Heart appointment, what now....

[bekkyboo]

I had my appointment with the cardiologist today, i was transfered hospitals, as my last didnt have the skills for it.

Doctor tells me that my condition isnt in anyway life threatening (woohoo!), but since its been going on since i was 14, and is getting worse, just leaving it (which is one of the treatment options) he doesnt really recommend.

The other options were medication - which i dont want, as it would be a life long treatment, and it plays up with bub when pregnant -which was why i was transfered in the first place.

The other is an operation. THis is what the my first doctor recommended. After hearing all the 'warnings' that come with it, im not all that sure. 1 in 3000 chance of fetality, 1 in 500 chance of stroke, if too close to one other part, very high chance of everthing going pear shaped, and needing a pace maker.

The doctor told me today, that the SVT (the condition im told to have) still hasnt been properly documented, apparently last set of doctors are useless - but even with that, it isnt really a issue - more an inconvience. But it will get worse with age and ill need operations down the track regardless.

He also told me that it was BS that the last doctors made me have a ceaser (was my choice, but we wanted to labour as long as posible, but they threw me in surgury before i knew what was happening)... and that i could have gone along fine, and still can even with the svt...

The ball is left in my court with the decision. and honestly, i have felt like i have been in a bubble since the appointment. the 1 in 3000 didnt really get me, but the 1 in 500 did... that seems such a high risk to go through for what is being called an 'inconvenience'. J is still not convinced that it isnt something more - he thinks that its your heart, and anything wrong is life threatening.

Im at a loss, and i cant think... I really dont know what to do. I...... Im really scared.

[bekkyboo]

Forgot to mention that i have to have a stress test in acouple of weeks, has anyone had one of these...?

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

Hi Bekkyboo,
I have talked to you about my experience before,i was like you very scared and the numbers got to me too.BUT i thought that if i didnt have the opperation that my life would be at risk anyway and my specialist who done my op said that it is very unusual to get this and said that the last documented was like 30 or so years ago.Their technology is far better now,the only side effect of the opperation was a slight bleed when i went to walk out of the room(okay ill tell the truth it p**sed out lol)that was a sight.

I think quality of life it very important i mean i was in hospital every week without fail and was always away from the kids it wasnt a very nice thing to go through and now that i have done the op i have absoloutely no regrets.

If you have any other questions hun just ask im here to help.BIG hugs.

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

It is really up to you but i would recommend getting the op.

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

Also i havnt had the stress test because they knew what i had and that it had to be fixed.

All the stress test is to determine if your svt is life threatening or not i cant remember how they do it i think from memory they make you go on a treadmil and so on to determine how fast your heart would go up.

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

Heres a quote from i site i looked at.

A stress test, sometimes called a treadmill test or exercise test, helps a doctor find out how well your heart handles work. As your body works harder during the test, it requires more oxygen, so the heart must pump more blood. The test can show if the blood supply is reduced in the arteries that supply the heart. It also helps doctors know the kind and level of exercise appropriate for a patient.

[M O P]

I'm not really any help to you Bekky, I have no idea what you should do or even what I'd do in your shoes but I just wanted to send :hugs: and to say I'm thinking of you and your "inconvenience"

[TwoBlue]

Bekky I have no advice or great words of wisdom and ultimately the decision can only be made by you, anyway I just wanted to send big hugs :hugs:
You must be feeling so confused and scared right now and I dont blame you !


More :hugs:

[bekkyboo]

Thanks guys.

Jac - My doctor said it is most likely not WPW, as even though one doc saw it, it hasnt documented since... so he is betting on it being SVT, which isnt life threatening like WPW....

The stress test is because will excercising my heart will shoot up quick, even when im not physically stressed. I can be comfortably walking and my heart goes up to 160+, 180 or more when i jog - so he wants to see what is going on there. Its just frustrating, because even though i have been in and out of treatment for coming up to 10 years with this, no doctor has done their work properly, and the only one that did - they lost the paper work :banghead:

The quality of life for me isnt really as important, as before pregnacy i had an attack once every couple of months, during in preg 2-3 times aweek, now once a month, although the doc said it is something that will get worse.

Those stats scare me - a hell of alot. and when i tried to talk to J about it before, he wasnt in the best mood and pretty much fobbed me off.

[Ashleigh<3]

:hugs: I have nothing wise to say. :(
Just wanted to give you hugs,:hugs: always here if you'd like to chat Bekky!

EDA: I've never had any heart problems, I get tightenings in the chest at times and find when I go to take a breath I feel like somthings squeezing my chest. When I was in hospital the other day with my viral infection, it really hurt my chest, the tightenings were shocking, even when I was sleeping my heart rate was 180.

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

Thanks guys.

Jac - My doctor said it is most likely not WPW, as even though one doc saw it, it hasnt documented since... so he is betting on it being SVT, which isnt life threatening like WPW....

The stress test is because will excercising my heart will shoot up quick, even when im not physically stressed. I can be comfortably walking and my heart goes up to 160+, 180 or more when i jog - so he wants to see what is going on there. Its just frustrating, because even though i have been in and out of treatment for coming up to 10 years with this, no doctor has done their work properly, and the only one that did - they lost the paper work :banghead:

The quality of life for me isnt really as important, as before pregnacy i had an attack once every couple of months, during in preg 2-3 times aweek, now once a month, although the doc said it is something that will get worse.

