Heart Beating Sound

[Shari]

Last night DH and I were talking in bed. Of course I can hear his heart beating and the valve ticking. I notice that his heart is sounding like this: "thump...thump...thump...thump-thump...thump....thump...thump...thump-thump." I never noticed the two thumps coming very fast together. I said to him, "something's not right" and I repeat the thumping sequence I hear. He says it's always been like that. I've never noticed. He says that when he takes a breath it will do the "thump-thump" (two fast thumps together) sound. Is this right? I've never heard it before. I might call his doctor this afternoon. He is going to see his internist later today because his cardio rehab nurse told him that he looked paler than normal last Friday and she wanted to have his blood checked. (I never noticed that...and he didn't tell me that until last night because he didn't want me to worry. ) So...the question is: does this sound right? A "thump-thump" when he takes a breath? What do you think? With all the talk about leaky valves, I worry.

[Nancy]

Hi Shari-

I'd wait and see what the doctor says about the heart beats. What we can hear from the outside of the chest isn't something which we could adequately assess. It may be entirely normal. The doctor will listened with his stethescope and his very trained ear.

You'll worry yourself sick listening to every heartbeat, and your husband also. Remember that he can hear his heart much louder than you can and you wouldn't want him to be worried every time the heart skips a little beat. Even with normal folks, there are small differences with some heartbeats every once in a while. The vast majority are benign things and no cause for concern.

Joe has a sound machine that he uses at night which masks the heartbeat sounds because he has two valves doing their own thing.

I stopped listening to his chest a long time ago when he told me it was driving him nuts. LOL.:D

[LUVMyBirman]

Hi Shari

Sounds like PAC's 'premature atrial contractions'. Or a brief SVT.
Very common after valve surgery. Some come and go. Some remain. In my case they went away as the conduction paths healed in my heart.

Usually, these arrhythmia's are benign and harmless. Can be confirmed with a 24 hr. hotler monitor. Sometimes they are hard to catch even then.

They will most likely tell you it is nothing to worry about. Kind of a hard pill to swallow when in your mind it is not normal. Just something that some of us valvers 'deal with'. Defiantly have it checked out and keep us posted.

Take care...

[Ben Smith]

Without seeing the rythm it is very difficult to say what it could be, but what Gina had mentioned and PVC's or Premature Ventricular Contractions is another option.
I still have PVC's often sometimes and the ventrical will sound and feel as if it beat twice right in a row.
I used to have mine do the same as you are hearing by taking the breath. That part went away. PVC's still there but a few are very normal for veryone, including those who have not had the pleasure of OHS.

God Bless,

ben