Tachybrady syndrome / sinus node dysfunction ?!

[eggsontoast5]

Very niche I know! Just wondered if anyone on here also had sinus node dysfunction/ tachybrady syndrome or if anyone has any experience with it? I was told recently I had it but don’t know anyone else with it so just thought I’d try on here! I was diagnosed after having episodes of feeling rubbish, the doctor didn’t really explain much about it so I sort of had to read up about it myself. Just don’t know anyone else with it!

Did you see a cardiologist or just a GP?

Cardiologist!

Try posting on the British Heart Foundation. Lots of very knowledgeable and helpful people. Plus you can also contact the bhf nurse helpline for advice, open until 3 today. They are really good.
https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-helpline

https://healthunlocked.com/bhf/posts

I am shocked that a cardiologist didnt explain it to you a bit more. Have they suggested any treatment?

Here is my attempt at an explanation for you
Your heart consists of plumbing (the arteries and veins) and electrics (the nodes and the heart beats)
You have a problem with the electrics of your heart.
To do a proper beat the node makes an electrical charge and sends it in a wave through your heart muscle .. this makes the heart muscle clench and that pushes the blood through the arteries to where it needs to go.

Its very precise and needs to happen in a very specific way so the blood gets pushed in the correct direction
Sometimes the node can have a ‘spasm’ and forget to charge for a beat or two, which means that your heart rate gets very slow (bradycardia)
Sometimes the node can send the charge out the wrong way which means that your heart cant do a proper beat and so it flutters ineffectually (atrial fibrillation) or it confuses itself and goes really fast (tachycardia)
All of these can mean the heart cant push blood around properly so you end up feeling rubbish and may even faint

It is possible that bradycardia can get so slow that its dangerous and the treatment for that is a pacemaker. Tachycardia/atrial fibrillation can be treated with drugs, but they would usually slow the heart down, which is a problem if you sometimes go into bradycardia anyway.

This is something that needs careful treatment and ongoing oversight by the cardiology team, are you going back for a followup and do you have a treatment plan?

wow thank you so much for explaining it all! Really grateful to you for taking the time to do that.

I have several other arythmias anyway so was under cardiology for that. I was having episodes where my heart would drop down to 30 and hang around in the 30s for a bit. It happened while in hospital and the doctor (who wasn’t my normal cardiologist) asked if had ever been told about my heart going too slow. I said I had briefly been told I might have tachybrady because it was suggested before but not diagnosed, he nodded and said yeah that’s it, it’s also called sinus nose dysfunction. He said my sinus node was having episodes where it was pausing and not sending impulses. He said usually it’s elderly people who get it but it can happen in young people too. I wasn’t told it needed any treatment because I don’t have symptoms when it happens x

That’s really helpful, thank you!

If you get into the 30s for more than a couple of minutes, you need to actively push for more studies on your heart to understand exactly why and how the electrical charge is going wrong. It can get progressively worse over time and put you at risk of bigger problems. When do you next see your cardiologist?

I have sinus tachycardia and dysautonomia. Different, but some similar symptoms. I'm very faint with it and sometimes suddenly unable to stand up or pass out. I tried one medication, but they took me off it for side effects, no follow-up treatment. It mostly makes me breathless, exhausted, nauseous, and restricts movement.

@eggsontoast5I have it. Heart rate has been slow for ages. S Started to get bad symptoms but didn’t realise what it was. Sinus node then pretty much failed completely.