Poll on Oximetry Usage

[Dreamcatcher]

HURRAY! Someone that went through what I did. I found my answer on the operating table while been operated on. I ask my surgeon the same question and it was also confirmed by my doctor. The fitter you are the lower it is. Mine was around the same which worried me at the time but its perfectly normal and can go down as low as the 30's. Its a sign that your heart doesnt have to work as hard as other people so it just ticks over while sleeping. definatley nothing to worry about.

[shutterbug sue]

HURRAY! Someone that went through what I did. I found my answer on the operating table while been operated on. I ask my surgeon the same question and it was also confirmed by my doctor. The fitter you are the lower it is. Mine was around the same which worried me at the time but its perfectly normal and can go down as low as the 30's. Its a sign that your heart doesnt have to work as hard as other people so it just ticks over while sleeping. definatley nothing to worry about.

LOL, I wouldn't say I'm in great shape! I do take a pill that slows my heart rate down to keep it from racing. I was on a beta blocker and the cardiologist just switched me to a calcium channel blocker. Maybe it's working too well. I'll have to call the cardiologists office to ask them.

[PaulaO2]

I take a beta blocker for high blood pressure. It dropped my heart rate from 100-120 to 70 - 80. I have seen with the oximeter that it drops as low as 54 during the night.

[shutterbug sue]

I take a beta blocker for high blood pressure. It dropped my heart rate from 100-120 to 70 - 80. I have seen with the oximeter that it drops as low as 54 during the night.

With the beta blocker my heart rate was usually in the 60's when I was awake and now with the calcium channel blocker it is usually in the 50's when I'm awake.

I never had a heart rate in the 100-120 range all the time and don't imagine that would be very pleasant. My problem is SVT (supra ventricular tachycardia) where in a split second my heart rate will go from normal to 180 bpm for no reason. It makes me feel lightheaded, weak and short of breath. If I can't cardiovert myself at home by doing a valsalva maneuver then I have to go to the ER to be cardioverted with Adenosine. If the Adenosine doesn't work then I would have to be shocked with the electric paddles.

My only alternative to medicine is surgery to destroy the extra electrical pathway causing the problem. However, if they destroy too much of the electrical pathway, I will end up with a pacemaker which I definitely don't want.

I had 4 episodes just last year alone on the beta blocker. If I cont to have that many per year on the calcium channel blocker I'm going to go ahead and have the surgery.

[greatunclebill]

I take a beta blocker for high blood pressure. It dropped my heart rate from 100-120 to 70 - 80. I have seen with the oximeter that it drops as low as 54 during the night.

With the beta blocker my heart rate was usually in the 60's when I was awake and now with the calcium channel blocker it is usually in the 50's when I'm awake.

I never had a heart rate in the 100-120 range all the time and don't imagine that would be very pleasant. My problem is SVT (supra ventricular tachycardia) where in a split second my heart rate will go from normal to 180 bpm for no reason. It makes me feel lightheaded, weak and short of breath. If I can't cardiovert myself at home by doing a valsalva maneuver then I have to go to the ER to be cardioverted with Adenosine. If the Adenosine doesn't work then I would have to be shocked with the electric paddles.

My only alternative to medicine is surgery to destroy the extra electrical pathway causing the problem. However, if they destroy too much of the electrical pathway, I will end up with a pacemaker which I definitely don't want.

I had 4 episodes just last year alone on the beta blocker. If I cont to have that many per year on the calcium channel blocker I'm going to go ahead and have the surgery.

are you speaking of cardiac ablation? my step daughter had that done. they map the heart between the chambers to find the spot and then burn it to leave a little blister. the blister never heals and the pathway is gone forever. it took about 6 hours, but it is a fairly routine procedure. one day we hit the er door with her heart rate about 300 and bp at 0/0, just in time. they had to squeeze 2 bags of fluids thru her neck veins. it was very scary. get it done.

[shutterbug sue]

I take a beta blocker for high blood pressure. It dropped my heart rate from 100-120 to 70 - 80. I have seen with the oximeter that it drops as low as 54 during the night.

With the beta blocker my heart rate was usually in the 60's when I was awake and now with the calcium channel blocker it is usually in the 50's when I'm awake.

