Saw the new cardiologist today. He agrees that I have sinus tachcardia but with Afib. Its the Afib that concerns him. I had the holter monitor on for 48 hours and a host of blood work. Still have to get a echocardiogram, chest xray, holter monitor again and more blood work. Symptoms are better. I am on meds but dont remember what they are called. Anyhow they slow the heart rate down.
I had a few more episodes of super rapid heart rate (200bpm). And the nausea and weakness and dizziness. This week I have felt fine. He thinks its all stress related because there are no other indicators. I wanted to say 'duh'. I am an air traffic controller and am stressed out nearly all the time. Plus I cant run now so its hard to get rid of the stress.
He did a thorough exam today and explained what he believes is happening and how the meds are supposed to work. I like him a lot.Much better than any of the military doctors I saw in the past.
I am very optimistic.
Laurie
Shamrock marathon March 2016. Burlington full or relay if I can find a partner May 2016. Wine and Dine half Nov. And a tri or two thrown in just for the hell of it.
#artbydmcbride
It sounds promising. Maybe meditation will help too.
Runners run
Petco Run/Walk/Wag 5k
It's probably a beta blocker, they limit heart rate. I'm on Labetalol HCL 100mg 2x/day (and a bunch of other heart drugs as well) - which give me a measure max hr of 137. Makes running fast a bit harder so I just go at a pace that doesn't stress me out to much. running does help me control my bp and other heart issues tho. Hope your able to keep at it.
bob e v 2014 goals: keep on running! Is there anything more than that?
Complete the last 3 races in the Austin Distance Challenge, Rogue 30k, 3M Half, Austin Full
Break the 1000 mi barrier!
History: blessed heart attack 3/15/2008; c25k july 2008 first 5k 10/26/2008 on 62nd birthday.
Laurie - So happy you seem to be finding answers. And sometimes half the battle is finding a doc you trust and like. Continued prayers and thoughts your way.
Air Traffic Controller = Stress?? Whoduh thunk!
Leslie Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain -------------
Trail Runner Nation
Sally McCrae-Choose Strong
Bare Performance
My dad had AFib since he was in his mid-40s. He had a few bouts of sinus tachycardia over the years and occasionally had some of the symptoms you describe. Especially when he was really stressed. He was on a beta-blocker for about 25 years then went on warfarin (a blood thinner) later in life.
I also had an aunt who had AFib. She had ablation therapy then never had a problem again.
Sometimes it feels better just to have answers doesn't it?
Suffering Benefiting from mature onset exercise addiction and low aerobic endorphin release threshold. Hoping there is no cure.
Glad to hear about the update.
Good luck!
"Champions are everywhere; all you need is to train them properly..." ~Arthur Lydiard
Thank you all. Its good to know I am not the only runner dealing with this. I heard the ablation works well. Might consider that if it comes to it.
I checked the meds. Its metoprolol. Not sure what that is.
Metoprolol is a beta blocker. There are little receptors on your heart that speed up the heartbeat. They are called beta receptors and are sensitive to epinephrine (a stimulating hormone). The medication blocks some of the receptors so the heart doesn't beat as fast.
AFib is an interruption in the electrical system of the heart. An electrical signal gets re-routed the wrong way and you get funny beats. Ablation therapy knocks out the spot(s) in the electrical system that have gone awry.
Hope that helps.
thanks ruru, that does help. it sounds like what he tried to explain to me. He said the 3 nerves that send the signals to beat are fighting with each other and all trying to send the signal to beat. I like learning more about it. Thanks.
Trails are hard!
laurie--just sent you an e-mail with an article on afib and ablation that i got before mine. if your @comcast e-mail isn't still good let me know and i'll send it another way.
i guess it is old--just got a failure message.
Need a fast half for late fall. Then I need to actually train for it.
...laurie//........metaprolol is an older drug
and ruru is right on the money on how it works,
so you may ''feel'' fatigued as your body adjusts to the medication,
THE GOOD NEWS
no surprises,
they've
been using this for decades
and the side effects are well known and not bad.
with some of the older beta-blockers (propanolol)
we usually tell pts to let the doc know if the pulse goes under 50
but
with a Runner, you may have a slower pulse rate than the average guy anyway,
just bear it in mind.
http://www.rxlist.com/lopressor-drug.htm
also bear in mind this is used A LOT in the Older Population so the side effects would apply more to that age group
and
in a Drug Study
if you got Run Over by a Pie Truck
they would have to put that in the literature.
..nothing takes the place of persistence.....
Kevin, I will email you via facebook my new email address.
Tom, thanks for the info. I think I need to try a new med. Mine is making my heart feel like its jumping all the time now. Very strange.