Exercise and PVC's

While I am waiting for my next cardiologist appointment I thought I would do some more research into PVC's and exercise.  Found some interesting reading at:Tips for Exercising with PVC's

1 - Oxygen - the concept of lack of oxygen with exercise is interesting.  First, I do suffer from asthma, which is an issue when exercising.  The med - Singulair has helped with that.  But, I do feel the concept of breathing exercises would be an item I should research.

2 - Feeling PVC's?  - I do not feel PVC's when resting as some people do - only exercise.  From my last echo-stress test, I saw that my PVC's started around 85 & were more common at 95-105 for my heart rate.  The lower PVC's would fall into the bigeminy class (every other beat).  Again, the only run I had was at a heart rate of 129, when I had three in a row and that is when the nurses stopped the test.
Found this at : Advice for Exercise with PVC's  The labeling I found interesting was "Stress-induced PVC's"

3 - Found another great article at - MD Guidlines - Ventricular Premature Contractions
I found this statement to be of help:
"Premature ventricular contractions may be associated with stress, fatigue, excess caffeine, alcohol or nicotine consumption, lack of oxygen to tissues or organs (ischemia), low oxygen levels (hypoxia), or electrolyte imbalance, in particular, low potassium levels in the blood (hypokalemia). Both prescription and illicit drugs may be associated with PVCs. The arrhythmia may also be a symptom of a heart attack or other cardiac disease."


I found this also reinforces the concept of "oxygen"  levels.  Going back to my cardiac rehab days, my PVC's would always get worse when I was exercising & talking to a nurse while I exercised.  That would interfere with my breathing and cause STRESS!

My next research with be breathing exercises, found some at:
University of Missouri - Breathing Exercises

Test Results - Blood Tests

Well, I'm getting some of the results back.  The blood tests arrived in the mail today.  Looks like I need to watch the diet little closer!  My sweet tooth may be returning!  MyLipi weight has leveled out at around 185, but I have been cheating with some of the sweets and picnic hot dogs!  Time to focus again!  Here are the results compared to my last two dates.  The first date was 5 months before my open heart surgery!

Lipid Panel                     9/6/11                  3/3/11               6/15/11(before surgery)
Chol                                170                       126                   131
Trig                                 161                         89                   120
VLD-Calc                       32.2                      17.8                  24.0
LDL-C                            104                         73                    77
dHDL                             34.0                       35.0                 30.0
CRF                                5.00                       3.60                 4.37
Non-HDL Calc               136                        91.0                 101

Today starts a new focus!  Let's see what I can do!
Goals raise dHDL from 34.0 (37.0)  & drop  LDL-C from 104 (72)  & Trig  161  (85)

Echo-Cardiogram & Echo-Cardiogram Stress Test!

Today was test day.  Let me review for you "heart" rookies what the tests today are like!  First let's look at a Echo-Cardiogram.

What is an Echocardiogram: An echocardiogram is a test in which ultrasound is used to examine the heart. The equipment is far superior to that used by fishermen. In addition to providing single-dimension images, known as M-mode echo that allows accurate measurement of the heart chambers, the echocardiogram also offers far more sophisticated and advanced imaging. This is known as two- dimensional (2-D) Echo and is capable of displaying a cross-sectional "slice" of the beating heart, including the chambers, valves and the major blood vessels that exit from the left and right ventricle.

From the view of the patient:  So, the equipment is better than that used by fisherman!  THAT"S GOOD!  You start by removing your shirt and laying on a nice soft bed.  They take your blood pressure and go over you medical history.  They will then explain the procedure.  A handheld device is  moved around you chest in the vicinity of your heart.  A "cold" jell is used to slide the device around your chest.  The nurse uses her left hand to manipulate the computer & screen, while the right hand uses the handheld device to slide around you chest.  The comforting thing is your nurse is "Kind of" hugging you as the procedure is done (Great if you have a cute nurse!)  For you ladies, ask for a cute guy!

The entire procedure takes about 30-40 minutes.  The procedure is really not bad & one of my favorites!

The stress echo-cardiogram is a little more intense!

How does Stress Echo work? Patients with coronary artery blockages may have minimal or no symptoms during rest. However, symptoms and signs of heart disease may be unmasked by exposing the heart to the stress of exercise. During exercise, healthy coronary arteries dilate (develop a more open channel) than an artery with a blockage. This unequal dilation causes more blood to be delivered to heart muscle supplied by the normal artery. In contrast, narrowed arteries end up supplying reduced flow to it's area of distribution. This reduced flow causes the involved muscle to "starve" during exercise. The "starvation" may produce symptoms (like chest discomfort or inappropriate shortness of breath), EKG abnormalities and reduced movement of the heart muscle. The latter can be recognized by examining the movement of the walls of the left ventricle (the major pumping chamber of the heart) by Echocardiography.

From the view of the patient: OK, the exciting & loveable stress test & add the echo-cardiogram at the same time!  Here we go:
First you have all the wires hooked up to your chest and they begin the echo-cardiogram.  To add some adventure, I was giving an IV, that allows the echo-cardiogram to see the heart with greater clarity!  Once the technician takes about 10 minutes of pictures of the heart before exercise, you then step on the treadmill and begin you test!  My goal rate is a heart rate of 139-145.  It started as casual walk in the park, heart rate at 80-85.  (By the way, I still had the IV in my arm)  Around 85 I started to show some PVC's.  The treadmill incline was increased and the speed was increased.  Heart rate to 95-100, and the PVC's started to show Bigeminy.  I felt winded and the test continued.  The treadmill incline was increased & the speed also was increased.  My heart rate went to 110 to 120, more PVC's, but no runs (3 or more in a row).  I got the heart rate to 129, and I had 3 in a row, the test was stopped!  Three in a row is the limit & they stop.  As soon as I finished, the technician had me continue the echo-cardiogram!

So, I still have the PVC's.   But, that is the highest I had the heart rate in the past year!  Now I must wait to see the doctors in October to go over all the tests!

Heart Disease Quiz

It's back to school time.  LET'S CHECK AND SEE IF YOU NEED TO GO TO HEART SCHOOL!  Take a few minutes and take this quiz on Heart Disease.

Check out the web site and quiz:  Web MD - Myths & Facts About Your Heart Health

I took the quiz & scored only 53%!!  I thought I would do well, but of course the questions on woman did not help my score!  Give it a try!