When the cardiologist first told me I have a congenital heart condition I was terrified. I've never been so scared in all my life. My blood pressure went sky high for the first time in my life. There was a glimmer of hope in amongst the shock of it though, when he said he could fix my migraines by repairing the hole. It's still controversial, but studies have shown a link between a PFO and migraines, and mine are so debilitating that I thought it was worth going through the procedure so that I wouldn't have to endure daily headaches and frequent migraines.
It involves having a sheath inserted in the femoral vein and passed through the venous system to the heart. A device is then threaded up through the sheath into the hole where it is opened up and it plugs the hole up. Because it is minimally invasive and didn't involve opening up my chest, I was willing to go through it just to get some relief from my migraines and so I told him to book me in!
I had to have a TOE (transoesophageal echo) first, which involves a light sedative so that the doctor can put a probe into your throat in order to get a clearer look at the heart. I booked into the hospital I work at, and it was at this time when I discovered my insurance didn't cover cardiac surgery. The TOE showed up a more extensive heart problem than the first tests, however, so my cardiologist said that I needed to have it repaired soon, at the public hospital.
It showed that I have two small holes, a PFO and an ASD (atrial septum defect) and the atrial wall is floppy - also called an atrial septum aneurysm. This is why I get palpitations, and can be pretty dangerous if left untreated.
I got pretty upset at this news because I'm only in my early 40's and I've looked after my health all of my life. Dad was from 11 kids and his mother and 4 siblings died suddenly of cardiac events, plus he and at least two other siblings have heart disease. I didn't want to be just another statistic. My dad has decided to put his head in the sand regarding his own cardiac condition - he had a heart attack post-operatively last year and was meant to have investigations but declined. He'd rather leave it in God's hands - and that was his advice to me. I can't just leave it in God's hands though - I have two teenage boys who need me! I'd rather let God's hands guide the medical officers, with all their knowledge, to give me the best treatment in order to live a long, healthy life.
So the next step was to wait for the public hospital to get in touch with me so that I could have treatment there. It wasn't too long a wait - 5 weeks, but then they had to repeat the tests I'd already had, and they wanted more extensive testing before repairing the holes in my heart. So for the next couple of months I was in and out of hospital.
I slowed my life down considerably as soon as I found out I have a heart condition. I was a real gym junkie, going to the gym at least 3 times a week, plus swimming, running, cycling and personal training sessions. There were times when I was nearly passing out during sessions, from palpitations, dizziness and shortness of breath, but for some reason I never connected the dots and realised it was my heart that was the problem. I'd had the palpitations investigated when I was pregnant 16 years ago, and I was told it was just SVT - a non-life-threatening arrhythmia, so I had never worried about the palpitations.
In 2009 I was training really hard and I was addicted to the endorphins - I got agitated whenever I missed a training session. I found it hard to stop exercising even when I had badly sprained my knee or broken a rib while training. I was training really hard for a triathlon in November when I got really fatigued just before it. I just assumed I had overtrained but I didn't slow down. The fatigue never really went away and I think this was when my heart condition really decided to make itself known. There were a few times last year when I really should have called an ambulance because the symptoms were so bad but I admit, I was in a huge case of denial. I could have exercised to death! I guess it just wasn't my time to go.
I stopped all forms of exercise at the beginning of this year, and now I just walk the dog every day. Slowing my life down in this way has caused me to become a much calmer and peaceful person - taking time to smell the roses so to speak. I don't think I'll ever be that gym junkie again, but I do miss the fun of exercise, and the social aspect. I actually lost 3kg in weight, which I assume is muscle bulk, but I haven't turned to flab yet!
Next post: The day I nearly died
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
From Healthy & Fit to This
A year ago I ran the best race I ever ran in my life. I was the fittest I've ever been. Fast forward to today, and I'm on the waiting list for open heart surgery. How did this happen?
I always knew that there was a huge family history of heart disease on my father's side of the family. Being a nurse, I knew the ways to prevent heart disease and followed them: low fat diet, exercise, treating my high cholestrol. When you look at a photo of my family, I stand out as the thin one - I've been thin all my life. I've never smoked and I hardly drink alcohol. Doing all the right things wasn't enough, however - it can't beat genetics.
