My head is spinning

3 different doctors, 3 different opinions. Neither doctor has a pacemaker so I am asking all of you that had episodes of heart block before your pacemaker!!!

When you had an episode what did it feel like? Did it feel like mine? I would feel a little dizzy, then I would feel my pulse and I wouldn't have one for a few seconds...then all of a sudden I would feel my heart RACE.

One doctor said my racing after the block was normal as there was probably some blood backed up and once the heart got going again it had a lot to pump so it went fast to get the job done.

The second doctor said when my pulse would lapse for a moment no oxygen was getting to my brain and once my heart unblocked my brain told my heart to hurry up and get going so it would go fast.

The third doctor said they are probably unrelated and that I had episodes of tachacardia.

In my situation...all will mean something different for me and could have different outcomes...so I'm really confused!!!

If doctor #1 is right....then i would have had a moment of tachacardia that would make sense....after a blood build up the heart would have to pump faster for a minute. I'm ok with that.

If doctor #2 is right then I may in the future have episodes of tachacardia in the future...this worries me as that part of the problem was not addressed with the pacemaker and I could still have episodes of tachacardia in the future.

If doctor #3 is right then I was told and EP may want to go back in to try to induce it and see if there is still a problem. But that the procedure is invasive and not full proof...meaning that they can't always induce it as sometimes a heart "just won't cooperate."

Any ideas?

8 Comments

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by joe32 - 2010-01-30 01:01:16

hold out as long as you can . getting a pace maker has ruined my life . because they did not tell me the full truth on the dos and donts.

So....

by wenditt - 2010-01-30 01:01:40

tachy won't kill me?????? If the answer is no then I am good to go and more than 90% of the puzzle pieces are in place!

Waiting for a reponse so I can YIPEE!!!

Thanks guys-
Hugs-
W

tachy will not kill you :o)

by Tracey_E - 2010-01-30 02:01:11

It becomes dangerous if it doesn't slow down on its own, if it becomes irregular, or if it turns into fibrillation. Just going a little fast from time to time? Harmless!

I get up to 190 or even 200 sometimes. It's fast so the dr labeled it tachy but it's perfectly regular and slows down on its own so he said don't worry about it. We're treating it with beta blockers because it keeps me from getting a good workout (my pm can only go to 180 so anything above that is skipped beats)

So....part duce

by wenditt - 2010-01-30 02:01:52

So if tachy won't kill me...at what point does it become dangerous?

And Joe...too late..I already have one! :-)

thought i was having menapause

by Hot Heart - 2010-01-30 06:01:48

would get palpitations, then feel dizzy, tinnitis in ears, also struggled when walking up hill, i dont mean small slopes, but when out hill walking, would get flashing lights in front of my eyes and legs would feel heavy and would be out of breath. since the pm all those symptoms gone

HH

blocks

by Tracey_E - 2010-01-30 09:01:53

My life was one big block before the pm. My heart just beat slowly. Sometimes my atria would race but I never felt it due to the block. I was usually tired and dizzy.

One and two are more or less saying the same thing, that your heart speeds up after the block. If one or two are correct, you won't have further problems because the pm is making sure you don't have episodes of block. If you do, the pm steps in immediately and makes the ventricle beat so nothing gets backed up.

I've had episodes of tachy with my heart block and we're treating it with beta blockers. So far it's working really well. I wouldn't have bothered treating it at all but it was affecting my ability to work out, my atrial rate was getting up higher than the pm could pace the ventricle. The bb's keep my rate down so no maxing out.

Unless you're having really awful symptoms you can't deal with, I'd skip any efforts to induce the tachy. The small amount of information you might get from the test is not worth (in my opinion) the trouble it would take to get that information. Knowing where the tachy is coming from would not change how it's treated. Either you slow things down with beta blockers or you leave it alone, that's the two ways to treat mild intermittent tachy.

This is said with a smile... you're overthinking this, my dear. I know you like to have solid answers but sometimes the answers are just not there and obsessing over it is doing you more harm than the tachycardia itself

A Dr with a Pacer

by Bionic Man - 2010-01-30 10:01:50

Hi Wenditt,
Wouldn't it be great if we could find a Dr with a pacer? At least we would know that he's been through all this crap and he would know exactly what we're going through. I used to be nervous about going to the dentist due to my pacer. I didn't know if the equipment would mess me up. I found out my dentist has a pacer also, so I know if he isn't having a problem then I'm safe. I tell my wife if I see him hit the floor I'll know I'm in trouble. It hasn't happened yet. It's great to have piece of mind. I still have episodes of tachycardia. It is just like you described. Sometimes my symptoms last for hours. I talked to my cardiologist regarding this. I asked him point blank if it would kill me.
He told me "No". He did mention an ablation. It may or may not help. I'd rather not have one. In the end we agreed that as long as I can live and deal with it (which I can) then there's no need to do anything. I can deal with having bad days now and again. So I live with it.
I hope you get a handle on it because I know it's really bothering you. I do know my tachy flares up more when I stress out. Stress certainly does trigger it for me. I am on a beta blocker which helps.
I wish you the best. Hopefully you'll get this squared away soon. I know how frustrating it is.
Bob

RE: to my head is spinning

by LS - 2010-02-24 09:02:54

My "episodes" before the PM were quite unsettling. I would feel my heart racing & a rush of heat up my back to the back of my head. At first I thought it was some sort of panic attack.
The Dr. said the heart rate was very low & then going very high, & what I was experiencing were the feelings from when it went high. These episodes began Dec. 2, out of the blue. They tried several different meds, & none worked.
He also said I needed the PM so he could do the ablation procedure if that deemed necessary down the road. Hopefully the meds will control that.

You know you're wired when...

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