Holter monitor results - any opinions/experiences?

[Kassia]

I was experiencing a lot of discomfort from irregular heartbeats and went to see my primary doctor.  She did an EKG and said I was having PVCs and put me on a Holter monitor for 48 hours and I just got the results from her:

 

You do have quite a lot of irregular beats: In the course of the Holter monitor you have over 9000 extra ectopic beats, you also have a couple of runs of beats together called SVT. Because of the amount of extra beats that you have, I would like you to see cardiology for further assessment. sometimes these areas need to be treated or sometimes you need further testing such as echocardiograms or stress tests. Most of the time though they just treat with medication. If bothersome prior to your appointment I can start you on something, let me know . Otherwise we will see what cardiology thinks.

 

Any thoughts on this?  I don't really know if 9000 is a lot and I really don't want to go on meds.  Figures we met our out of pocket max this year and last year - looks like it might happen again next year (I'm having carpal tunnel surgery on both hands, too).  I'm completely ignorant about heart issues but I know my mother had problems and had to wear a monitor and she had at least one ministroke at a fairly young age.  We've been estranged so I don't know if she had more or if the stroke(s) were related to the heart issues.  

 

[hollyhock2]

I have PVCs and I have done the Holter monitor, but I really don't have much advice. I only have one or two per day, so 9000 sounds like a lot to me. However, I will say that when mine started, I was having them every minute or two and they have slowed down significantly since then.

So I am not much help but your post looked lonely and maybe this bump will result in better info from more experienced people!

[cintinative]

I'm not experienced with this but my mom who has ectopic and extra beats sometimes only has that about three times a day, and they considered that not worthy of treatment.

My friend's husband has PVCs so bad he has had to be hospitalized and he is on medication. I would go see a cardiologist as recommended. He/she will know if you need medication and/or some type of longer term monitor. 

[eagleynne]

Yes, 9000 is a lot. Like, a lot a lot. You absolutely need further testing to try to figure out what is causing this, you should push to get into a cardiologist asap. Did your PCP do any blood chemistry testing? If so, what were you're electrolytes like? PVCs can be caused by wonky electrolytes, and if that's the cause it can be a relatively easy fix. If it's not it would be good to know that before seeing a cardiologist. If it's going to be a long wait to get into a cardiologist I would recommend going on whatever meds you PCP recommends.

[prairiewindmomma]

Girl, get thee to a cardiologist. 

[Kassia]

33 minutes ago, eagleynne said:

Yes, 9000 is a lot. Like, a lot a lot. You absolutely need further testing to try to figure out what is causing this, you should push to get into a cardiologist asap. Did your PCP do any blood chemistry testing? If so, what were you're electrolytes like? PVCs can be caused by wonky electrolytes, and if that's the cause it can be a relatively easy fix. If it's not it would be good to know that before seeing a cardiologist. If it's going to be a long wait to get into a cardiologist I would recommend going on whatever meds you PCP recommends.

 

She ran some blood tests.  Everything came back normal except for Bicarbonate, BUN, and RDW-CV (those were all high).  I don't really know what any of that means.  Potassium and sodium were both good.

I will call a cardiologist first thing in the morning.  Thank you!  

[Jean in Newcastle]

Go to a cardiologist. Don’t rule out meds. They can be very helpful and the heart is nothing to mess with. 

[Jilly]

I have SVT and PVCs. You need to see the cardiologist and get on a heart monitor for a longer period of time. Usually the 48 hour one is just a starting off point and with the amount you are having they will no doubt follow up with various tests. Normally for PVCs that are bothersome they will treat with beta blockers. With SVT they can do beta blockers or an ablation. I am on medication and find it extremely helpful. For some though they prefer the ablation. 

[Kassia]

Thank you!  I already have low blood pressure so I am concerned about meds making it worse.  And I always worry about weight gain.  I will call for a cardiologist appt. this morning.  

[eagleynne]

12 hours ago, Kassia said:

 

She ran some blood tests.  Everything came back normal except for Bicarbonate, BUN, and RDW-CV (those were all high).  I don't really know what any of that means.  Potassium and sodium were both good.

I will call a cardiologist first thing in the morning.  Thank you!  

A high bicarbonate indicates that your blood is too alkaline. Bicarb is a form of CO2 that is produced in your body as part of its normal operation. Typically most of the bicarb produced is exhaled out through the lungs during expiration, while the rest is removed by the kidneys. A high bicarb level can indicate that some type of COPD lung issue present, or that the kidneys aren't working quite right. The Blood Urea Nitrogen test looks at how much nitrogen from the waste product urea is in your blood. A high BUN can indicate that the kidneys aren't working properly.

