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Suggest Remedy For Irregular Heartbeats And Dry Cough
Question: I have an irregular heart beat about 3 times a week. It's just a pause in the beat, followed by a heavier beat. I know this is probably SA node irregular electrical signal. I also have a small leak in the mitral valve. I am obese, 200lbs at 5'6" but have lost 15 lbs and plan to loose until I am down to 150lbs. I cough at night as soon as I lay down. It is a deep but dry cough. It is relieved by an inhaler that I only use for that. I am on singular once a day. The doctor thought I had asthma but I don't think so. My cholesterol is about 329 and has been since 2005. I can not take statins due to side effects. I am 63, young looking, smart, active. I have an TKR on L, and will have TKR on R in a couple of months. my mother died of CHF at 81 after suffering for about 15 years. She had no surgeries to fix things and would not work out, loose weight, and took lots of pain meds for her spinal stenosis which I also have.
I have seen a Cardiologist. He has seen me and did an echo. The irregular beat never shows up on EKG, EKG totally normal. Should I be diagnosed with CHF so that I can begin to make steps, like getting the valve repaired in order to not develop CHF further and/or reverse it.?
I have seen a Cardiologist. He has seen me and did an echo. The irregular beat never shows up on EKG, EKG totally normal. Should I be diagnosed with CHF so that I can begin to make steps, like getting the valve repaired in order to not develop CHF further and/or reverse it.?
Brief Answer:
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
I understand your concern, and would like to explain that those irregular beats you are experiencing most probably are ectopic beats (extrasystoles).
The fact those ectopic beats couldn't be shown up on ECG and are intermittent, means probably they are not so frequent and may be clinically unimportant.
Coming to this point, I would recommend performing an ambulatory 24 to 48 hours ECG monitoring (Holter) to optimally investigate potential arrhythmia.
Having just a dry deep cough doesn't mean you are suffering form CHF, as far as you have no persistent dyspnea, no peripheral edema, are quite an active person, and your cardiac ultrasound doesn't confirm any abnormal cardiac findings.
That small leaking mitral valve is quite an usual finding in a great proportion of normal healthy individuals.
You shouldn't worry about that!
Heart failure is a clinical syndrome. As your daily physical performance is perfect there is no way to think about CHF.
Cardiac ultrasound gives important clues in confiming my conclusions.
Please, could you upload your cardiac ultrasound (ECHO) here for a direct review?
Regarding your cough, I recommend discussing with an allergologist, who could guide you through several investigating allergy tests.
Also to correctly conclude about a possible asthma, I recommend you performing a pulmonary function tests.
Regarding your cholesterol levels, you should know that the best way to lower your cholesterol levels would be loosing some pounds. Fish oil and diet modifications would also be helpful.
Regarding your spinal stenosis, I recommend performing a spinal column MRI study to examine better the degree of the stenosis. You should discuss with a neurosurgeon on this issue and the possibility of surgery. Loosing weight would help too.
Hope to have been of help!
Feel free to ask any other questions whenever you need!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
I understand your concern, and would like to explain that those irregular beats you are experiencing most probably are ectopic beats (extrasystoles).
The fact those ectopic beats couldn't be shown up on ECG and are intermittent, means probably they are not so frequent and may be clinically unimportant.
Coming to this point, I would recommend performing an ambulatory 24 to 48 hours ECG monitoring (Holter) to optimally investigate potential arrhythmia.
Having just a dry deep cough doesn't mean you are suffering form CHF, as far as you have no persistent dyspnea, no peripheral edema, are quite an active person, and your cardiac ultrasound doesn't confirm any abnormal cardiac findings.
That small leaking mitral valve is quite an usual finding in a great proportion of normal healthy individuals.
You shouldn't worry about that!
Heart failure is a clinical syndrome. As your daily physical performance is perfect there is no way to think about CHF.
Cardiac ultrasound gives important clues in confiming my conclusions.
Please, could you upload your cardiac ultrasound (ECHO) here for a direct review?
Regarding your cough, I recommend discussing with an allergologist, who could guide you through several investigating allergy tests.
Also to correctly conclude about a possible asthma, I recommend you performing a pulmonary function tests.
Regarding your cholesterol levels, you should know that the best way to lower your cholesterol levels would be loosing some pounds. Fish oil and diet modifications would also be helpful.
Regarding your spinal stenosis, I recommend performing a spinal column MRI study to examine better the degree of the stenosis. You should discuss with a neurosurgeon on this issue and the possibility of surgery. Loosing weight would help too.
Hope to have been of help!
Feel free to ask any other questions whenever you need!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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