30yo female fainting during exercise

Hi all,
I've just joined this forum as I've recently been recommended a pacemaker to treat episodes of fainting during exercise.
I am a very active 30 year old female (I typically run 2 half marathons a year). I was 25 the first time I fainted during a netball game, immediately after stopping a short period of intense exercise. Since then, over the last 5 years I have had regular dizzy spells and 3 other complete black outs, all immediately after stopping intense exercise. I found that if I kept moving during a dizzy spell (e.g. jogging on the spot), I could prevent complete black out.
My last black out resulted in an abulance trip to the emergency room as my heart rate dropped from 160 to 39bpm within 1 minute. I was left very lethargic with cold sweating, short breaths, erratic heart beat, nausea and vomiting.
The ECG in the ambulance showed arrythmia, skipped beats etc and the blood test in emergency showed elevated Troponin. I've done an Exercise stress test, Echocardiogram, 24hr Holter Monitor, CT Angiogram and several ECGs which all showed normal heart function (with a few bradycardias - unsurprising as I am quite fit).
The last test I did was an EP study where they found "sluggish SA node and VERY sluggish AV node" which they recommended a Pacemaker to treat. They didn't give me a medical term for the diagnosis.
Has anyone else on this forum had a similar experience and diagnosis? I would love to hear your stories.

7 Comments

Welcome to PC!

by NiceNiecey - 2014-05-06 11:05:39

Hello PEB.
Hopefully your doctors can get you back up and "running" in no time. The problems you're having are familiar to all of us here. In a nutshell, the electrical impulses between your heart's chambers are being blocked. Some on this site have complete heart block, meaning that none of the signals are getting through. In your case, it sounds like some of the impulses are getting through, just not all of them and that's why it's recommended that you get a PM. Left untreated, you might very quickly develop complete heart block and you may not be so lucky the next time you faint.

Although you are what would be considered an "elite athlete" and one would expect you to have a lower than average heart rate, the test results don't lie nor do your frequent fainting episodes. No matter what great shape a person's in or how old they are, the heart shouldn't beat just 39 times a minute. You need a pacemaker.

Once you get the PM, give yourself a few weeks to adjust. It's going to be your friend for life so keep that in mind when you get impatient with adjustments and tweaks that will be made.

Stay plugged in to this site, too. The people here are incredibly experienced at many levels. I have learned so many things from reading posts and interacting with the "club" members.

And don't be discouraged about having/getting a PM at age 30. There are babies and children that have them, too. At the end of the day, it will save your life and that's the most important thing.

Let us know when you're having the PM put in.
Niecey



welcome to our world

by wjs1954 - 2014-05-07 08:05:15

you sound a little like me..

well I am a male...and 59 years 9 months..

got my pacemaker 2-24-14.

back biking, not too much running yet no real reason, well just fat and lazy.....

sure you will be fine most are.......

I think I may need an adjustment seeing PM rep at cardiologist office on 5-29.

all in all doing very good..

diagnosis

by Tracey_E - 2014-05-07 10:05:15

Bradycardia is a heart rate under 60, either all the time or sometimes

I don't know what they'd call sluggish av node, but it sounds like av block. The sinus node is in the atria, it's the brains of the operation. It raises/lowers our heart rate depending on the oxygen levels in our blood. The SA node tells the AV node in the ventricles when to beat. The ventricles are the brawn, they make the strong contraction we feel as our pulse.

If the SA node gets lazy and slows down, that's SSS (sick sinus syndrome). If it doesn't go up as needed with activity, that's chronotropic incompetence. I forget the name for when it goes up with activity but nosedives, but mine does that. Av block is when the signal gets lost between the SA and AV nodes so the ventricles aren't beating when the atria does. It's not uncommon to have a mix of these, or to have them come and go, or only come on activity.

Whatever name you slap on it, the fix for all of them is the same, a pacemaker. It can be programmed to raise our rate on activity if it doesn't go up on its own or to kick in if our rate gets too low at rest. It can prevent sudden drops. It can make sure the ventricles beat when the atria does. It sounds scary at first, but modern pm's are unbelievably sophisticated so it's a very simple and efficient fix. Most of us are left able to do whatever we want once we heal. Make sure the person choosing and programming your pm knows you are an athlete, as athletes have different needs than the average pm patient.

SJM has some wonderful animations that explain how the heart beats, common diagnoses that are fixed with a pm,and how the pm works
http://health.sjm.com/arrhythmia-answers/videos-and-animations

I am in a different situation than you in that I was born with my condition, av block. I got my first pm at 27, that was 20 years ago this week. I am healthy and active, no one looks at me and sees a heart patient. I hike or ski most vacations, kayak every chance I get, do Crossfit 5 mornings a week. I ran my first 5k last week and am considering my first adventure race next month.

We are fortunate to have healthy hearts, they just have a short circuit. The pm fixes it for us so we can get on with our lives. You will probably find an increase in your performance once your heart is beating more efficiently. Good luck! If you have questions, ask away.

hang in

by 28sedan - 2014-05-07 12:05:37

Hello folks it does take time I was the better part of 2 years. Regular visits to the pacemaker tech for adjustments. Now I am feeling great and life is good. Its one day at a time and my life is good.
Keep coming back here and read what other people are doing. Helped me a lot for sure. Take care for now

Newbie also

by tuxpups - 2014-05-07 12:05:53

I'm new to the PM scene. Got mine 9 days ago. I'm really anger that the medical people didn't educate me about life after a pm. I've learned all I know, which isn't enough, from this group and the internet.

I was being treated for atypical tachycardia for about a year. Taking Cardizem & seeing my Dr regularly. I had two episodes of fainting within an hour. Ended up in the ER. While in the ER my heart paused for 30 seconds & started again on its own. Two hours later, another 30 second pause. My cardiologist said I needed a pacemaker. I was stunned. I didn't know what questions to ask. Nobody said I would have pain with this foreign thing in my chest.

Now that I have the pm, how long am I going to feel tired? When will I feel myself again?

Any words of wisdom?

exercise

by goalxice25 - 2014-05-09 12:05:25

TraceyE,

I'm curious to hear about your experience with your device, specifically about exercise. You mentioned you kayak, and also do Crossfit on a regular basis. I've recently had an ICD put inside of me a few months ago due to Long QT Type 3. I've heard numerous things from different Cardiologists and EPs about what exercises I should and should not be doing. I'm meeting with my EP next week to get a clear explanation on the matter, but since you're a very active person, I wanted to know if you've had any issues with lead dislodge or anything like that due to kayaking or Crossfit? I'm an avid runner, play ice hockey, and have been weight lifting since I was 18, I'm now 29. I've been told that there aren't many patients who receive ICDs around my age, so the EPs don't have a lot of data about lead life and longevity for active people since the majority of patients who do receive ICDs are generally much older and less active. It's been an adjustment having this device in me, though I have to keep reminding myself that it's there to safe my life if I ever need it.

This is my first post on this site, and it's comforting to know there are other people out there in similar shoes.

Thank you.

goalxice

by Tracey_E - 2014-05-12 08:05:02

sent you a private message :)

You know you're wired when...

You participate in the Pacer Olympics.

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