r/askCardiology

Hi everyone! I’m a 30yf who gave birth to my first baby last June. I’ve had ventricular ectopy episodes in the past, had a holter a few times but nothing every further. While I was pregnant I felt great! 7 weeks after birth (had a hemorrhage of 1.5 L and very low ferritin and hemoglobin as a result, but otherwise uneventful if any of that matters) I started having episodes of what I assume(?) is bigeminy and trigeminy based on reading other accounts of what it feels like.

I went to the hospital, they had me on telemetry for a few hours and noted a lot of PVC activity but clear ECGs, bloodwork was fine other than a bit of low iron and slightly low potassium. I have not had an echo or any other testing done since then.

Long story short, the PVCs have been relentless since that 7 week mark when they started suddenly. Every day I get them, when before I would only have them here and there. Is this a common occurrence after birth? I’m hoping they will go away as my body returns to normal, perhaps after I’m done breastfeeding and actually getting sleep again?

Just looking to see if there’s anything I can do now to help myself as they are quite uncomfortable and cause me some anxiety. Thanks!

Hello everybody, I am a 23 year old female. Yesterday I had my first SVT of my life, went from normal heart rate to 230-240 for about 30+ minutes and the emts had to administer adenosine that works instantly. Factors of that day, did sprints and ended my 30 minutes workout at 10, showered got ready for work, ate some food, chugged 90% of my caffeinated drink (about 69 mg) didn’t mean to chug it just tasted good with my meal, I “plopped” down on the couch and instantly triggered the SVT. I also struggle from anxiety (non medicated) and stressed as I am about to move and start a new job with my family (military)

I am now on a heart monitor, taking metroprolol, (is that how you spell it) and have an echo scheduled in a month or so.

I guess I am wondering if this could be a freak thing, or is it normal to show up around this age? I understand this is just your opinion as well. I just feel so freaked out because I eat healthy and work out 3 times a week. I have never had any signs before this, I have dealt with chest pain but it was brushed as cartilage inflammation. Will I have to take this medicine forever? Any tips would help be appreciated. Just anxious I am going to trigger another one.

I'm a 51 year old woman, pre-menopausal. I have a strong family history of heart disease ( brother died at 40 of heart attack.) I have high cholesterol, and a plaque score of 254. This week I had the lp(a) blood test done and my number is 310, which is considered significantly elevated. I have a follow up appointment with my cardiologist next month. I guess I'm just wondering how serious the lp(a) number combined with the cac score is? Of course googling my lab results has me freaking out.

Should I seek medical attention

Can I get a coronary calcium score at the same time? We are trying to get to the bottom of some strange symptoms and my pcp requested cardiac clearance.

This was prescribed by a cardiologist, but a cardiologist in my family also recommends to all of us in the family to get Cardiac calcium score, I am reaching that age where he has started suggesting it. Can this be added on to the test already ordered?

I don't want to to go through more CTs just yet will likely have an FDG-PET ct later this year when i get seen for my thyroid cancer followup.

Hey everyone,

I’m a 28-year-old male and I recently discovered I have bradycardia through alerts on my Apple Watch SE. I just got my Holter results back and I’m a bit freaked out: my heart rate dropped to 28 bpm while sleeping, and I had 18 pauses, the longest one being 4.11 seconds.

Here’s some context:

• I’ve been weightlifting for 4 years (consistent training, but nothing elite).

• My Echocardiogram is good, with an LVEF of 67%.

• I haven't done an official stress test yet, but my HR goes up normally during workouts, hitting 170 bpm.

• I have zero symptoms. No dizziness, no fainting, nothing.

My doctor says this is likely due to high vagal tone and doesn't want to do anything for now. She mentioned that if I develop symptoms in the future, a pacemaker might be an option, but for now, we wait.

To be honest, I’m pretty anxious about this. I’m scared something might happen to me. Has anyone else gone through this? Did your condition evolve or stay the same after 4 or 5 years? Do you think I'm headed for a pacemaker eventually?

Would love to hear your thoughts/experiences. Thanks

I am 17 and when I was at school today, just sitting not doing anything, I suddenly became dizzy and started feeling throbbing in my throat. I stood up and checked my pulse as I could tell my heart was beating fast because of the vigorous throbbing. I didn't measure my pulse but I could tell it was very high. I immediately called my dad (doctor) and told him about this. He told what I am experiencing is palpitations and he asked me to massage my carotid artery next to my adams apple gently. It didn't really work. I left my school and I was still palpitating. My dad also asked me to eat something or drink something sugary so I did that. On the train back home around 30 minutes after it started, the palpitations came to a stop. Once I reached home my parents took me to the hospital where they took ECG and echo tests. My resting heart rate was 120 at that time, Which was far less from what I experienced during palpitations. The ecg came normal but echo said that I have a insignificantly dilated RA and that was nothing to worry about. They said they need to take echo when I'm having the episode to really see what's happening. They also said I might need to get a holter and a smart watch. They also said I have tachycardia. I have never had trouble with heart before but I also have insomnia which I read some posts about here. This next year is a very crucial year for me and I was really not expecting such a problem. Has anyone else experienced this at such a young age or has had a similar experience I request you to share it with me. And if there is something I need to be worried about I would like to know about it.

Hey everyone! I’ve been freaking out a little after a consultation with a cardiologist. had been experiencing breathlessness and chest pain which stopped me in my tracks so called 999. ECG was completely normal but he spotted my High Sensitivity Troponin I value was 24ng/l. I’m aware this is below the NHS threshold for heart attack but he suggested this level was abnormal for someone my age (36M). Just wanted to know peoples experiences and what was the eventual prognosis for people? Cardiologist is not worried but feels weird to leave it as unknown.

context: I do believe I was quite stressed/anxious around this time because of several things. I had done a 5km run at a faster pace than I usually do 3 days before.

Any comments or reassurance would be really appreciated!!

Hi friends, I'm (29F 5'4 130lbs) new to running as of November. I've been on beta blockers for about 1.5 years and was looking to taper off since I heard beta blockers can make running harder.

I got the okay from my doctor and started tapering just yesterday. I went on my 4.5 mile easy run today and it was not very fun. I had to stay around a 15:30 mins per mile pace to not exceed my conversational pace (so more like a shuffle), and my conversational pace heart rate was *170* as confirmed by talking to myself like a crazy person. Normally my conversational pace is somewhere around 13:30-14:00 per mile and conversational heart rate is pretty high compared to most folks (155ish) but 170 feels ridiculous.

I knew tapering would make my heart rate faster, but I didn't expect it to be like this. I thought my heart rate would just go up a little and it would otherwise feel normal if not better.

Has anyone else tapered off beta blockers, and did it get worse before it got better?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!