Irregular Heart Beats

[RunMartin]

Over the past few weeks I have noticed that every now and then I get an extra heart beat. I have just been for my first appointment with cardio rehab. Whilst I was doing a walking test the physio said I was getting extra beats every so often and said I needed an ECG to check it out. I am 9 weeks post op and this is the first time anyone has done any tests since leaving hospital. I have phoned my surgeons office 4times over the past 5 weeks regarding a post operative check up and kept getting excuses as to why one had not been made. I have just phoned up again and told the surgeons secretary about the irregular heart beat and suddenly an appointment becomes available .

Are these irregular heart beats fairly common with AVRs? I used to be on Amioderone until 5 weeks ago. The doctor who put me on Amioderone was the one who said not to take it. This doctor was the one I saw when I had SVTs last November and it was at a different hospital to the one where I had the AVR. The appointment with this doctor was a follow up for the SVT incident and not the AVT. This doctor did not examine me but said I did not need to be on Amioderone. The irregular heart beats were not present when I was discharged from hospital after surgery.

 

[kfay]

Rhythm issues are very common after surgery. Some of them are benign, some are less so. You won't know exactly what type you are having unless you go get it checked out. Hopefully, they are "just" pac's or pvc's which typically don't require treatment. Whatever they are, I hope they go away soon.

Kim

 

[ShezaGirlie]

Magnesium seems to help - 400mg daily.

 

[acr]

Yea I had them, but only after trying to drop beta blockers (Atenolol). Ended up having a 24 hour tape (ECG). All was well. Seems they are to be expected and are safe to ignore, scared me to death at the time. I think mine were called Ventricular Ectopics.

 

[Kathy McCain]

Yes, I had benign pvc's, which I still get from time to time. I experience a fluttery or sometimes a little jumping sensation. My cardio says this is quiet common for valve recipients. I also have an extra heartbeat. I had this BEFORE MY AVR though. Nothing was ever made of it, and the Dr does not seemed concerned now. Everything else is good! My AVR was done Feb 2008. I might add, I have had gallbladder surgery three months ago. No problems, everything went smoothly.

All the best to you!

 

[tobagotwo]

If they're PACs or PVCs, they really don't do any harm, and are a part of life, even if you haven't had valve surgery. All sorts of arrhythmias are common as the heart remodels.

We are highly attuned to our hearts once we are first made aware that there are issues, and tend to notice every little thing with trepidation. Your cardiologist should look at you to determine if it is anything to be concerned about at all. The surgeon is usually not the one to see you for this. Likely, you're fine.

Best wishes,

 

[neil]

hiya.......agree with most things said about this,it is common and like most people on here i had and still do get the odd one, i had my cardio chk it out and sometimes you need to hear it from them that everthing is ok,just peace of mind i guess,wouldnt rush into taking supplements though without blood tests etc,can be dangerous to take them if you dont need them

 

[RunMartin]

I wore my heart rate monitor last night whilst I slept and the heart stayed in the range 40 to 60 bpm. The test I did yesterday was a walking test that got steadily faster. My heart rate changed from 65 to 130 all of a sudden even though it felt OK and breathing was normal. I have not yet managed to get the heart rate to jump as it did yesterday. I have noticed that when I set out on a walk/jog and start to jog very gently, the heart rate increases in a similar way but settles down when I walk again. If I jog later on it seems to be OK. In general I feel OK which is the frustrating thing.

Thanks
Martin