I'm in A&E - heart issues - any doctors here please?

[didntlikethis]

What should I expect to happen? Any advice from medics or anyone who's experienced this please?

I came into A&E earlier with tachycardia (HR up to 170.at rest) which lasted about an hour - really, really scary, thought I was having a heart attack.

I previously had benign ectopic heartbeats but this was something else entirely and I have some chest pain with it. Have had Covid and another virus recently.

Not all the bloods are back yet but the rapid high HR has settled (although ectopics have ramped up since this episode).and they're talking about sending me home with Beta Blockers.

I'm wondering if they're talking about sending me home because the hospital is crammed rather than keeping me here for monitoring until the arrhythmias settle down

Or am I being overly concerned? I'm female and early 60's. Thanks for any advice.

Not a doctor or medical professional but I hope all goes well and you feel better soon good luck

Were you ever offered medication before this episode?

Thank you! 😊

No, the ectopics and my medical history didn't warrant it.

I am usually active, fit and relatively healthy, cardiologist told me the ectopics were just one of those things and I'd probably feel tired on medication and ask to come off it

I take a very low dose of beta blocker as I had slight tachycardia (never as high as 170) related to a thyroid condition. My dose is not even considered a therapeutic dose it is that low but I notice when I don’t have it.

I would take the medication on offer. See a cardiologist again. Ectopics are common but a HR of 170 is not good.

Hope you feel better soon.

Assuming you’ve had an ECG , that would tell if you’d had an infarction . If it’s just ectopics and tachycardia , unless it’s AF and they feel you need treatment there would be little point in staying in . My daughter , who is mid 20s , had severe ectopics , originally picked up when she went to the GP for being short of breath and had tachycardia at 180 bpm , bigeminy and trigeminy . She had an ECG at the GP and was sent home on propanolol . She has now seen 2 cardiologists , has reduced the propanolol ( we did that ourselves with GP approval) and has barely any ectopics .Hope you feel better soon .

Thank you for all your comments and reassurance. I am on my way home now and have been referred to the acute unit where I'll have an appointment in the next few days.

No medication because my resting HR goes down as low as 43 at night so beta blockers could be dangerous.

The bloods were all perfect, no indication of a heart attack or thyroid issues.

I'm still a bit spooked - they said to go back to A&E if I have another episode, fingers crossed for me please everyone! 🙏

I had this today! Well it went up to 140 for a couple of minutes only . Was high for 10 mins . I've had it on and off since an infection in the summer. I've been told to go to AE if it doesn't go within 15 mins . Initial ecg & bloods all ok after initial bloods in sept plus I had a holter which didn't show anything worrying. It's still happening though so I'm going to phone the GP tomorrow. It's a horrible feeling . Keep us updated .

Just to say covid and it's lasting affects can increase your heart rate.

What have they said about your resting heart rate at night as mine drops into the thirties at night, never had anything done about it.

That's interesting, thanks for sharing. I've had a number of infections this year, which is unusual for me. I suspect they have all contributed. I hope it subsides for you (and me!)

I have sinus tachycardia. Without medication my HR goes up to 150/160 and takes ages to come down. I also get lots of ectopics. I've been fully checked out and they haven't found anything wrong. So it's just a diagnosis of inappropriate sinus tachycardia and low dose betablockers. I feel a lot better on the beta blockers. Have tried coming off them and can't deal with the high HR.

The resting HR at night is the reason they didn't recommend beta blockers - it could lower my BP too, which is already on the lowish side. Your resting HR is even lower than mine!

My blood pressure is also very low.

Thanks, that's worth knowing. I feel very shaky now I am home, but think that's just the aftermath.

Yes you'll have had a big adrenaline response and that can take a while to wear off. I'd suggest watching some comfort TV (I like friends!) and just giving yourself some time to recover from the experience. It won't be long until you see the specialists and can hopefully get some answers.

Heart things are scary but it's highly likely to be something similar to what I have and while it is scary and really uncomfortable it isn't dangerous at all. I know that's easier said than done!

Every time I’ve had Covid I’ve had about 4-6 weeks of 50-100 ectopic beats a day. So bizarre. The tachycardia is a new one on me though. Hope you’re ok OP.

Thank you! That's very reassuring. 😊

Useful to know this too! Ironically it's possible that the Astrazeneca jab is what might have started the ectopic beats originally (according to the cardiologist).

I felt rubbish after my episode today too OP..took a while to feel normal.As @Wurlywurly said, it's the adrenaline pumping through .

It's so helpful to hear from others who have knowledge or experience of this, thank you again.

I'm still feeling jittery and (tmi alert) needing to poo a lot 😮 Google tells me that's another after-effect.
Had a very bad night's sleep, I think the adrenaline was racing around for ages and kept feeling more ectopic heartbeats.

I'm drinking loads of water to try to settle it.

Hope you start to feel a bit better during the day @didntlikethis

Thank you, I'm starting to feel better ☺️

Yes, I have considered everything!

But am at a loss to know what's behind it all and how to try to deal with it.

The ectopics and yesterday's tachycardia have been clinically measured and of course the viruses I've had have been physical with a positive Covid test. I was relaxed and resting when the tachycardia started, nothing had stressed me, in fact I'd had a lovely day up until then. Last time I spoke to the cardiologist we agreed my symptoms were a reaction to something else, most likely a virus. But the tachycardia was something much more scary and different.

I came to say it is likely psychosomatic. I've had the same thing, where the ectopic beats/PVCs cause anxiety which causes the tachycardia. If you've had ECG's, echos etc and all is fine. Then it's most likely a physical response to stress/anxiety etc.