I almost died.....

[Speedbag]

Well, at least for a while I thought I might.....

So yesterday I'm sitting at my desk, working on a machine design. Suddenly, out of the blue, I feel like I'm going to pass out, got mild tunnel vision, and my chest got a little tight. A matter of seconds later it went away, but the chest tightness remained.

I went to the clinic, described my plight, and they slapped me in the ER faster than I could have ever imagined. All the tests for heart attack, stat.

Spent the night there and had several rounds of blood tests to see if heart attack was the culprit. No sign of the enzyme that signals such an event. Studies of my EKGs by the cardiologists let them to a conclusion: Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. You can Google, far too much for me to type. Potentially very serious.

My blood pressure has always been borderline high, so they gave me a scrip for that. And for the next month I get to wear a little portable heart monitor that will record any anomaly that may occur at the press of a button, after which more will be determined.

Despite this being something I was born with but never had an issue with, I'm more than just a little freaked out. 

Anybody else have this marvelous affliction?

[ducpainter]

I have the exact opposite.

Bradycardia...

The effects are similar...

as is the reaction of the ER folks.

[AJ]

Whoa, glad it wasn't a heart attack, and glad you can monitor what's going on.  Good luck!

[lethe]

ok, now don't do that again

[IZ]

+1

[fastwin]

I have nuclear high blood pressure. I'm on Benicar and need to bump up the dosage. I'm having dinner Sunday night with my doc and her husband who used to be my bailiff in my felony court. They are personal friends of ours. Only HIPA rules will keep her from giving me shit over dinner and drinks! She would bust my ass over my elevated liver enzymes! "Put that drink down or else!!" We'll see how it goes. She's an awesome doc, wouldn't want anyone else on the planet on my side and she's a pro beyond description. She'd never, ever mention our doctor/patient relationship outside of the office. Although I'm sure it stills driver her crazy!!

Ahhhh... by the way, I'm really glad you are OK. Be careful out there!

[Stella]

Speedbag Heartbag or would you prefer WolffBag?     

Wow, I can't even imagine.  So glad, like all others, that you've got a handle on it!   

[Grampa]

I get random heartburn that feels like a heart attack. The first few times it happened....I was sure I was meeting Elizabeth.

[ducatiz]

I get random heartburn that feels like a heart attack. The first few times it happened....I was sure I was meeting Elizabeth.

You ole ugly spasm... Elizabeth ain't gonna be waitin' for you.. Its gonna be tha DEVIL and he going to be wearing a big ole strap-on for yo' evil ass.

[Howie]

Bacon and beer will fix you up!

Seriously, my best.

[RAT900]

well looks like you got a wake-up call for certain pay attention and deal

we don't want to change your name to bodybag or toetag

[bdub]

Have you disscussed having ablation? Or is that something you are not interested in? I get dizzy spells alot but my BP is kinda low and I smoke

Sounds like your Dr. is awesome. Stick with her.

[ab]

Glad you are alright.  Hope all tests come out good.

[Speedbag]

Have you disscussed having ablation? Or is that something you are not interested in? I get dizzy spells alot but my BP is kinda low and I smoke

Sounds like your Dr. is awesome. Stick with her.

Ablation may come into play down the road. It really depends on what happens in the next month. If I have no re-occurrence, things may not change at all and I just remain aware.

Thanks for the well-wishes!

And now for the PSA: if you feel weird, get it checked out. 

[ManaloEA]

Speedbag , earlier this year, I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. My symptoms were similar (tachycardia). However I had been having twinges of pain in the chest for a few months. Even though my heart was beating, it was not pumping enough blood to sustain activity. So I experienced numb hands and numb feet, cold sweat, nausea, ears starting to ring, dizziness, and then I passed out. Not sure how long I was out.

I was prescribed a defibrillator vest, which I had to wear 24x7, in case my heart experienced potentially fatal arrhythmia, it would shock me back to a normal rhythm. I wore this for almost 5 months, then was released. Still on a ton of medications, and the heart has not healed yet. From my understanding the process could take years.

My biggest challenge is accepting that I cannot do all the things to the same degree of intensity as I used to. I am having to re-think career ambitions and had to drop out of the masters degree program to relieve stress. Some family and friends believe that I went through (or are going through) a mini-depression because of this. The upside is that in order to create a transition from work to home (and leave the job stress at the job), I make sure that I ride at least a half hour every day possible and it clears my head.

If you start rethinking second-guessing yourself, hang in there, there is hope. It just takes time.

And if you just need to vent to someone who may understand what you are going through, feel free to PM me. Also, I joined a support group at a local hospital with other people who have experienced similar heart situations.