quote:

Originally posted by C.A. Beck:
Simple medical 101 here:
Tachycardia is 100 -150 bpm, supraventricular tachycardia is 150 bpm and up.
As an RN, I don't know why the doc would say "it's not tachycardia if it's a gradual onset." Having worked and resided (time as a pt in - house) in a tele unit, what defined the arrhythmia was its duration, not the way of onset or returning to a normal beat. You can have "runs" of any type of arrhythmia, and that is what the techs/docs are concerned with, in my experience, as then they are able to zero in on what part of the heart is malfunctioning - different parts of the heart generate different "paces" of beats, then different rhythms in a set can pinpoint, say, a heart conduction blockage.
Outside of cardiac 101; if I have any kind of episode with BP (have a pacemaker so those days are not an issue), I pull off the road and get on the phone with either someone that can chat with me until... or 911 if needed. Half the time in my neck of the woods, somebody will recognize my notorious granny wagon and stop to check. It's better to be safe, and 911 people will heartily agree with that. Pun intended. C.

quote:

Originally posted by trebleclef:
I have been diagnosed with POTS, Inappropriate sinus Tach, atrial fibrillation and SVT). I no longer drive. Although my medication does help limit my episodes, I still have many near syncope/syncope episodes. These are not always related to obvious heartrate/bp issues but probably are related to other autonomic problems that have evolved. Sometimes, the episodes can definitely be linked to a heart issue.

My unscientific way of determining what type of arrythmia is causing my symptoms is this:
If it's a POTS or orthostatic intolerance episode, I am usually having a very fast, very quick heartrate jump upon position change or standing (not always sitting to standing but can happen with any position change with me - weird). Remember, you don't have to have a blood pressure plummet to have POTS. POTS is defined as an increase in heartrate of 30 beats or more within 10 minutes of standing. Many people do experience the hypotension associated with it, but many do not. I fall in the middle.

If it's an inappropriate sinus tach episode, I can be just sitting in the chair watching tv, doing nothing or it can happen when I'm already up for awhile (this one can be hard to differentiate with POTS).

For SVT, my heartrate is usually above 170 (per my Dr.).

AFib is usually obvious because my heart has no rhythm.

An ablation was attempted on me but there were too many affected circuits to ablate. My understanding is that it is possible to isolate the circuits that are causing the IST or SVT or afib and fix that but it is extremely difficult to do if you also have POTS because POTS is a brain issue where the others are electrical issues. My cardiologist has said that while he may at some point be able to repair the IST/SVT, POTS cannot be ablated and ablation on the other arrythmias may actually make the POTS worse. So, there are no guarantees and for now we are not pursuing that option.

I have given up trying to figure out if the anxiety I feel at times is truly anxiety or POTS. It's like trying to figure which came first, the chicken or the egg. When driving, I think the overstimulation comes into play that affects our autonomic issues (similar to what happens while shopping). For me, I also have blood pooling issues while sitting.

Anyway, that's my two cents and experience.

quote:

Originally posted by trebleclef:
Hi Shirley -

I am from the state of Delaware, not Delaware, Ohio. I wish I was in Ohio and could see Dr. Grubb myself

It's very confusing dealing with all the strange nuances of dysautonomia. I try to sift through it all the best I can. I do have much faith in my Dr. and feel fortunate to have found him. Having said that, they all have their own way of explaining things and sometimes assume we know and understand all they do.