Hello everyone. Needing to vent more then anything. Having a bad day. I had the worst thing happen last night. As I have posted earlier, my son has had some heart issues. We were told it was SVT, which turned out to be not as bad as thought to be originally. Well, she sent us home with the understanding that the heart can accelerate, could have fainting and a few other effects...not to worry. If it gets to bad or lasting a while, take to ER. I felt ok with it all. Well last night my son was watching TV when all of a sudden he clutched his chest and started to gasp for air. He started to gag and foam was coming out of his mouth. I didn't know WHAT to do. He said his heart was burning and the pain was bad. Most frightening was his inability the breath. I FREAKED OUT! We tryed to give him his asthma inhaler (why I don't know ) and put ice on his face. Cleared his airway, layed him down, listened to his heart that was pounding beyond anything I could count and then just prayed while we WAITED for the 911 operator to send someone. I felt so helpless! He maybe took 10 breaths in 5 minutes. They arrived and did all that quick oxgen, bp, etc. stuff and took him to hospital. He came around VERY quickly after this. Shortly after arriving at ER, he seemed fine. The Dr. said he had acid reflux. Come on now! Acid reflux?? Could it actually of caused this??? She said his throat was red. Thing is, they NEVER did an EKG. Our reg. cardiologist asked that in the future (like last night) they do one for a tracking record. ER said his Heart rate was fine, didn't feel the need. ugh! I am so confused now and am loosing my ability to stay positive. I'm feeling victomized by life if this is the case. He was in to see a cardiologist a few days prior. What are the chances? I was thinking heart attack. Too much for us to take in at once. Has anyone had acid reflux so bad that an episode of this nature was possible?? I was also told that SVT could of caused this too. Not by the Dr. tho...the RN spent a considerable amount of time chatting with me. SHE was God sent. Everyone else there suxed! OK, feeling negative. If anyone had experienced this, I am opened to hearing your thoughts. Thanks for listening.

Christine

Christine,
Im so sorry you and tristan and your family had to go through this,,, horrible ordeal!!!
I understand how it can scare the crap out of you. My granddaughter who is now 13 was diagnosed at age 11 with Long QT . Its a heart thing to, and they found it through ekg.
She cant do sports of any kind. Its really a scarey thing. I dont know much about refulx, especially in children. but YOUR ALL IN MY PRAYERS!!!! Love you Nelly

Luvg.
I can imagine how scary that was for you because I have heart issues. Has your son seen an electrophysiologist? a holter monitor is a good idea too so they can see how his rhtyhm is during rest and active times and if something like that happens again it would be recorded. I cannot believe acid reflux would cause all that and due to his history those Er docs should have done an EKG baseline. Well that and the Long QT is no joke and I am hoping your cardiologist will consider a beta blocker to help him and not get a defibrillator. You and your family are in my prayers and hope you can get to your cardiologist soon. How old is your son?

hey there lug, tristan does have a medical condition. not acid reflux. keep getting him tested until you find what it is. maybe you should go back the the 1st doc how seen him.kris had heart problem in the army. had a heart cath while stationed in germany. they didn't find anything. had the same stuff again when she was 28 found nothing. it was there though. she had a stroke at 39. they found it then. protien c deficiency. i'm thinking of you every minute. please take him to the 1st doc again. and the cardio doc will take a harder look. kris was ok when she got to the em too. but she would not be if that one wonderful docter had not said no she can't go home. i love you

Hey christine, I would definetly get a second opinion. I have had severe acid reflux for years and have never heard of this. My father and brother both work with doctors so please let me know if there is anything I could do. I hope your all holding up ok.

Christine,
I am so sorry that this happened to your son. I know how scary something like that can be. Atleast you did all of the right things. I just wish the ER doctors had been more helpful. Bless your heart, I know you have been so worried about him. My son is 12 and I know that I would freak if something like that happened. I know that you will continue to pursue this and follow up with the specialists. I just want to send you a hug XX. Will continue to pray for you.

I tend to agree w/Anita. There's something going on, not acid reflux. Another cardiologist for another opinion? My confidence would be shaken too after an episode like that. I love you guys very much and I want you to find what's wrong, get it fixed, and be at peace with it. You're always in my thoughts.

Christine,
That had to be a horrific situation! I am not a doctor but I do not understand how there is correllation between acid reflux and breathing/heart rate. For your own peace of mind, I would get a second and or third opinion.

