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Is A Blip In Heart A Cause For Concern?
Question: 68 yr old female. I had a massive heart attack one and a half years ago. Several stents. Good recovery but have normal psychological concerns like most heart patients. Last month my family physician put me on Prednisone for an arthritis flare-up which usually works fine. However this time I experienced heart palpitations while I was driving. Stopped at med express - Ekg done. They said I had a blip. Sent me to ER. Another EKG. Was fine. What is a blip and what was the rush to get me to ER? Is a "blip" cause for alarm?
Brief Answer:
Discussion follows
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Welcome and thanks for your query.
I understand your concern.
What the technician at Med Express would have meant by blip is probably an abnormal beat ( extrasystole or ectopic ). This denotes an electrical activity not originating at the usual site. This is not unusual and in most cases is not significant or cause any harm.
If you could upload the EKG, I would be able to give you a better opinion.
If such ectopics occur again, you could do a 24-hour Holter monitoring of the heart to be sure whether they are innocuous or require any treatment.
Take care,
Discussion follows
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Welcome and thanks for your query.
I understand your concern.
What the technician at Med Express would have meant by blip is probably an abnormal beat ( extrasystole or ectopic ). This denotes an electrical activity not originating at the usual site. This is not unusual and in most cases is not significant or cause any harm.
If you could upload the EKG, I would be able to give you a better opinion.
If such ectopics occur again, you could do a 24-hour Holter monitoring of the heart to be sure whether they are innocuous or require any treatment.
Take care,
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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