I also am very interested to know results as school boy is.. Started panic attacks years ago and now taking a mild anti depressant to lower my anxiety due to family issues and loss of a sister. I have high blood pressure border liner diabetes which is controlled for 30 years and gerd.. I think I will ask for a test as my father and mother had heart problems although totally different causes.
WOW! I know its been 2 years since your post, but I am VERY curious if you got diagnosed because your story is EXACTLY what I am going through. I am in Canada and have coverage, but our medical system takes so long, I have been bounced from Dr to Dr for 9 months and still don't know what the isuue is. I have episodes almost every day, cannot work, and ALWAYS feel nauseous & faint. Let me know if you got it figured out. I hope you are ok
I am also suffering from heart palpitations and I am sometimes wondering the same thing: How to be sure that these palpitations are not going to be fatal at some point? The problem is that, in order to judge what kind of palpitations you have, an EKG must recorded at the time that you have the palpitations. If the palpitations occur infrequently (less than once a week), it is generally very difficult to get an EKG of them. Most EKG monitors allow for a recording of about 2 days, and the monitors that are not attached to you continuously are difficult to use for palpitations that last for a few seconds only (once you have the monitor in place, the palpitations are usually gone).
So determining exactly what irregular heartbeat you have might be difficult. However, if you would have some money for a doctor, you might want to ask one to determine whether your heart is structurally normal (using an echocardiogram) and possibly have a stress EKG done (the dangerous heart rhythms seem to occur more often when you strain your heart).
I have much the same problems but without either sync or pre sync..but can be up all night with ectopic beats. I just think they are etopic..but as the person above pointed out, ventricular ectopy can't convert to VF..can it??
Will VF or any other cause of cardiac sudden death show on an ECG if not symptomatic?? I also have slow conduction caused by a very rare congenital heart defect involving an extra membrane in the left atrium. Blood flow normal.
I have become terrified. I drink alcohol to relax me, I never have, or at least never notice any ectopic beats when I go to bed that way. But then, soon enough the alcohol shall upset the heart rhythm enough to cause a worse situation.
And all the time scared about V Fib..can it develop from ectopic beats?? Is there ever a mild form of V Fib that is just waiting to kill you??
Thanks from a very worried individual.
I agree, if this is your problem, you would have to be shocked out of it, without that being done, you would be dead.
Even without being a doctor, I can guarantee you one thing: You do NOT have ventricular fibrillation.
Ventricular fibrillation = death. It doesn't convert on its own, and it's the same as cardiac arrest. There are cases where people fall when the arrhythmia occur, and the blow to the chest as they hit the floor has the same effect as an electrical shock, but it's very rare.
That said, you may have some kind of arrhythmia that should be investigated. Some of it sounds fairly benign and innocent, but the fact that you are close to fainting sounds a bit concerning (if it's not just that you are afraid). You should get it monitored. It may be atrial fibrillation, another supraventricular arrhythmia or another arrhythmia, impossible to say.
I don't know in detail what healthcare you can get without insurance. In my country, you would get a cardiac workup through the public healthcare.
I just saw your headline reads as Ventricular Fibrillation. It is doubtful you have that because from what I understand VF does not convert on its own and would likely be deadly in very short order. If you have a ventricular issue it is more likely tachycardia or it could even be something more simple like a pattern of pvcs but again it could also be an atrial issue like svt, afib or aflutter. And again, the fact that it converts on its own is a good thing. Anyways, I just wanted to clarify there is a difference between VT and VF and it is very doubtful you are experiencing VF.
Boy, I wish we could tell you exactly what is going on but not even the doctors who pop on every once in a while can tell you for sure. It is possible you are experiencing VT though the good news is it sounds like if it is it is NonSustained. In general if your heart is in good working order they don't consider NSVT a threat to your overall health. I would consult a doctor about this to be sure but that is what I have read. That said, ventricular tachycardia is a bit more dangerous then the atrial arrhythmias but without a diagnosis you are possibly worrying about having VT when you could just have an svt or atrial flutter. I highly suggest making an appointment with a cardiologist. It might be a couple hundred dollars but it is important to know what you are dealing with. I would think they would have you wear a heart monitor. Since you don't have episodes everyday but you do have them at least once a month an event monitor, a heart monitor that you wear for a month and hit a record button when you feel an episode, sounds like your best bet. If they offer a 24 hour holter I would question them about the month long monitor. Once your episode is captured you will likely not need to wear the monitor anymore and you will have definitive evidence of what arrhythmia is occurring. Depending on what you have you can then consult with your doctor about the best ways of managing it which might be not even needing to do anything at all, maybe taking some meds, or possibly being offered an ablation though without insurance they are very expensive. But in general try to not panic that you have vt until you are actually diagnosed with it. The less you stress about whatever it is the better off you will be. But please do go and see a cardiologist. The visit isn't that expensive in the whole scheme of things and if they want to do tests like an echo to determine the overall health of your heart discuss your financial situation with them and I am sure they would be willing to work out a deal but you really should at least consult with a cardiologist for your own peace of mind at least. Take care and keep us posted on how you are doing.
PS- I have never smoked. I use to bing drink from 99-2004. But haven't had any alcohol in several years.