Cardiology question
 

I went in for my regular tune up with my doc and she wanted me to talk to one of the cardiologists in their office about my cholesterol.
I have high cholesterol hereditarily and not from the food I eat. More on that in a minute.
Their normal procedure is to give an EKG before you even talk to the cardiologist. (My last EKG was about 5 yrs. ago) At that time the previous cardiologist said that the electrical function of my heart was "of concern". I have always known that my heart does weird things like fluttering, skipping beats, and sometimes stopping for a few seconds before resuming. I also have a slightly prolapsed mitral valve but am told that is not related to the electrical activity.
Today I go in and am fitted with a Holter monitor so they can monitor my heart activity for the next 24hrs. (crappy cell phone pic)
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1244510200.jpg
The docs mentioned a possible "reboot" of my heart by stopping it and then restarting it to get the rythem back to normal.
I have to admit, I'm a little scared by all this. Bottom line, I trust my doc, just wanted to ask some more opinions.
A little basic info: 48 years old. 205lbs. Get good exercise, none smoker, love my wine (my only bad habit) One 25mg Toprolol xt, one 81mg childrens aspirin, and 6 600mg Welchol tablets per day. The Welchol instead of Lipitor or Crestor because of high liver enzymes.

Had the doctors in Germany a few years back do the same thing. Had an "extra systol" (extra heart beat) occur when at high stress on the treadmill so they put me on a 72 hour EKG and ultrasound of the heart.

That was almost 20 years ago and unfortunately (for some on this board) am still alive and ticking.

See what they say and if you are really concerned get a second opinion. I was a medivac pilot at that time so got lots of opinions and they all said that I was going to die... but not right away. Guess they were right.

Tough it out for the 24 hour EKG and see what the rest of the results are. Hope it turns out well.

your description of what your heart does is the same as the description i give my docs for 10 years now. there are many types of abnormal beats. some benign, some fatal. they tell me mine is benign, though at times its so bad that i hardly believe them because it can flutter for what seems like minutes at a time. they call mine preventricular contractions. fairly common. i also have the same cholesterol and liver problem and mitral valve

What doc told you about the "reboot"? the cardio or PCP? if it was the PCP, i would relax until the cardio sees the monitor results. i cant imagine a PCP scarring you like that without a diagnosis and deferring to the expert.....bad manners!

if there is anything that triggers your heart weirdness, i would do it while the monitor is on you so they can see the activity.

and i might inquire about switching from toprolol to antenolol. i find that my body gets used to one and stops doing its job and i then i switch to the other and the heart smooths out.

Why are you on a beta blocker (toprolol)? Some arrythmias do require a "reboot". Sometimes it is done with drugs and sometimes it is done using a defibrillator machine. We use adenosine on babies with prolonged fast heart rates (SVT). It literally flat lines the heart for a second and (hopefully) resets the heart to a normal rate. I would try not to worry until you get the holter results back. Good luck, hope it's nothing serious.

Mrs. 450 knot office :)

I am carrying on "as usual" tonight and not worrying too much.
I'm on the Toprolol because I am told that it is easier on the valve closing. A gentle seating as one might say.
Like Joeaksa says, I'm not planning on checking out anytime soon. You all are stuck with me for quite some time.
I turn this thing in tomorrow morning at 9:30am. I will keep you posted on the results.
I appreciate the input!

Have you added fish oil caplets to your diet?

The palpitations could be due to other issues diet related such as high caffine, or diet supplements that contain ephedrine.

Adenosine, saw that used one time when I was a resident, scary, then it came back, as advertised.

Do all the little stuff you can. 86 the butter, use benechol, or however you spell it. It is like souped up margerine that helps bring your bad stuff down, it is not that bad, don't think you can cook with it, but that is why God gave us olive oil.

Eat oatmeal, or cheerios. Don't drink whole milk.

Consider yoga or tai chi, something you like, so you will do it.

I have been caffeine free for 5 years.
1300mg fish oil every day.
1300mg flax seed oil every day.
1000mg Slo Niacin (500mg, one morning, one evening every day)
High!, stess environment. (cannot elaborate on that here)

My wife is an excellent cook. Olive oil is our main ingridient for everything. (again, NOT diet but hereditary)

Try 4000 mg of the fish oil daily along with the slow niacin. Worked wonders for me.

