I wonder if someone on this forum has a similar experience I have with onset of cardiac arrhythmias as LAM progresses. I have always been very athletic and still exercise a lot but over the past years have experiences increasing levels of heart arrhythmia that were diagnosed using an EKG halter as ectopic atrial rhythm (PAC and PVC) and also some supraventricular tachycardia. They are symptomatic leading to coughing, dizziness and are very disturbing when they happen during exercise.
My lung function is still good with FEV1 in the low 80% and DLCO in the mid 70%.
They have significantly increased over the past 2 years which has been confirmed by the study they did in 2015 and 2017.
I was told by the Cardiologist that these are not considered dangerous and I don't have any visible heart disease, we also reviewed my nutrition and did some blood test and I do not have anything in my diet that would trigger this. but since they are symptomatic he suggested to try Flecainide which is an antiarrhythmia drug.
after just a few doses I noticed a huge difference in my SOB during exercise. It is still present but way down and now I can actually exercise without resting every few minutes. Also my heart rate is down too. It sometimes repeatedly went crazy high (~220 bpm) over a short span while riding my bike at low intensity.
I quite don't understand if the cardiac rhythm has anything to do with the fact I have LAM or if it just incidentally happens over time for some people entirely unrelated.
The medication does not control all arrhythmia I experience but it helps a lot.
I just would like to understand if there are connection points between lung and heart issues and maybe other woman have experienced the same or similar issue.
Thank you