I never had a heart rate in the 100-120 range all the time and don't imagine that would be very pleasant. My problem is SVT (supra ventricular tachycardia) where in a split second my heart rate will go from normal to 180 bpm for no reason. It makes me feel lightheaded, weak and short of breath. If I can't cardiovert myself at home by doing a valsalva maneuver then I have to go to the ER to be cardioverted with Adenosine. If the Adenosine doesn't work then I would have to be shocked with the electric paddles.

My only alternative to medicine is surgery to destroy the extra electrical pathway causing the problem. However, if they destroy too much of the electrical pathway, I will end up with a pacemaker which I definitely don't want.

I had 4 episodes just last year alone on the beta blocker. If I cont to have that many per year on the calcium channel blocker I'm going to go ahead and have the surgery.

are you speaking of cardiac ablation? my step daughter had that done. they map the heart between the chambers to find the spot and then burn it to leave a little blister. the blister never heals and the pathway is gone forever. it took about 6 hours, but it is a fairly routine procedure. one day we hit the er door with her heart rate about 300 and bp at 0/0, just in time. they had to squeeze 2 bags of fluids thru her neck veins. it was very scary. get it done.

Yes, the cardiologist said it was radio frequency ablation. I have an appt with electrophysical (EP) cardiologist to discuss the surgery. I didn't know it lasted 6 hrs. Was your step-daughter awake for the whole thing? It just seems very scary to me. Did the insurance pay for most of it?

[greatunclebill]

I take a beta blocker for high blood pressure. It dropped my heart rate from 100-120 to 70 - 80. I have seen with the oximeter that it drops as low as 54 during the night.

With the beta blocker my heart rate was usually in the 60's when I was awake and now with the calcium channel blocker it is usually in the 50's when I'm awake.

I never had a heart rate in the 100-120 range all the time and don't imagine that would be very pleasant. My problem is SVT (supra ventricular tachycardia) where in a split second my heart rate will go from normal to 180 bpm for no reason. It makes me feel lightheaded, weak and short of breath. If I can't cardiovert myself at home by doing a valsalva maneuver then I have to go to the ER to be cardioverted with Adenosine. If the Adenosine doesn't work then I would have to be shocked with the electric paddles.

My only alternative to medicine is surgery to destroy the extra electrical pathway causing the problem. However, if they destroy too much of the electrical pathway, I will end up with a pacemaker which I definitely don't want.

I had 4 episodes just last year alone on the beta blocker. If I cont to have that many per year on the calcium channel blocker I'm going to go ahead and have the surgery.

are you speaking of cardiac ablation? my step daughter had that done. they map the heart between the chambers to find the spot and then burn it to leave a little blister. the blister never heals and the pathway is gone forever. it took about 6 hours, but it is a fairly routine procedure. one day we hit the er door with her heart rate about 300 and bp at 0/0, just in time. they had to squeeze 2 bags of fluids thru her neck veins. it was very scary. get it done.

Yes, the cardiologist said it was radio frequency ablation. I have an appt with electrophysical (EP) cardiologist to discuss the surgery. I didn't know it lasted 6 hrs. Was your step-daughter awake for the whole thing? It just seems very scary to me. Did the insurance pay for most of it?

hers was done 15-20 yrs ago at about age 25, so procedures have probably been refined. they did hers thru the leg up into the heart much like a cardiac cath so recovery time was minimal. i believe she was asleep. the long time is because they have to completely map the heart with the probes to pinpoint the exact location to cauterize it. when you're talking to the doctor see if he is singing the same song or if they have newer ways of doing it. it seems to me that at the time i was surprised and scared when it took that long. she may have been delayed getting in or may have had complications. i just don't remember much about that day other than i was in the waiting room for 6 hours. insurance should cover it, it's not like it's an elective thing. my insurance would cover it 100% just like all surgeries. it depends how your insurance works. while the surgery seems scary, it should be much more scary without it. they've been doing this routinely for many years. don't worry about it. just like when i worked in an open heart hospital, they did 3 or 4 open heart bypass surgeries every day of every week. heart procedures are very routine.