Please let us know what the doctor says (is that what's causing the shoulder
pain, or is that from something else that *does* need to be treated?).
Whatever it is, purrs that it stop bothering you.

Hugs,

CatNipped

I was just going to ask how you are feeling.
Purrs continuing to come your way.

Winnie

It does sound like this definitely *has* been bothering you (shoulder pain,
lack of sleep, etc.).  However, it might give you a bit of comfort to know
that my mother was first diagnosed with arrhythmia when she was in high
school.  She is now 89 years old and has never had a bit of "heart"
difficulty.  She would sometimes be aware of something that felt like heart
palpitatons, but that was annoying rather than dangerous.  There were also a
couple of instances in her life was doctors delayed surgery because they
detected the arrhythmia and wanted to be sure that she was a suitable
candidate for surgery.  In each case, she was cleared and had the surgery
(with no problems) a day or two later.  Perhaps this type of event is what
your doctor referred to -- but if so, he needs to be more forthcoming about
your other symptoms.

MaryL

Admittedly, I might have a different perspective, but I simply wouldn't
accept not knowing WHICH arrythmia, and how it is being judged minor or
not. Now, there's no question that some arrythmias are, in any form,
emergencies. There are others, however, that might just happen every so
many beats, and it's useful to know how frequent the events were now --
so that if you have problems in the future, there's a basis for
comparison.

It would seem appropriate to sit down for a discussion with a
cardiologist, reviewing your symptoms and making a decision whether the
arrythmia is causing them or not. A wise physician once said to a group
of young doctors, busily looking up lab values, "Gentlemen, treat the
patient, not the chart. The chart isn't sick."  

Interpretation of tests can go both ways. They can point to disease that
needs to be monitored, and can also cause worry over something that
truly is not clinically significant.

Again, it's hard to judge without seeing the report. In my own case, I
was having significant angina, which did not show up on 12-lead basic
EKG, treadmill EKG, or on Holter, because electrically, my heart was
essentially normal. It took nuclear scanning to define the problem. Once
that showed something, I moved fairly quickly to cardiac
catheterization/angiography and then to an angioplasty.  One of the
major factors in this was having a cardiologist who knew and trusted me,
and vice versa, and listened when I said "Michael, I don't care if the
ST segment is isoelectric. I'm having a classic clinical presentation of
unstable angina. Keep looking, and observe that medical (drug) therapy
isn't working."

I'm really not trying to be alarming, just to point out that cardiology
is not cut and dried, and the cardiologist has to treat the patient, not
the test.