’m at rest - either sitting down, or trying to sleep, or whatever.

I did actually have a full cardio workup a couple years ago - mostly unrelated actually (I’d had two brief bouts of vertigo and there was some concern over a family history of atrial fibrillation) including wearing a Holter monitor for 24 hours. It turned up nothing to cause them.

The cardiologist actually explained the missed beat / WHAM when resuming: everyone’s heart misses a beat every bow and then, then does a bigger beat to catch up with itself. Not sure I’m phrasing that quite right, but that’s what I recall from the discussion.

So, anyway - you’ve had the tests, you’ve had suggestions for cutting down the caffeine which might help. I’d say try not to worry (and I do understand it’s tough - it’s a pretty alarming sensation).

A visit with a cardiologist won’t hurt. A stress test or ultrasound may point out an issue that can be more easily treated now than later. I very much doubt that a cardiologist would want a cath absent any other symptom.

At 46 years old, I suggest that the OP might want to err on the side of caution when there are cardiac issues involved.

My wife and I both get those fairly often. They’re scary as FUCK, but we’ve both spoken to multiple doctors, and been told the same thing - they’re pretty common, and harmless. My wife even wore a heart monitor for several days that recorded every beat and got told the same thing again.

I used to get those in my thirties. Being under a cardiologist’s care anyway for a mitral valve issue, I asked him about them. He put me on a wearable monitor for a few days, and then pronounced them “nothing to worry about.”

In my forties, my valve went south and had to be replaced. I’ve never had the skipped beats again, although the doc claims that has nothing to do with it.

If you are still worried, I say set your mind at ease and see a cardiologist. I don’t think they are going to do invasive testing for no good reason. They didn’t for me.

Well i can only go off what the EKG and Doctor says and I was told they are definitely PVCs and not afib or anything else.

Also no pain whatsoever, but a previous poster nailed it when he stated they are uncomfortable and distracting.

As for a cardiologist, I waiting on my primary to set something up for later this week or early next but I am definitely going.

I tend to agree… but man o man does a heart cath sound terrifying! :eek:

It’s not as horrible as it sounds. I’ve not had one but Dad, my brother, and several acquaintances have. They dope you up a bit and go up through the inside of your leg, not through your dink like you’re probably thinking (that would be horrible!:()

I’ve had two - not that big of a deal. And it is the “Gold Standard” for determining the exact status of the heart arteries.

Anyone else read this and think “that REALLY should be pronounced ‘hearteries’”? :slight_smile:

I have AFib, drink about as much coffee as the OP (no energy drinks) and neither my doctor nor my cardiologist ever mentioned reducing caffeine use. Different from PVC since the only symptom is a fluttering of the heart I sometimes feel. Nothing scary.
Just a datapoint.

That should be a real word.

So I have an appointment with a cardiologist next week and they mentioned a stress test among other tests, but should I request a heart catheter just to know for sure the condition of my heart? As someone who has for most of my post 35 adult life been a bigger guy (6-1 and going from 190lbs at 35 to 258lbs today) and with my mother passing from a heart attack, I have always feared I might have arterial disease. Is that enough to warrant the test?

This scare has me really making some lifestyle changes, no red meat, lots of salmon, veggies, fruits, reduced processed carbs, etc… knowing where i stand would be either a great comfort or increase my urgency to keep a healthy lifestyle. Also, I have a great employer HSA health plan but I do have to be aware of medical costs but if a heart catheter is the “gold standard” it would be worth whatever i can afford :slight_smile:

I think you need to talk to the cardiologist about your concerns.

Write your questions down in succinct form on a notecard and take it with you so you don’t forget any and can ask them fairly efficiently.

Just because you have a relatives with severe cardiovascular problems doesn’t mean you’ll have them - my mother had terrible cardiovascular problems, but I was found to be at low risk because her problem was due to a bad gene I didn’t inherit. (Although my docs have always cautioned that I could still screw up despite the bad genes and acquire heart disease via an unhealthy lifestyle).

The most important thing is to get solid, real life medical advice. You may need to make some changes, or need more frequent checkups, but despite a life-long genetic disadvantage my mother lived into her late 70’s and was upright, mobile, and getting enjoyment out of life up until her final year. Even if you do have a cardio problem it’s not necessarily the end of the world, your life, your enjoyment, or anything else. Especially if it’s caught early.

A cardiac catheterization is serious biz.
You don’t want to have one done for no reason. If you pass an EKG-monitored stress test, there is little reason to have a more invasive test.

(Beowulff, who’s Dr. didn’t like his EKG on a stress test, and sent him to get a cath, at which point it was go-directly-to-the-operating-room, do not pass go, do not collect $200, for a bypass operation.)

I occasionally get heart palpitations, nearly always during my period. I’ve read that it’s not too unusual, either.

I would be very surprised if a cardiologist agreed to a cath procedure just on your request. More than likely, they will suggest a cath based on the results of the stress test.

I’ve had two. The first one was a walk in the park because the anesthetist would pump in the “happy stuff” whenever I felt the slightest discomfort. Actually turned out to be a somewhat pleasant experience.

I’m pretty much the poster child for your condition. I had PVCs for 20 years. Sometimes they would be just a few seconds and then I’ve had them last for days. The docs always told me that any person in moderate shape could have them for weeks without physical harm.

But for me it got to be a “quality of life” issue. In the middle of a PVC attack I was moving on about 60% energy level.

The thing to keep in mind is that a PVC is an electrical signal issue, not an artery issue. Your artery health could cause the PVC’s but usually its a misfiring of nerves that cause your heart to double beat, skip beat, or stay out of rhythm.
Your heart doesn’t get it’s time keeping from one nerve. There are hundreds which fire together to trigger it. Get enough of those misfiring and your heart will keep time like a bad jazz band.

To cure my situation I had an ablation procedure done. That nasty old catheter was stuck into my heart chamber, used to map out the bad boy nerves, and then burned those same nerves dead. There were plenty more nerves behaving themselves that continued my rhythm correctly.

The ablation procedure while being no fun wasn’t painful. More it was uncomfortable.
Since the procedure my PVCs went from occupying 40% of my time to less that 1%.

Before my ablation I had tried other prescribed methods - decaf, heart slowing drugs etc. I finally chose the procedure and have been much happier since.

My brother had a heart attack/heart failure at 38 and had a cath and a stent put in. Early 40s, another episode and two more stents. Then we find out he has to have a valve replacement, which I assumed was to replace tissue that died in the heart attack. Nope, turns out he has a congenital heart defect, bicuspid aortic valve disease where the aorta is supposed to form three flaps but only has two.

The occasional fluttering I feel seems like nothing at all!

That is an EXCELLENT point. While I knew that I never really put the two together for reasons that now make me wonder if i have brain problem :smack::smiley: J/K

But seriously, thank you that makes me feel a lot better.

I was watching Boston Trauma last night and they had brought in a guy who had been having heartburn symptoms for a while and finally it got so bad he went in. They did the EKG and confirmed he was having a heart attack. “Oh, I am?” They did the cath through his wrist and he was awake and talking. They put in the stent and them showed the blockage they had removed.

My brother also went in the first time because of really bad heartburn. And the docs on the show last night told the guy to come in if he has that pain again. But I could see why people don’t, and just take antacids, especially if they are not incapacitated by whatever is going on. (The second episode, my brother was turning grey so that was a little more obvious!)