Still praying for you all! Steve

Hey,

Sorry about the ordeal. I agree, it doesn't sound like acid reflux to me. They should be able to send home a portable ekg that you can turn on in the event of rapid heart rate.

I don't know if this is possible, but could your son be having anxiety symptoms? I definitely think his heart needs to be checked out.

Best wishes,

Deb

Lug--just sent a note to my girlfriend and will PM you with her opinion. But like everyone else on here I completely disagree that it was simply reflux. A Holter Monitor sounds like a really good idea for Tristan.

As to the ER...their job is to get you in and out as fast as possible and they do not always get it right. I had to insist on staying there one night only to find out my gall bladder was about to burst...they wanted to send me home with a "tummy ache"

Tara

Luv, get a second and even a third opinion.

Sending your family good thoughts!

Thanks guys for all of your input. From reading all of your posts, I too get the feeling acid reflux may not be the case here. The ER Dr. said she see's many people that come in with what they believe to be heart attacks and it turns out to be heart burn. Had we not been having him tested for the heart issues, I may have found SOME comfort in that. I've been watching him closely and just observing. He did have a holitor monitor that found nothing. Not sure what their next step is gonna be, but I do know what mine will be. Deb asked if it could be anxiety. I do think it is in a round about way. My personal beliefs are that our psyical health follow our emotional health. We can kinda see the pattern in this as we think fear and then produce panic. My son has MAJOR emotional issues. He's high strung, moody, angry, depressed..then happy, joyful, loving. He rotates back and forth, sometimes in a matter of minutes. It's scary and it's draining. We were told bi-polar by a specialist. I can't buy into that....he's only 6. We as parents tend to carry the blame at times. We have to just continue to stay positive and pray that he can mirror back this mind set. In the meantime, I am gonna do some dietary changes, and talk to his Dr. about some of the things I've read here. Thanks again guys for helping to calm an anxious mom. I appreciate all your kind words.

Christine

Hey there,

He's so young! I had anxiety symptoms back then too, but I didn't know what they were or why it was happening. I don't have a lot of respect for certain therapists so I'd get a second and third opinion on whether he's bipolar too. Does he tell you about any scary thoughts? If he is having panic attacks about having heart attacks he's one smart kid to know the physical symptoms. I just noticed when you first posted that as soon as you got to the hospital (safe place) that his symptoms stopped. Also that the doctors couldn't find a solid reason for his symptoms. So they reasoned one out. And missed anxiety as a possibility. To me it seems reasonable that a kid with anxiety would feel good one moment (no symptoms) then WHAM! Next moment heart is racing and he's scared, and moody and possibly angry depending on what he's thinking. Shoot, I still do that, LOL! I just know why and its not so scary.

Best wishes with this. My heart goes out to you and the little guy.

Deb

Hi There,
So sorry you went through that, I can understand, my son was ill for 4 years of his life and he is 10 now, lots of scares. I would take him to a pediatric cardiologist, have an echo-cardiogram done, ekg,possibly even a stress test. You can never do too much for your children.
I will tell you though, I have taken my mom, several times the the ER with a possible heart attack and every time, it WAS acid reflux. She had shortness of breath, crushing chest and so forth, but she is much older than your child.

Do not rest until you are comfortable. You ahve to be pro-active in health care and almost demand for tests to be performed, none of these tests are harmful, my son ahs been through them all. you may also consider and Ear, nose and throat dr if the cardiologist does not find anything alarming, they can tell from the throat if there is reflux, plus a gastroenterologist, but I would start with the Cardiologist and I would demand an appointment soon, just to prevent worry and possibly more anxiety.
Anxiety is very common at 6 years old and it presents itself in many different ways, but with a child of that age, the description can be difficult to express.

I will pray for you and keep in touch for any new news. hang in there and follow your gut!

Kristen L. Baker

Thank you Kristen for your post. After the smoke has settles some, I do feel that the reflux may not be that far out there as I initially felt. When something that dramatic happens, we tend to think BIG!! From what I'm finding out, reflux is very painful for some. Either way, I of course have to ask WHY does a six yr old have it?? I always go back to the one thing I feel is at the root of all his problems. Stress. We're doing some follow up appointments next wk. I have my list of questions ready. My biggest being...how do I handle the emotinal issues more then anything. Maybe there's classes out there for parents. I really am feeling the urgency to get him/us help. Should you return to this post, can I ask what was wrong with your son and what was the turn around for you? Thanks for responding. Take care.

Christine