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howdy--coming over from the prostate board with MVP, PVCs

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Posted 1/9/2017 10:57 PM (GMT 0)
Thought I'd say hello.
I beat prostate cancer (knock on wood) a decade ago, and now it's time for heart issues.
about 3 years ago I went to the hospital with minor chest pains. They came up with an abnormal EKG (right bundle branch block, or RBBB) but nothing else.
Then about a year and a half later, I started being bothered by palpitations. I wore a Holter monitor which confirmed PVCs. An echo showed minor regurgitation from mitral valve prolapse (MVP). I was prescribed diltiazem to quiet the palpitations. It helped, but it was very constipating so I stopped taking it. At first I was able to tolerate the PVCs. But they started getting worse--almost nonstop.
My most recent visit the echo showed the mitral regurgitation had progressed to moderate. I have been switched to a low dose (2.5mg) of Bystolic which helps quiet the PVCs with minimal side effects.

Blood pressure is good without medication (although I guess the Bystolic helps), cholesterol is excellent with Pravastatin. Healthy otherwise--normal weight, physically active, 54 yrs old.

Cardiologist is going to see me in 6 months (as opposed to my previous annual schedule) and he's going to do a vascular scan in addition to an echo at that point.

So that's my story. Not too bad at this point, and hoping things stabilize or improve, and that I can avoid surgery.
Posted 1/10/2017 2:32 AM (GMT 0)
First of all, congratulations on beating PC! And welcome to the Heart & Cardio Forum. There are several members who post here and I hope they pop in and all of you can have some dialog about your heart experiences. As you see, there is no official moderator here but we do look out for spammers.

I wish you the best of luck with the heart issue. Are you on any exercise plan?
Posted 1/10/2017 2:45 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Lanie!
No official plan, but I ride a bike quite a bit and get to the gym a couple of days a week for light weight lifting. I also like to do pull ups--kind of a hobby.
This is a quiet board--I appreciate your response!
Posted 1/10/2017 4:27 PM (GMT 0)
Actually, I would think the doctor likes your exercise plan. Bike riding is a great cardio exercise and it's low-impact on the knees and other joints, I think. I had an irregular EKG a year ago and am just being watched so I get to go to a cardiologist. smile
Posted 1/12/2017 11:53 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Galileo, another brother from the prostate board. Wish we cou;d make this forum as active as the Pc forum. , but alas....

So is it a valve problem as well as a blockage? I'm not familiar with RBBB I assume some sort of blockage (duh)
Posted 1/13/2017 4:05 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, guys. Another multi-calamity gent here. I've had valve replacement, bypass and a pacemaker, prior to the PCa diagnosis, so I know the drill.

Prato - The RBBB refers to a group of nerves that transmit the signal to the heart muscle that it is time to beat. If these things get too messed up, you wind up with a pacemaker. I'm now on my second one. The mitral regurgitation means that the valve allows blood to flow backward through it when it is supposed to be closed. So the heart does all the work but you only get part of the benefit.

If the bystolic controls things, that's good. Beta blockers, for me, tend to reduce my exercise capabilities (at 69 years old, I 'm still a 5 days/week gym rat), so I've "negotiated" the lowest dose I can use and still control my heart rhythm. I'm now also taking FlowMax (an alpha blocker), and it also makes exercise rough. I'm hoping the need is only temporary.

Galileo, if they ever get to talking about valve replacement for you, shout out and I can give you some other resources to help you through the learning process.
Posted 1/13/2017 7:55 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks guys!
I'm on a baby dose of Bystolic (2.5 mg) and it helps but does not eliminate the preventricular contractions, the cause of my palpitations. My heart was hammering out of my chest at lunch today and my blood pressure monitor flashed a symbol for irregular heartbeat. Nice.
Posted 1/13/2017 8:05 PM (GMT 0)
Pax, thanks for the explanation. For me, its a simple matter of blockages. Had stents put in LAD, and Distal Circumflex, blocked 80 and 85% respectively. Also had 50% blockage RCA, they didnt stent it, not enough blockage.
Also had just a trace of mitral valve prolapse on last stress echo, but Cardiologist wasn't concerned, he said it was very mild

Getting old sucks.
Posted 1/13/2017 8:17 PM (GMT 0)

Pratoman said...

Getting old sucks.

Yeah, but it sure beats the alternative!
Posted 1/13/2017 8:34 PM (GMT 0)
I'm just 54, and two weeks ago an old friend passed away suddenly from a massive brain bleed.
A few months earlier another friend from high school died of a stroke. Both just a few months away from me in age. I guess it's getting to be that time of life.
What worries me about my mitral valve regurgitation is that it progressed from absolutely trivial, barely measurable, to moderate within a year. I would bet that in another year I'm having the valve repaired or replaced. Maybe using Da Vinci like my prostatectomy?
Posted 1/13/2017 9:43 PM (GMT 0)
Well, I'm not sure they do them with robots, but they do some via minimally invasive means. Mine was done by hand, and if it went wrong my wife would know who to blame.

At least with the mitral valve there is a better chance for a repair. With aortic valves like mine they almost always have to replace them.

There are aortic valves that can be implanted via catheter with no open incision (google TAVI), but I don't think they do mitral valves that way yet.
Posted 1/27/2017 6:10 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Galileo,
Sorry about the late response. Welcome to the duel membership club of which have rentals joined as well.
My recovery has been good and I am slowly upping my exercise levels. Short periods of jogging within walks an a fair bit of slow bike riding which I hope to increase my levels of after a nuclear stress test in March.
Welcome again.
Cheers
Greg
Posted 1/27/2017 6:51 AM (GMT 0)
good 2 see some peeps and convo happening. my condolences for the loss galileo.
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