Occasional Irregular Heartbeat Post Op?

[brunoandbear]

I did have a bit of chocolate ice cream, chocolate covered nuts and chocolate chip cookies yesterday before all this started. I also had a couple chocolate chip cookies today. I don't drink caffein at all but I do drink decaffeinated tea.

A bigeminy is exactly what I get. It will go normal for a while, then one two pause, one two pause, one two pause, one two pause, one two pause, one two pause etc. for a short while then return to normal.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Bruno -

Do you have a stethoscope?

If not, I recommend purchasing one to listen to your arrhythmia's or even just to count your Heart Rate.

They can be found at most pharmacies and Medical Supply Stores in a wide range of prices. Even the low cost ones are 'good enough' for our purposes.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[kfay]

Having over 1/4 of all of my heart beats in a day being bigeminy beats with a hand full of trigeminy and couplets thrown in, I have been living with this everyday since August, which was 4 months after my surgery. My EP Dr. explained to me that in some people, these arrhythmia's are caused when the heart rate is accelerating, that is why some of you may get them while engaging in exercising. Like Terodac, mine are more likely to happen when my heart is resting, so if I get up and start moving around they are more likely to stop. Also, alot of people find that lying in bed on your left side seems to make them worse. My Dr. explained that it doesn't actually make them worse, you just can feel them more. So, even though I love sleeping on my left side, I've switched to my right which does help some.

Any Dr. you go to for these (after confirming thru ekg or holter that they are benign) is going to tell you to lay off alcohol, caffeine, and chocolate. After that, you can start the fun procress of trying to find a med that makes them better. Beta blockers made mine much worse and my EP guy told me that is because BB have a tendency to help arrhythmias that are aggrevated when the heart rate goes up which is the opposite of mine.

I hope that you all only have to live with these for a short while during your hearts healing process. They are no fun.

Kim

 

[MIKE69]

recovery

recovery

YEP, it sure sounds like either Premature Atrial Contractions (PAC's) or Premature Ventricular Contractions (PVC's). They sound and feel the same. I'm told that you can only differentiate between them with an EKG. "Regularly Irregular" is a common description.

PAC's and PVC's are the "common cold" of Cardiology.
You will know it is benign when your Cardiologist nods or yawns.

Beta Blockers can often suppress them. My cardio believes in using the Minimum Dose that gets the job done. Some Doc's like to start at the "minimum theraputic dose" which can cause lethargy and drowsiness.

If you develop a rapid irregular heartbeat, that is probably Atrial Fibrilation and needs to be treated (usually with an anticoagulant i.e. Coumadin / Warfarin) to prevent blood clots from forming.

Any / all of the above are NOT uncommon for several weeks following OHS. They usually resolve once the heart reconditions itself following surgery.

If anyone suggests taking AMIODARONE, tell them "Thanks but NO THANKS". That is the Sledge Hammer of anti-arrhythmics and has a Laundry List of Nasty Side Effects. (Do a SEARCH on VR.com or Google or read the Rx Information Sheet).

Even the manufacturers caution that Amiodarone should only be used as the drug of LAST RESORT. IMHO, too many Doc's hand it out like candy because It Works (but at what cost?). Before it works, it must saturate ALL the Cells in your body so there is a Loading Dose for 2 weeks. It takes FOREVER to eliminate it from your system after you stop (OK, months).


'AL Capshaw'

how long doe it take oe the heart to recover

 

[Tbone]

I had the EXACT same thing after surgery, and it lasted at least a couple months. Totally benign and very common PVC's in my case. From my understanding, they are often related to the heart reshaping post-op.

Very well put! I must however agree with everyone else to report this ASAP. Always better to be safe than sorry.

 

[brunoandbear]

I met with my cardiologist today and he did an EKG on me. He said that it was skipping beats and they were pvc's and was not concerned about it. He upped my Toporol from 75 mg to 100 mg and had them do some bloodwork on me. He thinks that it is possible that my potassium is low along with my magnesium but he isn't sure. He also wanted me to take a multivitamin because he said I look like I am a little pale and might need some more iron in me.

 

[Kathy McCain]

Hello all,

I starting noticing fluttering or a jumping feeling in my chest a couple of weeks ago. I has my AVR Feb 2008. My cardio did a 24 hr holter monitor test. Seems I have 3 different types of irregular heart beats. I talked with the nurse over the phone, and she did not seem worried. I finally asked if they were potentially serious, and she said no. She said if I wanted to schedule an appointment with the cadio I could. I said no, but I've decided to consult with my Dr. Seeing they did not seem very concerned I am not overly worried, but at this point , I think it would be wise to talk with the cardio. I distinctly remember before I was even diognosed with aortic stenosis, my Dr. at the time, said I had an "extra heartbeat", so maybe the surgery has just aggravated it, or I just notice it more. Also, I have been stressed out with regards to my son lately, maybe that brought about the episodes.

Good luck to you