Those stats scare me - a hell of alot. and when i tried to talk to J about it before, he wasnt in the best mood and pretty much fobbed me off.
Oh ok,yeah it is up to you hun,i mean even though they say its not life threatening they dont really know until they look more into it,i have my :fingerscrossed: that they can find out a bit more about it.

Also regarding you having a cs with your ds,a vb can be done,i gave birth to my ds by vb and everything was ok i didnt have an attack although my heart rate was very high,probably about 120-130 and thats without the palpitations plus i was also on meds to bring my heart rate down.They said to me that even if i did have an attack they could treat me while in labour and if anything did happen they could just give me a cs.

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

:hugs: I have nothing wise to say. :(
Just wanted to give you hugs,:hugs: always here if you'd like to chat Bekky!

EDA: I've never had any heart problems, I get tightenings in the chest at times and find when I go to take a breath I feel like somthings squeezing my chest. When I was in hospital the other day with my viral infection, it really hurt my chest, the tightenings were shocking, even when I was sleeping my heart rate was 180.
My gosh hun,that sounds scary,sorry to say but sounds like there is more to it.A heart rate of 180 is NOT normal:hugs:.

[bekkyboo]

Yeah, the drs with me were convinced that you couldnt give those meds while in labour.... So thats all i knew... This doc seems to think that when other doctors dont know much about the condition they tend to freak out over nothing. I just wish i had known more before.

I have a feeling J will still want me to have the op... But im still in two minds. Its ok tho, i have 4 months to decided, well, within that i have more tests, but my doc wants me to choose between meds and op - and they dont know what 50 yrs of meds would do...

[bekkyboo]

My gosh hun,that sounds scary,sorry to say but sounds like there is more to it.A heart rate of 180 is NOT normal:hugs:.
My heart rate when i was sick last time at rest was about that.

When jogging thats what mine goes to - and its not that im incrediably unfit either - i gym about 4 days a week, an hour full on each day.

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

My heart rate when i was sick last time at rest was about that.

When jogging thats what mine goes to - and its not that im incrediably unfit either - i gym about 4 days a week, an hour full on each day.
yeah thats what mine was at rest but its still not normal a normal heart rate is between 60 and 100 bpm.

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

My heart when i first had an attack mine went up to 240bpm+ the doctors were absolutely shocked they were surprised i was still walking :eek:.

[Ashleigh<3]

They concluded that because my body was fighting off an infection/fever it's quite normal for my heart rate to bet hat high.

I wonder what it is when I'm doing nothing... like now....

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

I know a bloke that has incurable WPW and his heart goes up to 300bpm plus :eek:

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

They concluded that because my body was fighting off an infection/fever it's quite normal for my heart rate to bet hat high.

I wonder what it is when I'm doing nothing... like now....
You should take your pulse,i used to do it regularly to check on my heart.

I used to know when i had an attack coming on cause i had a nervous feeling in my throat like a lump.

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

Bekky just take your time think of the pros and cons of each and then im sure you'll come to the right decision that suits you and your family.

[bekkyboo]

Jac, i have a panic attack beforehand, thats when i know its coming. My hands start flinching, and i get all flighty, like my body wants to move at the rate of what my heart is. Yeah, i just wish the risks werent so damn high. Something small can cause a lifetime of damage.

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

Well if it means anything to you i am proof that in most cases there isnt any damage done and even when i had to have the ablation done which is burning out the pathway which can cause more problems,it still worked out good.I am now trouble free i mean i still get some skipped heart beats but no irregular hb and no elevated hb.

[bekkyboo]

Yeah, its the 1 in 500 risk of stroke that comes with the burning.... My doctor was pretty clear that it is very safe, and common prodecure. Its just that i have felt un easy about it since it was mentioned almost a year ago... some strange odd uneasy feeling... something just isnt sitting right.

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

Yep i had those uneasy feeling too that my kids were going to be left here without a mum,i had a really bad feeling i was going to die including dreams.

[bekkyboo]

Jase and i have dicussed this at length tonight, and we have decided that i wont go through with the Op or meds. I just feel that since alot of the issues that brought me to be at this point were more miscommunication and misconceptions than fact or anything else, there isnt much point risking so much for the 'inconvience'...

The doctor tells me ill need ops regardless down the track, so we figure that if i have to take the risks they may as well be worth it. The attacks right now arent disrupting my life, and the good news as well is that ive been given the all clear to have my VBAC with my heart the way it is anyway...

Im still going to go for the stress test and see why my heart goes excessively nuts with minumal exercise, but i think that will do for now. Its just nice knowing that my heart problem isnt life threatening... :D

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

Thats great,sounds good to me im sure you have made the right decision :)

Good luck with the stress test i hope you get a bit more of an explanation BIG hugs.

[five]

Hi there,
I have SVT, have had for nearly 20 years now, got bad enough to cause syncope when I was 19 so cardio recommended the op, which didn't work. The second op worked, but a little too well, because one of my accessory pathways was right next to my AV node, both got cauterised, but this is a less than 1% chance of this happening, and those were the odds 10 years ago, so far better now.
Yes I now have a pacemaker for the heart block from the cauterised AV node, which I barely notice, and I take meds every day for the SVT which didnt end up being fixed after all lol, and my heart is the least of my concerns these days. Yes I still have troubles if I exercise too much, but not much chance of that considering I have an unrelated neuro disorder too LOL.
Good on you for your decision, you have to do what you feel is right for you. I hope your stress test shows just SVT not WPW.
All the best, Denise xx