On January 3rd I came down with a chest infection, which lasted for a month. Four courses of antibiotics later, I still had a hacking cough so my G.P. referred me to a cardiologist for a cardiac echo. I was so angry about this - I thought it was just another test my G.P. was sending me for - I refused to believe it could be my heart. I almost cancelled the appointment! I had just been through a breast cancer scare and found out there was a family member (first cousin) with the breast cancer gene so I was going through that - trying to assess my risks and whether to be tested or not, so I had a lot going on. Luckily I did keep my appointment.
During the cardiac echo, the young man who was performing the test ( basically an ultrasound of the heart), mentioned that there was a "communication between the upper chambers of the heart". I had to wait a few days for my appointment with the cardiologist and in that time had built up so many scenarios in my mind that I was in a state by the time I had my appointment. What did he mean by communication - was it a problem with the conducting system, or a problem with my valves, or a hole, or what? Any other person probably wouldn't have taken much notice of what he had said, but, being a nurse, we know too much for our own good. Enough to know of all the possibilities but not enough to have a really good knowledge of the problem. You can't be naive and oblivious, it's too real: you've seen too many things go wrong to seemingly healthy people.
I had my appointment with the cardiologist. A nurse took my history, did an ECG and a few other observations. By the end of that, I was in tears: how could I ignore all those symptoms, when they so obviously point to a cardiac condition? For years I have had palpitations, dizziness on standing suddenly, a cough, and migraines. For years doctors have fobbed me off or told me it's from stress, and now this nurse was telling me my symptoms pointed to heart disease! My panic level rose ...
So the cardiologist reviewed my echo results and said I have a PFO. Pardon my ignorance, but I had never heard of that and had to get him to write down what it stood for: a patent foramen ovale. It's a hole between the atriums (upper chambers of the heart) that is supposed to close when you're born but in 20% of the population it stays open. Only a small percentage of those (maybe 1%) have problems, which can include migraines and TIA's (Transient ischaemic attacks).
He said that he could fix my migraines if I had the hole closed! I had never heard of this before, and because my migraines are so debilitating (daily headaches and runs of migraines that last days), I was very keen to explore the option of having the hole closed. More about this next blog entry
I always knew that there was a huge family history of heart disease on my father's side of the family. Being a nurse, I knew the ways to prevent heart disease and followed them: low fat diet, exercise, treating my high cholestrol. When you look at a photo of my family, I stand out as the thin one - I've been thin all my life. I've never smoked and I hardly drink alcohol. Doing all the right things wasn't enough, however - it can't beat genetics.
On January 3rd I came down with a chest infection, which lasted for a month. Four courses of antibiotics later, I still had a hacking cough so my G.P. referred me to a cardiologist for a cardiac echo. I was so angry about this - I thought it was just another test my G.P. was sending me for - I refused to believe it could be my heart. I almost cancelled the appointment! I had just been through a breast cancer scare and found out there was a family member (first cousin) with the breast cancer gene so I was going through that - trying to assess my risks and whether to be tested or not, so I had a lot going on. Luckily I did keep my appointment.
During the cardiac echo, the young man who was performing the test ( basically an ultrasound of the heart), mentioned that there was a "communication between the upper chambers of the heart". I had to wait a few days for my appointment with the cardiologist and in that time had built up so many scenarios in my mind that I was in a state by the time I had my appointment. What did he mean by communication - was it a problem with the conducting system, or a problem with my valves, or a hole, or what? Any other person probably wouldn't have taken much notice of what he had said, but, being a nurse, we know too much for our own good. Enough to know of all the possibilities but not enough to have a really good knowledge of the problem. You can't be naive and oblivious, it's too real: you've seen too many things go wrong to seemingly healthy people.
I had my appointment with the cardiologist. A nurse took my history, did an ECG and a few other observations. By the end of that, I was in tears: how could I ignore all those symptoms, when they so obviously point to a cardiac condition? For years I have had palpitations, dizziness on standing suddenly, a cough, and migraines. For years doctors have fobbed me off or told me it's from stress, and now this nurse was telling me my symptoms pointed to heart disease! My panic level rose ...
So the cardiologist reviewed my echo results and said I have a PFO. Pardon my ignorance, but I had never heard of that and had to get him to write down what it stood for: a patent foramen ovale. It's a hole between the atriums (upper chambers of the heart) that is supposed to close when you're born but in 20% of the population it stays open. Only a small percentage of those (maybe 1%) have problems, which can include migraines and TIA's (Transient ischaemic attacks).
He said that he could fix my migraines if I had the hole closed! I had never heard of this before, and because my migraines are so debilitating (daily headaches and runs of migraines that last days), I was very keen to explore the option of having the hole closed. More about this next blog entry
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