Saturday, December 19, 2015

I've Got a Heart!

Thursday was the day we have been waiting for since June. It felt like a day that would never get here. In June, I went to the Train concert and collapsed with a hypertensive crisis episode in my seat. I had two ECGs done after my dramatic exit from the concert in the back of an ambulance. Lights, Sirens, Action! They had sent me home from the ER but called my mom two days later to say that there was a problem with the electrical activity of my heart. The doctor had seen a prolonged QT interval that could potentially lead to a sudden cardiac rest. Now that's dramatic.

The electrophysiologist recalculated my QT wave rates and noted that it's borderline. He sent me for a cardiac stress test to see what was going on and to see if we could find what's causing the extreme heart rates.

I think it's safe to say that we can add the cardiac stress test to one of my least favourite procedures list. My heart rate seemed to do some funky things. Resting it was on average about 150 beats a minute. But then when I quickly stood up, it shot down to only 88 beats a minute before climbing back to 140. And then I started walking. I didn't want to complain, I wanted to complete the test no matter what. As the treadmill started, so did the chest pain. My heart rate hit a sustained 210 beats a minute. By the end of the test, the only way I was leaving the room was in a wheelchair. The technician felt that they were able to accurately capture what was going on and that they had enough information to say what was wrong. However the doctor wants me hooked up to a telephone ecg monitor for the next month. Great! More wires! So we're still left with very few answers why I'm constantly dizzy and feeling like I'm going to pass out, and why my heart jumps and feels like it's shaking sideways at times. Hopefully we'll find out more next month!!

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