Guest guest Posted March 29, 2004 Report Share Posted March 29, 2004 Thank you ....I did very well not to panic last night. I talked myself out of it. I've had this before...yet never asked anyone about it. I will try those steps and let you know what happens. I was diagnosed with MVP back about 7 years ago. The echo ekg confirmed this...yet when I had been on Armour for about one year the doc wanted to re-check and it was gone!! I should have all those tests run again. I have my reg doc appt coming up soon...and I'll have him check it all out. Once when this happened...I couldn't breath at all..hubby took me to E.R. that was terrible...I can't tell you...but after looking back I think I had taken too much Armour. They gave me Ativan at the E.R. and sent me home...they said I was fine. thank you so much for your help....I will keep you posted. Hugs..PattiSue Re: Question! SOunds like a heart palpitation PattiSue. I have been woken up by these many times, but only 3x that I can remember did I wake up gasping for air. I mean, clutching my throat & gasping for air. It felt like I had stopped breathing. I have also read that sleep apnea is fairly common with thyroid disease. Do you snore? Are your meds too high? Best thing to do if you have a heart palpitation is NOT to panic. It's so easy to say, but resist freaking out. If you haven't read an earlier post of mine that I posted for , then here's what has helped me tremendously: go to the sink and splash your face with icy cold water for as long as you can stand it. Get back into bed and get your feet elevated. Feel along the side of your throat for a pulse. You will locate the carotid artery there. Gently massage it with a rapid motion for 20-30 seconds. This should stop the palpitation dead in it's tracks. Several of these tips were given to my by my cardiologist years ago, but I tried them seperately and got no relief. WHen I applied it in this series, it worked like a charm. The biggest key factor is to remain calm. Have you been tested for Mitral Valve Prolapse? I guess if you have never experienced this before, then you would not have had a specialist look for it. Palpitations can occur in healthy folk too, however. SOmetimes an overload of stress, caffeine, sugar, alcohol, cigarettes can stimulate the heart into these rhythms. If you start experiencing more of them and more frequently, then I would have your heart checked out. I am sure it is nothing to worry about . > I was sound asleep and I woke up with a start...feeling very panicky and > slightly gasping for breath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 29, 2004 Report Share Posted March 29, 2004 About MVP: My son (now 22) had heart surgery at 4 1/2 months old. He has been checked by the Birmingham (AL, USA) doctors all along since then, sometimes annually sometimes three or four years between checks. Just recently the family practice doc said he had MVP. We already had a check-up scheduled w/B'ham docs so I put that on my list of questions. When we went, (two weeks ago), the doc was doing an ultra sound of the heart and the doc showed us the valve that prolapses. It' was not prolapsing. He said he has a pet peeve with docs that diagnose MVP based on the sounds comming through a stethoscope ( isn't EKG base on sounds also? He didn't say anything about EKG). He showed us where Will's valve was kind of going back, but said it's not a real prolapse unless it prolapses back past the hinge point. Will's was not. Anyway, sometime's you have that sound, but it's not prolapsing enough to really be classified as a prolapse. The only way to really tell is to do an ultrasound. He said the reason it bothers him is that when a doc doesn't have any other answer for the sound they'll say, " Oh, you have a MVP " then it goes on your record and may effect your being able to get insurance, or make your rates higher. I will ask about diagnosing it with an EKG on Friday. They have ordered a cardiac MRI as he is currently having some issues. We're praying that it is nothing, but will not know until they do the test and we see the doc. Since we have to drive to B'ham (4 hours) the doc will see us right after the tests. Just thought you might like to know this. Blessings, Debbie K. Re: Re: Question! Thank you ....I did very well not to panic last night. I talked myself out of it. I've had this before...yet never asked anyone about it. I will try those steps and let you know what happens. I was diagnosed with MVP back about 7 years ago. The echo ekg confirmed this...yet when I had been on Armour for about one year the doc wanted to re-check and it was gone!! I should have all those tests run again. I have my reg doc appt coming up soon...and I'll have him check it all out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 It was late last night, brain fog was bad ... I should have remembered that about EKG. Anyway, PattiSue was saying that the EKG detected a prolapse and from what the specialist told me, the only way to dianose that for sure is with the ultrasouond. I will ask the doc if the EKG can detect this when we see him Friday. But I think the answer will be " no " as he had Will's EKG right there in front of him also. Thanks for the well wishes for my son. From xrays and chest MRI done locally, the local docs think the aorta is enlarged due to a kink which is a result of surgery done when he was a baby (repair of aortic coarctation). The B'ham doc comes down here monthly and we saw him here. His (meaning the docs machine) ultrasound showed nothing, but with the other prior tests showing an enlaragment, the doc wants us to go up there for the special cardiac MRI just to be sure. I am not one to worry (dh thinks I'm crazy sometimes) until I know there's something to worry about. I've been wondering lately if it's b/c of the hypo apathy that was discussed in earlier threads. On the other hand, I am a little more worried this time, although I'm not letting the family see it. I wonder if it's perhaps the anxiety that many of you have been posting about trying to creep in on me. I don't worry much b/c I keep remembering how well he did as a baby and the little " tiny " miracles he had then (plus a couple more close calls he had while growing up) and am trusting God to continue the work he has begun. (Sorry, if this sounds prosytizing, I really am not, just trying to let ya'll know how I feel.) If there is a problem, these are amoung the best docs in world. You see people from all over the world who have come there for heart surgery. So he couldn't be in better hands. Anyway, I guess we hypo's have the best or worst of both worlds. Don't worry b/c we're apathetic which means we can handle life without going all to pieces, but on the other hand do not get concerned about things that should concern us. Or, worry constantly about things b/c of the anxiety, but on the other hand at least we're able to show empathy. It's a crazy, confusing, thing! Blessings Debbie K. -----Original Message----- From: whitecap89 Sent: Monday, March 29, 2004 10:22 PM Just wanted to let you know that an EKG isn't about heart sounds but is a tracing (on paper) of the electrical activity of the heart. Am not 100% sure but I don't think an EKG would " show " MVP. Structural changes or differences are normally based on an ultrasound of the heart (echocardiogram.) > Debbie K. > > -----Original Message----- > From: VITO LABELLARTE [mailto:vp.labellarte@w...] pens. > I was diagnosed with MVP back about 7 years ago. The echo ekg confirmed > this...yet when I had been on Armour for about one year the doc wanted > to re-check and it was gone!! I should have all those tests run again. > I have my reg doc appt coming up soon...and I'll have him check it all > out. > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 Dear Debbie, An Echo EKG is what they use to show MVP....that is the testing that I had and I saw it clearly myself the first time. The little flap flutters and stays open...and blood rushes through and backs up. A reg EKG won't show anything...but the Echo EKG will Hugs...PattiSue Re: Re: Question! > > > Thank you ....I did very well not to panic last night. I talked > myself out of it. I've had this before...yet never asked anyone about > it. I will try those steps and let you know what happens. > I was diagnosed with MVP back about 7 years ago. The echo ekg confirmed > this...yet when I had been on Armour for about one year the doc wanted > to re-check and it was gone!! I should have all those tests run again. > I have my reg doc appt coming up soon...and I'll have him check it all > out. > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 Oh, I see. Still have questions for the doc. Blessings, Debbie K. Re: Re: Question! Dear Debbie, An Echo EKG is what they use to show MVP....that is the testing that I had and I saw it clearly myself the first time. The little flap flutters and stays open...and blood rushes through and backs up. A reg EKG won't show anything...but the Echo EKG will Hugs...PattiSue Re: Question! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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