I guess I have heart issues

[squibber]

It all started several months ago when my blood pressure monitor detected irregular heart beats. I ignored it for a while until my wife said I should email my doctor. I did just that and shortly after a nurse called me and said I should go to the Emergency Department and get an EKG. I said I felt fine but she pressed me to go.

So I went to ED and they did an EKG and an x-ray of my heart. The EKG revealed PVC's or irregular heart beats. The x-ray showed nothing.

My sister in law works at the hospital and hooked me up with a good heart specialist. The heart specialist ordered a Holter Monitor for me and an ultrasound of the heart. After wearing the Holter Monitor and getting an ultrasound of my heart, I saw the heart specialist last week.

He confirmed I had PVC's and the Holter Monitor revealed I have 4% more heartbeats per minute than the average person. He also said I have a heart murmur.

The worst news is that my aortic artery has an aneurism. The average size of the aortic artery should be around 3.8. Mine is 4.5.  He said anything that is 5.something is bad.

He wants me to have a catscan in six months to see if the anuerism got bigger. In the meantime, no heavy lifting. My blood pressure is not ideal so he prescribed a beta blocker and upped my hydrochlorothiazide from 12.5mg to 25mg.

He said he is not overly concerned but wants to keep an eye on things.  I'm not frightened out of my mind but I do worry. I was always physically healthy. It's something I will have to get used to. I worry that my chances of reaching 90 years or more may be less likely now. I'm 68 right now.

Anyone have similar issues?

[Sem]

So far, at 65, nothing similar for me. Good news Squibber is that you know and now your doctor(s) also know, They'll monitor everything, adjust medications if necessary, and proceed with the best plan of action going forward. While there are no guarantees in life, I would think you're in a much better place now, with the knowledge and care from the specialists, than you would have been had you kept ignoring it. Good on your wife for pushing you to get checked, and good on you for following through. Best of luck, and best of health, both now and in the future.

[LennG]

Hey Squib

I don't know whether to say sorry about the new issues or glad it is not an emergency thing and you will still be with us for a long while.

Maybe you don't want to hear this, but I would try and get a second opinion on this. I say this because I have a friend who thought he had a heart attack, in that he was feeling all the symptoms, went to the hospital, they checked him out, said it wasn't an emergency, and sent him home. The next day, he was still experiencing the same symptoms, went to a hospital that deals with hearts, and was having surgery 3 hours later.

I mention this, to what you said that the size of your aorta is in an area that you said was not good and I would try and opt for another heart specialist to view this and see if he has the same recommendations. To me, it is so better to be safe than sorry. I know doctors aren't the best place you want to be, but when it's your life on the line, why just trust one guy?


Again, glad you are OK, and, for sure, take it easy.

[DaveBrown74]

It all started several months ago when my blood pressure monitor detected irregular heart beats. I ignored it for a while until my wife said I should email my doctor. I did just that and shortly after a nurse called me and said I should go to the Emergency Department and get an EKG. I said I felt fine but she pressed me to go.

So I went to ED and they did an EKG and an x-ray of my heart. The EKG revealed PVC's or irregular heart beats. The x-ray showed nothing.

My sister in law works at the hospital and hooked me up with a good heart specialist. The heart specialist ordered a Holter Monitor for me and an ultrasound of the heart. After wearing the Holter Monitor and getting an ultrasound of my heart, I saw the heart specialist last week.

He confirmed I had PVC's and the Holter Monitor revealed I have 4% more heartbeats per minute than the average person. He also said I have a heart murmur.

The worst news is that my aortic artery has an aneurism. The average size of the aortic artery should be around 3.8. Mine is 4.5.  He said anything that is 5.something is bad.

He wants me to have a catscan in six months to see if the anuerism got bigger. In the meantime, no heavy lifting. My blood pressure is not ideal so he prescribed a beta blocker and upped my hydrochlorothiazide from 12.5mg to 25mg.

He said he is not overly concerned but wants to keep an eye on things.  I'm not frightened out of my mind but I do worry. I was always physically healthy. It's something I will have to get used to. I worry that my chances of reaching 90 years or more may be less likely now. I'm 68 right now.

Anyone have similar issues?

I have something called HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy). I got the diagnosis in 2018. I was very shaken when I first got it. However, my cardiologist assured me that the prognosis is good and unless things unexpectedly worsen, there is no reason why it should affect me or limit my life expectancy. I take a beta blocker and one other medication, and then I go in once a year for a checkup provided I have no symptoms. The one big negative is I now am strongly advised to not do very intense exercises like sprints or quick burst type exercises. I used to do a lot of stuff like that but can't now. I do more steady state cardio now and moderate weight resistance exercise.

Heart conditions are pretty common. If your doctor seems cool with everything, I would not get yourself too worked up about it. Just follow all his recommendations and stay on top of it, but there are just so many of these conditions and so many are easily controlled with medication and/or lifestyle adjustments.

[squibber]

Thanks, gentlemen, for your kind and thoughtful responses.