speedmom4 Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 My ds (12) has had chest pain for a couple of years. Initially took ds to the pediatrician but she wasn't too concerned based on his symptoms. The pain started getting more frequent so I started doing some internet research. Ds has a GI issue and his symptoms seemed to match up with esophageal spasms. Talked to the GI doc and he agreed. We switched ds's medication and the pain went away. Now he is having the pain again but does not have the associated GI issues. Along with the pain is a significant increase in heart rate. Then last night he had an "episode" and he said both arms felt like pins and needles. I got an appointment with the ped this morning. She heard an irregular resting heartbeat and felt he needed to be checked by a cardiologist. The ped called his issue SVT. Ds did have three unusual murmurs when he was young that had to be checked by a cadologist but everything was fine. They did an EKG and echo and his heart structurally looked perfect. My ds is a level 8 gymnast and other than his tummy issues is perfectly healthy. Anyone else have a child with these issues? I'm also fighting the urge to panic. I keep thinking about athletes who suddenly die only to find they had cardiac issues. TIA, Elise in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Just to reassure you that a cardiologist will do a full echo, EKG again probably, and maybe a halter monitor (record EKG when out of office). They will see if your DS has cardiac enlargement or function problems with echo and can tell tight away (that's the athlete sudden cardiac death cause usually). My understanding is they probably would not do much for SVT except monitor, unless he is having symptoms that concern a cardiologist. Also, many kids have childhood murmurs, which usually do not have a significance for health and a lot are normal. Again, an echo will show problems. Hope you get good answers soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maela Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 We had to rush my son to the hospital when he was six days old because his heartrate was over 300bpm (not exagerrating). They gave him something to start bringing it down, but also sent him to a bigger hospital a couple of hours away. We were there for three days in the NICU. The cardiologist there told us that if he was going to have a heart problem, this is the one to have because it's not usually a big deal. He had to be on medication (Propanolol and Digoxin) for the first 18 months of his life. He was born at a healthy weight and gained well that first week, but quickly dropped on the percentile chart down to 1% by 5 months old. I thought it had something to do with the medication (one of the side effects was nausea and loss of appetite). His cardiologist said that's rare in babies, and the doctor blamed it on my extended bfing. (even though he wasn't eating OR bfing much at one year old). Anyway, once we were allowed to start weaning him of the medication, he started eating and nursing more and gaining weight. Then he was fine until about 2.5 years old, when he started throwing up and complaining of stomach pains. He threw up at least a few times a week. I tried changing his diet, but it never seemed to help. Then we figured out that it was probably acid reflux and the doctor put him on Ranitidine. He slowly stopped throwing up so often, and hasn't for a good six month now, I think. However, in the last month he's started complaining of stomach pain again. I never thought the stomach pain and the SVT could be related... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmom4 Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 We had to rush my son to the hospital when he was six days old because his heartrate was over 300bpm (not exagerrating). They gave him something to start bringing it down, but also sent him to a bigger hospital a couple of hours away. We were there for three days in the NICU. The cardiologist there told us that if he was going to have a heart problem, this is the one to have because it's not usually a big deal. He had to be on medication (Propanolol and Digoxin) for the first 18 months of his life. He was born at a healthy weight and gained well that first week, but quickly dropped on the percentile chart down to 1% by 5 months old. I thought it had something to do with the medication (one of the side effects was nausea and loss of appetite). His cardiologist said that's rare in babies, and the doctor blamed it on my extended bfing. (even though he wasn't eating OR bfing much at one year old). Anyway, once we were allowed to start weaning him of the medication, he started eating and nursing more and gaining weight. Then he was fine until about 2.5 years old, when he started throwing up and complaining of stomach pains. He threw up at least a few times a week. I tried changing his diet, but it never seemed to help. Then we figured out that it was probably acid reflux and the doctor put him on Ranitidine. He slowly stopped throwing up so often, and hasn't for a good six month now, I think. However, in the last month he's started complaining of stomach pain again. I never thought the stomach pain and the SVT could be related... That's very interesting. My ds has had recurring stomach ulcers and finally the GI just thinks that ds is a high acid producer. Ds used to throw up regularly and that