I'm going on three weeks without a smoke, am back to getting fish at least 3x per week, but have indulged too much on bacon and eggs recently. I switched to turkey bacon, but sometimes regress to the real stuff. I use that Land O' Lakes faux butter, which works ok for cooking. My weekday breakfast is always oatmeal and a large cup of coffee, fat free creamer and Sweet n Low. I don't think the numbers are correct, but when I hit the eliptical at the gym, it says my heart rate is in the 155-160 range for 30 min. Seems kind high to me, so I might buy a heart monitor. After a few more mos. of this lifestyle I'm gonna get me a physical and see what the doc. says. Sure hope I don't die on my motorcycle after giving up cigarettes. What a waste that would be!

Rick,

If you are still using the same Doc I turned you onto here in town, he is a former Air Force flight surgeon, and knows what needs checking to see what kind of shape you are in. As well get a good blood workup one time a year with the prostrate check (both types) to make sure everything is ok.

You are going to die but its more likely due to your wife tying you to the bed and doing all sorts of things we cannot talk about here to you!

Joe A

PS Congrats on stopping smoking. Its a decision that will really help later on in life.

is the fish oil good for cholesterol reduction? my doc won't sign off on my provisional nasa license because of high cholesterol, a bit heavy, and smoking. i am at three weeks today with out smoking and riding my bike after work. the weight & cholesterol seem to go hand in hand with me so anything to help.

hope things are good next visit dan. funny though, in the shop it always seemed DL was the sicklier of you two:D

t

Yes, mine was 175 or so then started taking the fish oil and niacin and it dropped to 142 or so. A good 35 point drop with over the counter stuff. I know around 5-6 other people doing the same thing with the same results.

My problem is that I have to do a phy exam every 6 months and any meds I take have to be listed, so anytime I can get something done with over the counter stuff its a lot better. Doc has been trying to get me to take the Lipitor and first its bloody expensive and second I do not want to have to get it approved with the FAA so OTC stuff is way better for me.

PM me when you get some more info. Things are all over the map with what you have said. I know a CV doc in San Jose as well.

Ugh. I had PVC's very regularly for about a year and a half and I feel for you. I remember the sinking feeling when the cardiologist said I'd likely just have to learn to live with them -- because when they happen, I feel so crappy.

Luckily for me, a dramatic change of lifestyle seems to have made those go away for now. (I also had atrial fibrillation -- doc said if I got myself in shape that would likely correct itself). I did, and it did.

I am the survivor of a full arrest at age 39 (14 years ago) and a patient of the #1 Interventional Cardiologist in the US if not the entire world (at the Cleveland Clinic, #1 cardiac center in the world). I see the doc regularity and have a ton of information they feed me all the time. I am also part of a long term (25 year) study at the Cleveland Clinic.

Cardiac Rulkes of life per the CCF cardiology department:

1. Weight: Keep to the low side of the body mass index, for me about 180# (This one I fight with all the time)
2. Diet: Low fat, high fish content. (I have to consume 2 servings of Salmon or equivalent per 7 day period)
3. Butter/Margarine: Butter in moderation is better than regular margarine. the only "approved" butter substitute is SMART BALANCE).
4. Exercise: 4x per week, 30-45 minutes per session MINIMUM
5. Stress: Minimize (don't sweat the small stuff and manage the big stuff, nobody dies)
6. Meds: Toporol is your friend (was a generic but it was pulled) ACE inhibitors with asperin and statins have shown a "cleaning" effect in studies (I've had 2 caths to prove this one out)
7. Live life and enjoy yourself by doing anything in moderation!

My father had 3 heart attacks before age 37 (he died of the 3rd). Docs reviewed his file recently and said every condition he had could be successfully treated today but in the 1960's they were just guessing! The Clinic has stated they their cardiac knowledge doubles every 12-15 months (when you think about that it is pretty incredible).

I'm glad to be here and the docs tell me I will be for a while! Good luck with your testing!

mine was around 200 last sept and i was at that time as thin as i get after baby sitting a paving contractor all summer while inspecting a 2 million paving contract. i prolly am carrying another 15 lbs as of now as compared to sept.

i will get into the dog's fish oil tabs starting tonite. good info here. thanks

t

I appreciate that Peter. I will let you know the results when I get them.
My overall (good and bad) cholesterol hangs between 275 and 300. When I had a heart scan about 5 yrs. ago my arteries were as clean as a whistle. I'm told it doesn't get any better then that. The next test is going to be the ecocardiogram. That won't be until August. Thats the soonest they could get me in. Depending on the results of that, then I may do another threadmill test/ neuclear scan at the same time.