Should I trust the doctor?

Hey everyone! (Eep! Prepare for a LONG post hehe)

My name is Emma, I'm 18 and currently 8 months pregnant. I thought i'de make a post here and hopfuly get some useful advise as i'm extreamly frightened and confused!!

Basicly since I was 14 i've had a concern about my heart. It beats extreamly hard alot of the time, and really fast some of the time. If I even attempt to walk up stairs I have to stop at the top and sit down due to shortness of breath, Tight cheast and a fast/hard beating heart, At night I find it almost impossible to lay of my left side. Also I find every now and again it would feel like someone was pressing down on my chest, there would be one large painful heartbeat then my heart would beat in a funny sort of way for about an hour after that. All this is combined with extream dizzyness, random fainting, sharpe chest pain, extreamly pale skin, nausea, vomiting, aching left arm and left side of my neck, unfocused eyes and pounding head aches As you can imagine this has made most day to day tasks very hard to do. As i'm about to be a mummy I wanted to get it all sorted! Also because it all seemed to get way worse during my pregnancy and I was rushed by ambulence due to an extream episode of all my symptoms

Also I had a 24 hour holter trace monitor done and these are the results:

Maximum Heart Rate: 151 bpm
Minimum heart rate: 59 bpm
Avarage: 94 bpm
Beats In tachycardia: 50250 (more that 100 bpm)
3 Isolated ventriculars

Interpretation: THIS RECORDING WAS IN SINUS RHYTHM WITH EPISODES OF SINUS ARRHYTHMIA AND SHORT SINUS PAUSED NOTED. 38% OF THE RECORDING WAS NOTED TO BE IN TACHYCARDIA. 3 PREMATURE VENTRICULAR CONTRACTIONS WERE RECORDED AS MULTIFORM ISOLATED BEATS.
(On this day, I had no panic attacks or anything of the kind, Infact this was a really good day for me)


Because of my pregnancy I was refared by ante-natal to thier cardiologist. Now I don't like to be mean about anyone but this man was horrible. He was cold and rather scarey. He was more interested at the fact that I didn't work at the moment than my heart problems. He would ask me questions and when i tried to answer them he would roll his eyes at my responces and rephrase them for me. When I explained (or tried too) that I have a history of insombnia and panic attacks (of which i was dignosed with when i was 4 years old!) He put all my problems down to that had a quick listen to my heart then sent me home after just 15 mins. 3 weeks later my heart went odd and I collapesed at one of my routine ante-natal check ups and was sent in to see my local GP. He did a number of small tests and instantly detected a small murmur but told me he wasn't happy that that was the cause of all my problems so I was sent back to the cardiologist who seemed quite annoyed at this, and when I told him about my gps finding of the murmur he got even more annoyed, I felt I had upset his "God complex" alittle. He told me my fast heart was somthing everyone in the world had and that my dizzyness had nothing to do with it, my heart was fine, that they at cardiology cant help me.

The reason I'm posting here is because I know my panic attacks, i've suffered with them as long as I can remember and find them easy to control now days. I can tell the difference from something thats been happening to my body for more than 14 years and whats been happening recently. I am not paniced by my symptoms when they happen, Just sore weak and tired. I guess i'm just tired of living like this with no answers I would just love to know if anyone else has been suffering with anything like this or has any advise for me.

Sorry if this post seems alittle daunting. Thanks for reading

Emzie

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A great big donkey!

First, I'd personally NOT go back to the cardiologist, report him to the director of the facility and find a university cardiologist with a brain and better manners. Two, all doctors think women (under age 55) who come in with heart problems are hypochondriacs or neurotic anyway. So you have had anxiety attacks, that does not mean your heart issues don't warrant a look. I'm going through the wierd beating problems too and it is not fun. It does make me edgy/agitated. That does not make you some neurotic little girl who likes to bug doctors for a living. It really angers me when they say things like you're too young or treat you nasty. I went to the ER 3 times in a row with that type of attitude, sent me home with the wrong meds that would have killed me and I had pericarditis (inflammation of heart lining) that could have killed me. Thankfully, I didn't listen and went to a different hospital. I had a female friend die at my age (37) from heart/stroke problems and I have a male friend age 50 with history of axiety attacks that by the time they actually believed him (okay, I yelled at the ER doctors that I would sue) the entire back of his heart was dead and needed 4 stents to open up the front. So it may be unlikely, but it is possible that young women and those with anxiety can have serious heart problems too.

From my reading, your symptoms and results thus far are definitely a cause for futher studies. Have the doctors ordered either a stress test or echocardiogram (ECG)? Honestly, there could be a number of things that could cause these findings and your symptoms, some are serious and some are not. Unfortunately, you cannot tell without taking a good look at the heart. Assuming this could be ventricle tachycardia, I would err on the side of caution as this could become a concern. Can your regular doctor order an ECG? I feel that would be the best route to take. Perhaps explain to the dr. about the donkey cardiologist and show the dr. the test results. I have a feeling he/she may understand your concern and need for futher testing.

If possible, the testing should be done before you go into labor (as complications sometimes arise during labor) and the doctors need to know what they are dealing with. The good news is you have been living with this for a while and it may be a problem but may not be a big problem. The bad news is you don't know either way and an expecting mom should not experience this kind of fear when you are pregnant. No matter what it is, it is in your best interest to find out the cause. As soon as possible, please. You and the baby are in my prayers - Kristin

Hey everyone.

Thank you so much for your kind words, Its honestly a breath of freash air not to feel like im completly nuts! Saddly, no one has ordered any tests other than a quick listen to my chest and a 24 holter trace monitor done 3 motnhs ago, which wasn't explained to me at all. I was told by one docter there were some causes for concern, then by the "Donkey" docter that it was perfectly normal! It said things like "Premature ventricular contractions" Apprently I had 3 of those that day, and I have no idea what they mean (if anyone can explain! please do) *sighs* It would just be nice to know whats happening with my body for once!!

Thanks again! really You all have been bundles of help!

Thank you Hopes for sharing your knowledge

Emma, Welcome to healing well forum we are most happy to have you join us