Atrial Fibrillation what is it? I went to the ER last week with a racing heart doc said my EKG was fine?

April 22nd, 2008 | Posted in atrial contractions   Comments Off
chickenorfish asked:

Someone told me I may be in atrial fibrillation. My heart did feel funny but was in a regular rythm. My blood work came back elevated (a BNP blood test) which they said was for heart failure but my cardio was not concerned because the CT, chest x-ray, ekg and echo was normal.

Question posted courtesy of: Arthur
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Reason for early induction?

April 20th, 2008 | Posted in atrial contractions   Comments Off
Crystal asked:

Just so you know, I am just shy of 36 weeks. My daughter has tachycardia (elevated heart rate) and Premature Atrial Contractions. When she comes out they’ll do an EKG to rule out any other heart abnormalities and treat those if they haven’t cleared up. Also, I am borderline with Gestational Diabetes (failed the first test and passed the second) and I have been dilated to a three for several weeks, now I am almost a four. Four centimeters is considered active labor right? Also, she is doing very well, she is “ripe” and at a healthy birth weight already. My doctor said something about maybe giving me an early induction. Not soon, I would be 37 or 38 weeks when they did it, but he said that certain circumstances make baby coming out a little early a better way to go. Would those circumstances be any of those? Is there a reason to induce early? I want her out of me and my mom will be visiting then and I want her here for the birth, I was just wondering why he might have brought it up.

Question posted courtesy of: Minnie
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Answers to why it feels like my heart skips a beat then makes me cough?

April 14th, 2008 | Posted in atrial contractions   Comments Off
BoostLikeWoa asked:

I have suffered from what you are talking about. I am a healthy 25 year old female and I have been through every battery of test you can imagine on my heart because of this. I used to feel like my heart stopped beating for a second and I would have to cough. It completely freaked me out and my husband and I had many a trip to the ER. Like a previous post, I wore a holter monitor, but felt that the irregular beat didn’t occur when I wore it. After all my tests and meeting with a cardiologist, I was diagnosed with having Premature atrial heart contractions. It is completely normal. Everyone gets them. It isn’t an extra beat, it is a “skipped” beat. Everyone has them but only about 50% of people can actually feel them when they happen. My cardiologist said no one knows why some people are more sensitive to feeling them and some others are not. She said I could take medication to keep them from happening, but the side effects wouldn’t be worth it. They don’t change your life expectancy and are not a risk. Some people get them only when they are stressed and some people get them every other heartbeat. It is sort of like your heart is re-seting itself, like an internal pace maker. It makes you feel like your heart skips a beat or has an extra beat and may make you cough as a reflex. Working out helps as does keeping stress levels and caffeine consumption down. I went for a long time after without having (or feeling) them until I got pregnant with my second child. My recommendation is to ask your doctor about it. It has given me a world of comfort because once you start having them and they scare you, the anxiety that is derived from having one makes you more likely to experience more of them. I hope this helps and gives you something to discuss with your respective doctors.

Question posted courtesy of: Fred
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Ectopic Atrial Rhythm??

April 12th, 2008 | Posted in atrial contractions   Comments Off
sisters 4 asked:

I had an EKG done this morning and was diagnosed with Ectopic Atrial Rhythm i’m totally lost and confused after hearing i needed an ablation procedure for this. Please help me by explaining this condition in plain english.

Question posted courtesy of: Calvin
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The doctor says I won’t die BUT?

April 9th, 2008 | Posted in atrial contractions   Comments Off
Heather m asked:

I experience Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia. My heart rate has been over 300 BPM, which only stops when they give me a shot in an IV of adenosine. They say it cannot kill me because it is atrial, and they always send me home the same day. It has happened 5x since I was 19 (I’m pushing 31 now). They suggest a cardiac ablation, which can kill me. Are the docs right? It doesn’t seem possible that a heart can beat that fast for too long with out giving up on you.

Question posted courtesy of: Jesus
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The atrioventricular valves open when:?

April 9th, 2008 | Posted in atrial contractions   Comments Off
themotivatedone asked:

a) chordae tendineae pull them open due to papillary muscle contraction
b) the AV node stimulates them to do so
c) ventricular pressure falls below atrial pressure
d) atrial pressure falls below ventricular pressure

Question posted courtesy of: Denise
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What is the difference between sinus tachycardia and atrial tachycardia?

April 7th, 2008 | Posted in atrial contractions   Comments Off
yc asked:

in the EKG strip?

Question posted courtesy of: Bobby
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The T wave on an ECG tracing represents?

April 2nd, 2008 | Posted in atrial contractions   Comments Off
book worm asked:

a) atrial depolarization
b) atrial repolarization
c) ventricular depolarization
d)ventricular repolarization
e) ventricular contraction

i think its d) ventricular repolarization but I’m not sure. If I’m wrong, can you correct me and tell me why? THANKS!

Question posted courtesy of: Lonnie

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is there a cardiologist in the house?

April 2nd, 2008 | Posted in atrial contractions   Comments Off
Amanda asked:

My docter told me i have an irregular heart beat. He said i have “premature atrial contractions”. What exactly does this mean? A friend told me to avoid stimulants, is she right?

info would be much appreciated!

Question posted courtesy of: Jeffery

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Atrial Bigeminy?

March 31st, 2008 | Posted in atrial contractions   Comments Off
MelSa asked:

I had an atrial bigeminy last night, it went like this: normal, normal, skip, normal, skip, normal, skip, normal, skip, normal, skip, normal, normal, normal and it remained normal but I was really scared! My doc put me on a Holter, did and Echo and an ECG and a stress test and said that i have Premature Atrial Contractions. Is this bigeminy serious???

Question posted courtesy of: Scott
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