was our sign that he was on his way to another ulcer. Initially I thought the chest pain was esophageal spasms which can feel like having a heart attack (from what I've read). I still think that he has had the spasms but now I believe something cardiac related is going on. So far from what I've read SVT usually isn't life threatening. Of course as a mom thinking my child might have a cardiac issue scares me a little, especially since he's a competitive athlete. Thanks for sharing that info! Elise in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmom4 Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 Just to reassure you that a cardiologist will do a full echo, EKG again probably, and maybe a halter monitor (record EKG when out of office). They will see if your DS has cardiac enlargement or function problems with echo and can tell tight away (that's the athlete sudden cardiac death cause usually). My understanding is they probably would not do much for SVT except monitor, unless he is having symptoms that concern a cardiologist. Also, many kids have childhood murmurs, which usually do not have a significance for health and a lot are normal. Again, an echo will show problems. Hope you get good answers soon! Thank you! The pediatrician did mention that the cardiologist might want to do a heart monitor. Sounds a lot like an ambulatory EEG (older ds has epilepsy) so that should be easy. Elise in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maela Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 That's very interesting. My ds has had recurring stomach ulcers and finally the GI just thinks that ds is a high acid producer. Ds used to throw up regularly and that was our sign that he was on his way to another ulcer. Initially I thought the chest pain was esophageal spasms which can feel like having a heart attack (from what I've read). I still think that he has had the spasms but now I believe something cardiac related is going on. So far from what I've read SVT usually isn't life threatening. Of course as a mom thinking my child might have a cardiac issue scares me a little, especially since he's a competitive athlete. Thanks for sharing that info! Elise in NC I looked up ulcers in children, and now I'm wondering if that's what the issue is? I'm going to make an appointment with the pediatrician again. I'm so tired of my boy hurting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 I have SVT, but without pain - I can just feel that my heart suddenly starts racing. I was offered surgery or medication, but given that my symptoms are infrequent and not dangerous, I just live with it. Best wishes L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmom4 Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 I looked up ulcers in children, and now I'm wondering if that's what the issue is? I'm going to make an appointment with the pediatrician again. I'm so tired of my boy hurting! It took so long for us to finally convince the GI doc to scope ds but when he did ds had several large ulcers. His main symptom was nausea and vomiting especially at night around 10-11 pm. He just generally felt bad and would have lower GI pain as well. Now I recognize the early symptoms and can start meds immediately and ds starts feeling so much better in a short amount of time. I never knew how bad excessive acid could be in the GI tract. Hope your ds gets relief soon! In the meantime diet can help a lot. Look up foods that people should avoid with peptic ulcers. Fried foods and carbonation are the absolute worst for my ds so we totally avoid those. You may start to see that certain foods make him worse. Elise in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maela Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 It took so long for us to finally convince the GI doc to scope ds but when he did ds had several large ulcers. His main symptom was nausea and vomiting especially at night around 10-11 pm. He just generally felt bad and would have lower GI pain as well. Now I recognize the early symptoms and can start meds immediately and ds starts feeling so much better in a short amount of time. I never knew how bad excessive acid could be in the GI tract. Hope your ds gets relief soon! In the meantime diet can help a lot. Look up foods that people should avoid with peptic ulcers. Fried foods and carbonation are the absolute worst for my ds so we totally avoid those. You may start to see that certain foods make him worse. Elise in NC And we've been eating horribly this summer. :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 I'm also fighting the urge to panic. I keep thinking about athletes who suddenly die only to find they had cardiac issues. :grouphug: I know it's scary. Try to remind yourself that knowing is so.much.better than not knowing. If you know, you can make informed decisions after calculating the risks. Hopefully in your situation the risks will be minimal. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmom4 Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 :grouphug: I know it's scary. Try to remind yourself that knowing is so.much.better than not knowing. If you know, you can make informed decisions after calculating the risks. Hopefully in your situation the risks will be minimal. :grouphug: You're right. Thank you. Elise in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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