Isla Cardiologist Update

Yesterday was Isla's cardiologist appointment and we wanted to update you on her heart...

As a recap, when Isla was still in the womb a fetal arrhythmia was detected which lead her and I to be monitored on a weekly basis. Around 38 weeks the doctor decided it was best to monitor her heart outside the womb and  induced my labor. It was during our hospital stay that it was confirmed by the cardiologist that Isla has Premature Atrial Contractions (PAC) occurring in the upper chamber of her heart. We also learned that she had a small leak in her mitral valve. She was monitored by the cardiologist at 3 months and 6 months of age where her status remained the same. The doctor at the time was confident that she would grow out of the arrhythmia by 12 months and wanted to see us back in one year (when Isla was 18 months old).

During our appointment yesterday, we learned that Isla still has Premature Atrial Contractions. What this means is that Isla's heart is beating prematurely resulting in extra fast beats. Pretend like you are tapping your finger on the table in a rhythm (tap...tap...tap...tap, etc.), now randomly add in an extra "tap" in between (tap...tap...taptap...tap...tap...tap...taptap...tap, etc.). This is what her heart is doing. It happens irregularly which means there is no pattern to when her heart skips a beat. Based on yesterday's tests her heart was beating prematurely every 3-4 beats (there was always a premature fast beat every 5 seconds or less). Because Isla is so young she can't vocalize how these extra beats may be effecting her. Older children and adults say that it feels like their heart has paused, skipped a beat, and/or their heart beat has temporarily intensified. Others say they don't feel it at all. The doctor assured us that the functionality of her heart was great and it was tolerating these extra beats well. This is the best type of arrhythmia to have and can be tolerated well throughout ones lifespan (with or without medication). The doctor would like to run one more test to make sure that theses fast beats are not happening consecutively, meaning that she isn't having multiple fast beats in a row (this would not be a good thing and would lead to more testing and treatment). In the next week or two she will wear a 24 hour heart monitor that will monitor the rhythm of her heart. If the results show no consecutive fast beats then treatment will not be necessary at this time and we will see him again in one year. Fingers crossed this will be the case. If you would like more information on what PAC is, you can read about it by going to the following links:

http://www.healthline.com/health/atrial-premature-complexes#Overview 

http://pediatricheartspecialists.com/articles/detail/premature_atrial_contractions_pacs

Ok, now onto the leaky mitral valve. The valve is still leaking but it has not grown in size and is very minimal. The doctor does not feel as though it is a concern at this time and will  monitor it on a yearly basis. Great news!  

In the meantime we have been instructed to buy a pediatric stethoscope and to "check in" on her heart every once and awhile. We will keep you posted once the 24 hour test has been done and the results are back. Prayers for good test results! :-) 

Of course a picture has to go with this post because she is so stickin' cute!