I had my second cardiac rehab today and things started out great, but on the exercise bike I had a issue with my heart beat - the nurse used the term - Bigeminy.
Bigeminy (bi-gem-i-ne), reflects a slightly abnormal heart rhythm that is usually of no serious concern in the absence of other cardiovascular disease. This condition describes a state where your heart alternates one "normal" beat with one "premature" beat.
So, no more rehab till I get it checked by my cardiologist. The next step is I must schedule an appointment with the Heart Group and have the Cardiologist have a look at the results. Here are my observations:
Had a great night sleep, but I took Tylenol PM first time, but I and slept like a baby! Sue had to wake me up at 6:30 AM to go to rehab at 7:45. I had my oatmeal and half a cup of coffee(regular - caffeine) At rehab I warmed up & walked the teadmill - 12 minutes at 2.2 level. This went OK, then went on the stationary bile for 8 minutes. Was riding at 70 rpm, and around the 4 minute mark I picked it up to 80 rpm. I did this in 30 second bursts. Was more winded after the 8 minute ride & the nurses wanted to see me about the irregular heart beat, which they labeled as Bigeminy.
So, now I must wait to see a cardiologist, January 20, 2011 @ 2:15, before I continue rehab. This of course is disappointing, but will try to stay focused on continued recovery!
Hi Jim - let me just go over some of the things we talked about.
ReplyDeleteIrregular heart beats are a very common complication after open heart surgery. So, relax on that part - this is a hurdle that you can easily get over and put behind you.
As I know you have probably read on the internet on the anatomy of the heart - there are two parts to the heart - the top part (Atrium) and the bottom part (the ventricle). The irregular beats in your case are being generated from the bottom part of your heart. When the irregular heart beat starts in the ventricles, you need to be more cautious and on top of the situation. So, it is good you are not doing cardiac rehab until things are stabilized.
It is a fine art to get your body in the best medical condition you are able to after undergoing major surgery as you have just experienced. So, you need to document, document, document - which I know you are doing right now - so GOOD JOB!!!!
When you see the cardiologist - take your results of your blood pressure readings to the doctor's appt. - the cardiologist will love
this!!!!! Every patient needs an individual plan of care as to what are the goals, treatments being done for the patient,etc.
Therefore, you need to work closely with the doctors as to what is going on in your life.
I am glad that the Amiodarone was weaned off and you are no longer on that med. I would also like to see that you could be taken off of the other meds in a sensible pattern as you never had hypertension. Metoprolol is a powerful and effective med that lowers your blood pressure, but it also lowers your heart rate. Amolodipine is also an effective cardiac med in lowering the blood pressure, but not as a dramatic effect on the heart rate as Metoprolol.
There are predisposing factors as to why you are having periods of ventricular bigeminy, such as, low potassium, low heart rate, stress, caffeine, etc.
So, again - know your numbers. In addition to knowing your blood pressure - what is your potassium levels? What is your heart rate?
You will get to the finish line before you know it. If your body is displaying symptoms that require attention, don't overlook things. This is what is amazing with medicine - listen to your body - it will let you know what is working and what is not working.
Okay - keep in touch and hang in there.
Love ya - Ginny
Great info sis - you should start your own blog!
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