Heart not beating as usual, almost fainted

[Warfarinking]

hi all,

I'm typing on my phone so excuse my grammar a little. I'm 28 and I had my aortic valve replaced with an onx mechanical valve in 2010. Have had no complications up until 3 months ago. Beginning of 2016 i began working out a little heavy but not too heavy and started running everyday. I was pushing my body more than usual and felt amazing and noticed gains and my fitness had greatly improved. One day I was finishing up a workout and while walking towards another machine I noticed I was beginning to faint. Everything around me was going dark so I stood there waiting for it; i never actually fainted. I got scared and went home and scheduled a dr appointment. Had a heart echo, ekg and a stress test done and everything came out okay. What's my issue? I haven't been the same since the incident. I feel my heart almost hiccup randomly throughout the day like It stops then goes and a small not sharp pain at times. One day while going up the stairs slightly quick my heart rate jumped to 150 bmp when it shouldn't have and it was beating irregular. Another time while having sex i was having pain around my heart and when I would stop the pain would go away; when I continued it would come back---haven't had that happen though and it only happened once. It's day 9 of going to the gym again and I run and lift fine I don't feel anything it's when I'm doing normal things; sitting down or just walking or laying in bed; when not busy I guess I can feel it stop and go and it feels weird---my heart never felt this way. Is this simply anxiety ?

 

[honeybunny]

What kind of stress test did you have? Simple treadmill or the one where radioactive material is injected or something else? Did your doctor say to call if the symptoms continued? Have you had a change in medications, including over the counter?

 

[Agian]

It could be your blood pressure dropped when you stood up too quickly, making you feel faint. The skipped beats are called PVCs and happen to everyone. Us clickers obviously notice them more. Your tests turned out OK, that's the main thing. Lot's of anxious people here. Comes with the territory.

 

[dick0236]

.......... Your tests turned out OK, that's the main thing. Lot's of anxious people here. Comes with the territory.

Unfortunately, after this kind of surgery, anxiety is an issue that most of us will deal with from time to time. You did the right thing in seeing your doc and having testing done to determine if a potential problem exists.....and it doesn't......and that's good news. As Agian put it....."it comes with the territory"

 

[Warfarinking]

What kind of stress test did you have? Simple treadmill or the one where radioactive material is injected or something else? Did your doctor say to call if the symptoms continued? Have you had a change in medications, including over the counter?

It was a simple treadmill test. Yes, the next step she said would be to give me a heart monitor for a day and track my heart activity if it kept happening; might have to do that now. I have not changed any medication, I only take Warafarin. When I first had open heart surgery I was prescribed Metropolol, took it for about a year then stopped; not sure if that says anything at all. Another thing I can recall is drinking coffee everyday (just 1 cup) and take whey protein (2 scoops so 50g of protein) a day for breakfast. My INR has been stable.

 

[pellicle]

Hi

I've had bouts of "arrhythmia" from time to time, and oddly they were more between when I was 20 and 30 than lately (53). They happened more after my 2nd surgery (at 28 so a little later than your OHS) and did not seem to be related strictly to exersize or otherwise, but they did seem to have greater effects when I was (say) cycling up a hill. I related them to "spinning the wheels" in mud .. the heart was working but not moving blood around and I'd feel light headed and need to sit (if I wasn't already) till they stopped.

They were occasionally connected to feeling light headed and a reduction of vision. I'd reported them to my Surgeon (we used to meet yearly) and he wasn't specifically concerned. I took this to mean that it was unlikely to cause me to fall over dead suddenly (as per say an aortic dissection or heart attack).

I joined this in my head with an earlier implanted idea that fixing a "small and occasional problem" with my car engine was almost impossible to do because when ever I "looked into it" or took it to a specialist they'd say "wait till its happening all the time then we can work out what it is".

So that's what I do now with almost everything.

I'd say that your actions were prudent and sensible and not (myself I don't read into it) the results of stress or anxiety.

Keep a "weather eye" on it and make notes with dates and times as it occurs ... often helpful if they are indeed ever needed. I used to use my Diary then my Palm Pilot for that ... these days its a text note in my phone.

I usually have 2 or 3 coffees a day, but more in the AM than the PM (almost never in the after lunch period ... I can't say why for sure).

I agree also with the other comments that we're more likely to feel / observe our heart irregularities with a mechanical valve than before, so that may be a factor.

Best Wishes

 

[honeybunny]

I missed 5-7 days of metropolol without realizing it and my blood pressure and heart rate were elevated when I went to the dentist twice this past week. Then it hit me that I'd not gotten a refill through my new prescription insurance. Because I prefill a 7-day pill holder with my meds and supplements, I didn't miss that one small pill. And I felt fine. Had I not been to the dentist I don't know how long it would have been before I realized my omission.

 

[honeybunny]

I missed 5-7 days of metropolol without realizing it and my blood pressure and heart rate were elevated when I went to the dentist twice this past week. Then it hit me that I'd not gotten a refill through my new prescription insurance. Because I prefill a 7-day pill holder with my meds and supplements, I didn't miss that one small pill. And I felt fine. Had I not been to the dentist I don't know how long it would have been before I realized my omission.

 

[matty]

Hi,
I have been experiencing very similar symptoms for the past month. When lying on my back or left side , or sitting at work I would feel a missed beat and the next beat come back very strong. It would be sometimes be as frequent as every third beat. I'm 5 months out from surgery, and I had just upped my cardio to 1 hour of cycling every day and added a new blood pressure med when the symptoms started. I realise i had these irregular beats before surgery they were just very rare. So maybe the amiodorone post surgery had supressed them till now, don't know. I saw my cardiologist and my heart threw these irregular beats on the ekg. Turns out they are PACs (i had self diagnosed as PVCs). Cardilogist told me not to worry , happen to everyone, common after surgery et al. She couldn't give me a reason for them but gave me a hippie solution to reduce stress. Since then I've stopped the cardio (to give my heart more recovery time) , dropped the new BP med and am holidaying in Thailand. The PACs have amost gone, hopefully it stays that way.

 

[honeybunny]

Are you scheduled for another doctor visit WK?

 

[Warfarinking]

Update: I began my normal routine once again of going to the gym 4-5 times a week after being off for 3 months due to the issues. I usually do 2 miles then workout. I feel back to normal and do not feel anything off anymore. I'm assuming it may have been linked with anxiety but I am not sure.