I have to wear one of those Halter Heart Monitors for 48 hours starting tomorrow & also starting to cycle again, and was wondering if anyone else has worn one of these during a cycle and if so, did the heart monitor show anything abnormal during an attack?

Gonna see how long I can go without reaching for the o2 during a hit just to see if anything registers. Really curious about the heart thingy. Have had my own CH theory over 10 years now but won't go into it now.

Anyone?

Carl

I haven't hear of that but who knows what you might learn! I had a guy in my choir that wore one for 2 days and found out his heart regularly skips a beat! Doesn't actually mean anything, just cool to know! :)

Joe

Wore one once but not in cycle.  My heart was "skipping a beat" also.  Technically it was throwing PVC's.  Treating it was more dangerous that leaving it alone.  It eventually went away.

Like Bob I had a problem...atrial fibrillation...
It runs in the family so I asked him if it was really necessary and he said not really.

Charlie

I've been having palpitations, irregular heartbeats, and now in this new house, my studio is on the 3rd floor and by the time I get to the top of the steps, my heart is pounding hard. Found out my cholesterol is high awhile back, so there is some concern there.

The main thing I am curious about is to see what happens during an attack. I was given a 'journal' to write down what time I felt something and the symptom, so next hit I get while on this thing, will be logging that. One thing I am going to request if the results on the monitor before, during and after a cluster - just to see if there is something there.

My theory has always been that the head may merely be suffering the symptom of a problem elsewhere, which is why the cause hasn't been found. It would make sense that with BP meds like Verapamil working as a prevent, what if it is a very small heart defect that nothing has detected?
I believe it was 2004 they discovered something called Patent Foramen Ovale in some migraine & CH sufferers where there is a slight leak from one ventricle to the other, and thought that might've been the smoking gun, but haven't heard anything new about it.
Just thinking out of the box. Since it's a vascular condition, wouldn't it make sense that the actual cause could be elsewhere with the head suffering the symptom? (I know, another crackpot theory but still, something to consider.)

Will post any results I get from this thingy. Got my fingers crossed.

Carl

Well, it was inevitable. I got around 3:30am this morning. Was already pretty far gone by the time I reached my tank, so wrote down the approx time it began and when it subsided.
So, am anxious to see what, if anything, was picked up.

I wore one on 2 different occasions, one in cycle, one not, prior to me going chronic.  I had also worn one prior to CH surfacing and had a baseline to go from.

I've had heart palpitations that were diagnosed when I was 16, have a very very mild mitral and triscupid valve prolapse that is congenital, and was finally diagnosed with coronary artery spasms (Prinzmetal Angina) after a cardiac cath.

While the attacks registered on the monitor, none of them registered in a way that was connected to any cardiac events occurring; 

Hope you get to the bottom of it all and will be thinking of you!

Cat

Your theory makes sense to me. I've had CH for over 20 years and none of the medications worked for it until this year when they started me on Verapamil. It was like a miracle. Had they prescribed it sooner, I would have had alot less suffering. Hope you feel better soon.

catlind wrote on Sep 23^rd, 2010 at 12:31pm:

I wore one on 2 different occasions, one in cycle, one not, prior to me going chronic.  I had also worn one prior to CH surfacing and had a baseline to go from. I've had heart palpitations that were diagnosed when I was 16, have a very very mild mitral and triscupid valve prolapse that is congenital, and was finally diagnosed with coronary artery spasms (Prinzmetal Angina) after a cardiac cath. While the attacks registered on the monitor, none of them registered in a way that was connected to any cardiac events occurring;  Hope you get to the bottom of it all and will be thinking of you! Cat

Thanks Cat. I guess I was hoping for some great epiphany to shed some light, but I guess every single one of us have wanted the same thing since the first cluster we ever got.

I did get some good news. The stress test came back okay. Now it's just a wait and see thing til I get this monitor back to them and they can check the rhythm & heart rate over 48 hours time. Having had some palps & irregular heartbeats, will be interesting to find out whats going on. Still crossdressing my fingers.

One thing I have to check with my Dr about is the possibility of any new meds interacting with each other, or if maybe it's time to go down on my Verapamil dosage or what. I dunno.

Thanks guys,
Carl

Carl - Both times I was hospitalized for IV-DHE treatments I was actually on the cardiac floor (I don't think they have a cluster headache floor). The reason was I had to wear a portable monitor because of the potential effect of a powerful vasoconstrictor like DHE on the ol' ticker.

They probably thought I was healthy as a horse because they wouldn't let me out to smoke for three days, which I'm sure skewed the results to the good.

This might be a silly question but what exactly are heart palpitations? 

I get a feeling in my chest, especially when lying down.  I can feel my heart beating rather hard then it feels like it skips a beat or two.  It's strange but then I feel like I need to cough and it goes away.  It has happened for as long as I can remember.  Seems more frequent lately, though.