But, and this is a big but, both of these tests are very sensitive to being dehydrated. So while it can show that there may be a kidney issue (among other things) you'd need repeat labs done under better controlled circumstances to be sure it wasn't just dehydration at the time of testing. Additionally, some medications can cause these values to be off as well. Loop diuretics, for example, can make the bicarb too high.

The RDW-CV test measures the size variability of the red blood cells. A high number is typically seen with anemia. You'd need the actual numbers plus the MCV (mean corpuscular volume) number to make much sense of it though. Again, this is a test that can be affected to some extent by dehydration, though not a much as the other two. Unless your values were really high I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I hope this helps a little. I know how frustrating/frightening heart issues can be, but hopefully you'll be able to see a cardiologist soon who will shed some light on things.

[Kassia]

30 minutes ago, eagleynne said:

A high bicarbonate indicates that your blood is too alkaline. Bicarb is a form of CO2 that is produced in your body as part of its normal operation. Typically most of the bicarb produced is exhaled out through the lungs during expiration, while the rest is removed by the kidneys. A high bicarb level can indicate that some type of COPD lung issue present, or that the kidneys aren't working quite right. The Blood Urea Nitrogen test looks at how much nitrogen from the waste product urea is in your blood. A high BUN can indicate that the kidneys aren't working properly.

But, and this is a big but, both of these tests are very sensitive to being dehydrated. So while it can show that there may be a kidney issue (among other things) you'd need repeat labs done under better controlled circumstances to be sure it wasn't just dehydration at the time of testing. Additionally, some medications can cause these values to be off as well. Loop diuretics, for example, can make the bicarb too high.

The RDW-CV test measures the size variability of the red blood cells. A high number is typically seen with anemia. You'd need the actual numbers plus the MCV (mean corpuscular volume) number to make much sense of it though. Again, this is a test that can be affected to some extent by dehydration, though not a much as the other two. Unless your values were really high I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I hope this helps a little. I know how frustrating/frightening heart issues can be, but hopefully you'll be able to see a cardiologist soon who will shed some light on things.

 

Thank you so much!  This is very helpful information.  I definitely don't have any problems with dehydration.  Are there any other labs for kidney issues that I should be looking at?  I've had several health issues in the last year and have had a lot of blood work done.  

 

[eagleynne]

4 minutes ago, Kassia said:

 

Thank you so much!  This is very helpful information.  I definitely don't have any problems with dehydration.  Are there any other labs for kidney issues that I should be looking at?  I've had several health issues in the last year and have had a lot of blood work done.  

 

Well, there is the ACR (albumin to Creatinine Ratio), aka a urinalysis, which is an urine test that looks for the protein albumin in the urine. Having albumin in the urine can be a sign that the kidneys aren't filtering properly.

There is the Creatinine blood test which measures the amount of creatinine in the blood. Creatinine comes from the muscles and is filtered out of the blood by the kidneys. An elevated creatinine shows that the kidneys aren't working well enough. The creatinine value is often used in a math formula to come up with the GFR (Glomerular Filtration Rate) which tells the doctor how well the kidneys are working overall.

Those are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head, but really, unless your numbers are really high I wouldn't get too worked up over one set of lab tests. I would make sure to point them out to the cardiologist because the kidneys can effect the heart and vice versa.

[Kassia]

53 minutes ago, eagleynne said:

Well, there is the ACR (albumin to Creatinine Ratio), aka a urinalysis, which is an urine test that looks for the protein albumin in the urine. Having albumin in the urine can be a sign that the kidneys aren't filtering properly.

There is the Creatinine blood test which measures the amount of creatinine in the blood. Creatinine comes from the muscles and is filtered out of the blood by the kidneys. An elevated creatinine shows that the kidneys aren't working well enough. The creatinine value is often used in a math formula to come up with the GFR (Glomerular Filtration Rate) which tells the doctor how well the kidneys are working overall.

Those are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head, but really, unless your numbers are really high I wouldn't get too worked up over one set of lab tests. I would make sure to point them out to the cardiologist because the kidneys can effect the heart and vice versa.

 

Thanks so much!  I know creatinine and GFR were both tested and results were normal.  

[Targhee]

I have PVCs, did Holter Monitoring, had an echocardiogram, and in the end they said I didn’t need any treatment. Sorry I don’t remember my numbers, but just maybe giving an optimistic outlook that doing nothing is an option too. Oh, that was 20 years ago and I haven’t had any issues.