Ventricular Tachycardia & pacemaker

[SandyK]

I haven't posted in awhile, But I was wondering if anyone has had V-Tach? I just found out that is what is wrong with me & I have to have a pacemaker and be put on more meds.
I am taking Soatlol 160mg in AM & 120 mg in PM. My heart rate has dropped to low to be put on more meds. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
SandyK

 

[Bill Hall]

Hi Sandy - I have not had V-Tach, but looked it up by Google search. Here's what I found:

- The medication (Satatol?) reduces your heart rate to compensate for the periods of high rate. I understand from your posting that they cannot increase dosage because your heart rate is very low.

- When it is sustained, the V-Tach can be dangerous and life-threatening. You should be careful and keep close contact with your cardio.

- I didn't read anything that relates this condition to your valve replacement, but I assume it is. You are too young for clogged arteries to be a problem, I think.

- The surgery to implant the pacemaker (they call it ICD) seems minor, but what do I know, I just read through a few articles.

I just want to wish you the best of luck through this bad experience and give you all my support.

 

[John Cochran]

Hi Sandy,
My son had ventricular tachycardia. He also has a bicuspid aortic valve, which was repaired a year ago, and a pacemaker/defibrillator.

In addition, he has had ablations to destroy the electrical pathways that enable tachycardia to happen. He is now doing quite well...working full time, taking long walks, taking his dad out to lunch(!), and looking great.

Have you discussed ablations with your cardiologist? These are preceded by an EP study (electrophysiology) to determine what is going on with the electrical pathways of your heart. They try to reproduce your tachycardia, and if they can, often they can use a small radio-frequency generator to destroy the tissue causing the problem. This is all done through a catheter, with no surgery.

If you have specific questions, fire away!

Wishing you the best,
--John

 

[SandyK]

John I haven't had any tests done to the electrical parts of my heart yet. I have had this problem since my 1st aortic valve replacement in 8-1990 & then again in 12-13-00 when I had the 2nd replacement. Since then it has gotten progressively worse, with my heart pausing for 2.8 seconds to 3 seconds and my rate dropped to 38 bpm. My cardio told me that could try more meds but I would eventually have to have a pacer. I have both the slow rate and the V-tach, & alo thinking I am too young for all this,(37). Thank you for the reply and if I have any questions I will surely post.


Bill, Thank you for the info and the support. The med I am on is Sotalol, I misspelled it (sorry,lol).
I will try to keep posting.

SandyK
---------------------------
Rheumatic heart disease
Aortic valve replacement & mitral valve repair
1st surgery in Flint Michigan 8-6-90
2nd surgery Cleveland clinic 12-13-00

 

[John Cochran]

Sandy,
Unfortunately, heart rhythm problems know no age. My son's problems started when he was 29. But I will share some good news with you. The pacemakers available now are absolutely amazing. First, they are very small, and require only a small incision. Second, they are very "intelligent" in not only pacing your heart correctly, but keeping track of all sorts of things regarding your heart's rhythm. Third, they work amazingly well with tremendous reliability. I saw a young woman of 22 do a cartwheel and stand on her head...found out later she had a pacemaker (not sure her doctor would have approved).

At any rate (no pun intended ), your problem is likely very fixable, and the quality of your life will be improved tremendously.

Best,
--John

 

[Nancy]

Hi Sandy-

Joe has a pacemaker. He got his to correct slow heartbeats that were causing him to faint. He did not have v-tach, but does have problems from time to time with afib and aflutter.

His pacemaker has been a lifesaver. No more faints. He seems to have felt it firing a couple of times, but nothing major. I think his heart uses it about 7 percent of the time, when he last he had it interrogated.

 

[medtronic of borg]

Slow beat

Slow beat

Sorry to say you are not "to young". I had v-fib x3 and my first three surgeries by the age of 11. Which is when I had my first pacer put in. v-tac can lead to v-fib. A condition inwhich you need intervention with in seconds or you go into a cardiac arrest. That is when your heart just stops. So a pacer sounds like a good plan to me!!!! They may even be looking at a defibulator/pacer implant to prevent this. By the way my intrinsic rate is 30bpm, and my blockage is a full blockage. One last thought. I good EP work up sounds like a good thing.

 

[mommywri]

Hi, My 13 year old daughter will be going in to have a exercise tolerance test and echocardiogram today. She has been having chest pain, palpitaitons, premature beats and skipped beats(a pause between beats where heart is out of sync and doesn't fill properly so the next beat is harder and does the work of two) The feelings of chest pain, and "turning over of the heart" seem to follow excercise. My daughter had aortic valve replacement in October 2003 and was born with truncus arteriosus so this is was her 3rd open heart. (She has a pacemaker from a bout of endocarditis which caused complete heart block) Does anyone know if doing the stress test could cause a severe arrythmia? I am worried because she does not tolerate exercise well (she has essentially no pulmonary valve (she has a homograft and it is moderately calcified)--so her right side is somewhat enlarged. Does anyone have advice as to blood tests or questions to ask her doctor. Thanks for any advice -- I appreciate it.

 

[John Cochran]

There are certainly reasonable questions to ask when you believe a stress test may put your daughter at risk. You should clearly state your concerns before that test is administered. I have a friend who had a heart attack during a stress test; fortunately, he recovered and is fine now.

Certainly and angiogram and a TEE (transesophogeal echocardiogram) would give good diagnostic input.

Best,
--John

 

[SandyK]

Stress test

Stress test

Mommywri,
I had a stress test & my heart was really going into v-tach, it took them 2 days to complete the test. My advice to you would be to make sure they put a monitor on your daughter before they start the test and during.
My prayers are with you.

Sandyk

 

[mommywri]

Dear Sandy and John,
Thank you very much for your advice. My daughter had her stress test and it went on without a problem which was a great relief to me. They did have her attached to an EKG monitor and also had her breathing into a machine which monitored oxygen as well as taking her blood pressure periodically. She scored a below normal on exercise tolerance which the doctors though was great for her. (There must be lower scores or they wouldn't be happy with her test results I guess.) But thanks so much for your advice -- it gave me the courage to ask for the echo to be done prior to the stress test--they had scheduled the test in the reverse order. I really appreciate your support.

--Martha (mom to Christina Truncus arteriosus, aortic (truncal)valve repair 10/03)