I got a call a few minutes ago from my cardiologist's office. I think it was his medical assistant, but it may have been a resident.
She just wanted to let me know that the event monitor so far has simply caught Premature Ventricular Contractions (PVCs). Everyone has them occasionally; most people don't notice them, she says. The most common cause of them, she said, is caffeine. (I gave up caffeine in 2000, when I discovered it aggravated my chronic stomach ulcers, other than occasional chocolate, so it's not that in my case.)
The good news is I'm not getting two or three PVCs in a row. That would be a sign of something dangerous and potentially fatal. But I am getting a lot of them. My resting heart rate is about 110 plus or minus 15 bpm. (Rarely minus that much!!) I'm getting several every minute, some minutes more than others.
I didn't record each and every one for the event monitor -- I'd be driving those techs crazy if I called every 5 minutes to say I had stuff to play back for them! I've pretty much only recorded them when they seemed stronger than normal or when accompanied by dizziness/vertigo/shakiness.
Interesting. I'm happy to have gotten that recorded. When I wore a Holter monitor while pregnant with Ellie because of all the palpitations I was having, it was the most flutter-free 24-hour period I had during that entire pregnancy. They caught a total of one PVC during that 24-hour period, which was definitely not representative of a typical day!
Then the PVCs faded away after I gave birth, to the normal just occasional flutter but not even one a day.
Lately, they've been back in force though and while it may not mean anything significant, it does suggest yet more blood tests they will probably need to run.
Meanwhile, I've been told to only hit the button if I have a really bad/intense experience since they're really looking for what happens when I pass out or feel like I'm going to. Unfortunately, I don't seem able to make that happen on demand, so I guess I'll just hope it happens in the next ten days or so.
That's such a weird thing -- to be hoping for something bad to happen just so my doctors can see it happen. Sigh.
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2 comments:
Hi Aviva,
I hope the monitor documents what you need it to. Enough information without you having to pass out completely, I hope.
I was glad to read in an earlier entry that you don't have adrenal problems. I've been dealing with this dx - Adrenal Insufficiency - the last few months. It is not good. But at least it is treatable. Even after all my dxs the last few years, it seems there is always more to come. According to my symptoms, I've had the adrenal problem for at least 4 years. It's hard to believe that I lived through that level of fatigue on top of everything else. And people wonder why I'm not "better" since I started IVIG.
I'm glad that your doctors are checking things out, even if you don't "fit the picture". Good luck with the monitor.
Sharon
Gook luck!
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