Sorry, Carl.  I don't mean to hijack your thread.  I hope things get straightened out for you soon!

Wishing you a short, mild cycle!

Jeannie

Jeannie, best way I can describe it is how the doc that diagnosed it put it to me - he asked me if I had a feeling of butterflies in my chest - and when I said yes, and let him know that I had, had that for as long as I could recall (keep in mind 16 y/o's don't do much in the recall dept hehe);  they did some tests, what they were I couldn't tell ya, it was too long ago, and told me I had heart palpitations.

Carl, I had wondered if there was a cardiac connection myself, especially with the O2 being such an effective tool;  during one hospital trip for cardiac issues - ekg with abnormal readings - ST segment and irregular heartbeat, with an extremely fast heart rate and very low blood pressure, as well as possible left atrium enlargement - they decided they were going to hook me up to everything under the sun.  They were very concerned with the erratic rhythm of the heart, and ended up giving me IV nitro despite my extreme protest.  That brings on a mother F*cker attack like I've never had before - they refused me triptans, and when I was yelling for the O2, the nurse kept saying but your O2 sats are at 98%, you don't need more oxygen;  Clark finally had to step in and let them know it was to abort the attack; 

What we did learn, is that as a cardiac patient, giving me nitro and the ensuing CH attack it triggered, was the biggest mistake that could have been made.  Fortunately, I was having a mild cardiac event with the spasms - had I been having a heart attack (and this is according to the cardiologist who reviewed the chart after they admitted me) the stress the nitro induced attack put on me, as evidenced by how crazy my vitals went, would likely kill me. 

I was advised by 2 different cardiologists now, to NEVER let them give me nitro for any suspected cardiac event.  If I end up in the ER for a suspected event, and they get an abnormal ekg, they are under NO CIRCUMSTANCES to administer nitro.  They have used ativan in place of the nitro the last 2 times I was hospitalized for the spasms.

Interesting enough, my son has also been diagnosed with ECH, and that came about 2 years after he was diagnosed with a heart murmur - a mild mitral valve prolapse, congenital heart defect.  So, who knows.

My own theory for CH, and I've talked with Doc Finkel about it, is that no two sufferers are the same, and no triggering factors can be isolated as the same ones in multiple sufferers.  I think it takes a series of events, from sinus infections, knocks on the head, cardiac conditions....whatever the magic sequence is, it appears to be different for each person.

Hopefully you'll be able to get things resolved without having to go through many tests before they have an answer that will put your mind, and heart, at ease;

Cat

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Thanks Cat and Bob.

Jeannie

WOW CAT! That sounds pretty horrifying to say the least.

I've been having sporadic hits since I busted this past spring, but they gave me AXERT IV when I was in the ER, and it wasn't until later I put two and two together: they just threw me right back into cycle! F*ckers!!!
That's ok. I busted again today and am pretty wiped out. Have had a nonstop hellweek and now this week... gonna be busier than ever.

I think you're right though in that, no two sufferers are alike in many senses, though we all suffer the same symptoms. I think of cluster sufferers like Sarah Conner from The Terminator; you start off a whimp, and after years of the beast, you're stronger and more pissed & ready to fight it. For some that never happens and for some, it takes years and years and years to reach that point.

But I've always wondered if there was a heart correlation to CH. If ONLY it could be narrowed down.

Jeannie, what you're describing sounds like what I get. Feel my heart skip a beat or two and I feel like I am losing a breath, and have to take a breath. It's odd.

Test results on the monitor should be back by Friday. Fingers crossed they won't be sticking any metal objects in me.

Carl

Got the heart monitor results back...

What's odd is, I kept a log of everytime I felt something not quite right, but they said it didn't register anything at those times.

What I DID learn is, it stayed around the 50's-60's, but fluctuated between up to 120... and down in the 30's!!! My Doc's NP was shocked by that. So I asked, "Where do I go from here?" and they are referring me to a cardiologist and, with the irregular heartbeats and such, they MIGHT suggest a pacemaker. That really, really scares me. But as long as the heart keeps beating...

No new revelations on the CH end though. Had hopes but, same ole same ole.

Back to bed. Another long hard day tomorrow, including another trip to the Rheumatologist. I am SICK TO DEATH of having to go to this doc, that specialist, go get this MRI, another set of xrays... I would MIND if people knew how to read and report test results.
My PM doc said my last 2 back MRI's reported nothing. He went back and looked at the actual MRI's and found the problems himself. Makes me wonder if half of the testing I've had done has been read and reported accurately and if not - why waste my time? Oh yeah, so they get my money!

About to go out to a reservation and find a REAL shaman. Might do more for me than some of these docs.

Peace,
Carl