How did you find out you had a problem?

I was on my way to a funeral

by IrishToast - 2024-08-04 09:47:47

I was driving on interstate on my way to a funeral, found myself off the road with air bags going off, and then people helping me get out. When my doc heard my heart he wheeled in an EKG machine. My husband went back and looked at records from my Garmin watch I had for 3 months and it had been happening all the time. I had only been looking at steps, not realizing why "I don't look good" sometimes when I looked in the mirror. I have good hindsight.

To answer Your topic title

by Old male - 2024-08-04 09:57:42

Climbed a ladder onto a roof 26 yrs ago and immediately had to sit down.  Suddenly, Zero energy.  Had a common cold and slight ache in lungs.  Went to Doctor who prescribed cold medications.  After a week, nothing changed and I was sent to Cardiologist.  Tests revealed multiple blocked arteries and required bypass surgery, 5 grafts.  Six years later arterial plaque rupture totally blocked Right coronary artery for 12 hrs as I was in a remote location.  Required Helicopter transport to hospital and 2 stents.  10 yrs ago had two near fainting spells that led to Arrhythmia issues discover VTAC and Defibrillator implant.  Maybe more info than you requested. 

Welcome, Paul

by Lavender - 2024-08-04 10:30:35

Soon you will get your official badge of membership, your pacemaker. 
 

2020 I started having drop attacks, fainting briefly, felt fine otherwise.

Six specialists-Gastro, Endocrinologist , Muscle and nerve dr, Neurologist, Vestibular therapist, and Cardiologist found nothing wrong after six months of tests including echo, 24 hour heart monitor, ekg, stress, eegs, emg, various blood and urine tests, barium upper GI, etc etc

January 2021 had a drop attack alone in a store. No one saw me on the floor and I had a near death experience before coming to on my own and standing up. This led the neurologist to insist that my pcp order a thirty day heart monitor. 

February 2021 ten days into wearing the 30 day monitor, I had a drop attack at home. My guy was present, heard a death rattle sound and mistakenly thought I was choking so he pounded on my back with his fist. I revived. The doctor later said it was as if he had given me a precordial thump. The heart monitor recorded a 33 second ventricular standstill. Two days later, my CRT-P device was implanted. 

I have been fine since. The recovery was more emotional and mental than physical. I was disappointed in my body for wearing out so fast. Lol. I kept protesting that this was something that happened to "old" people. Then I learned that even babies get pacemakers. 
 

God go with you! I sat in the hospital a couple days before getting my device. I was bored. They didn't want me out of bed without an escort. I had a bed alarm on. I stayed overnight the day I got the pacemaker because it was late in the day. 
 

Thanks to your country for hosting the Olympics! What a beautiful exciting opening ceremony!!

Glad you are here

by karensoftball - 2024-08-04 11:58:48

I had been diagnosed with second degree heart block since 2013, but it took an emergency and switching hospitals to finally get a pacemaker. 2023 was the year it finally happened.

In April my appendix decided it was done and I was transferred via ambulance to a medical center that I had not received care at before. During that surgery I went into 3rd degree twice. CPR was done both times. A regular cardiologist was consulted and I ended up being released the next day. I did insist on seeing their electrophysiology department and did get a referral.

EP did a complete workup, caught multiple episodes on remote monitoring and I had my pacemaker implant in September.

If the appendix ordeal wouldn't have happened over a weekend I feel that EP would have been involved right away and things would have progressed better. The general surgeon that did the appendectomy wanted a pacemaker done right away and advocated the best he could.

Still blessed that it ended well and I finally feel comfortable with my EP care.

So many amazing stories that I have read on this platform. Very inspiring and humbling 

Everyone's Journey is Unique...

by Andiek11 - 2024-08-04 19:46:33

My LBBB was found totaly by accident- while I was getting a screening colonoscopy and the nurses noticed something "off" on my EKG. No symptoms of any type on any level. The procedure went on with out any issues and I followed up with a cardiologist a few weeks later. He said just to watch - no need for action at the time - but that at some point I'd probaby need a pace maker.  Flash forward 28 years later and I received my first one about 3 months ago in a very planned fashion.  (It took about 9 months of pre-testing, imaging, trying various medications etc, to verify tha the PM was what I really needed).  All the best wth your procedure on Tuesday.  I hope you recovery goes smoothkly and you're feeling in top shape soon again.

Life Comes at you fast

by PaceCahr - 2024-08-05 00:50:52

I had been seeing a cardiologist for a couple of years and had several Holter Monitor runs. 2 at 48 hours, then one for 4 weeks (ugh).  They saw "events" but nothing at the time that I was complaining about symptoms. I was diagnosed with PVCs that "are benign" unless they become more 1/3 of your heartbeats.  My Cardiologist basically told me I didn't need to follow up any more "unless something happened."  

Just like Andiek11 - I was in for a colonscopy and the anesthesiaologist noticed a change in my EKG from 2020. They brought in a 12 lead EKG, and discussed among themselves if it was safe to do the proceedure. They did, but urge me to see my PCP ASAP.  A week later, my PCP diagnosed that I had  RBBB  and  recommended another cardiologist.  That was Thursday morning.  33 Hours later I was in an ambulance in VTACH.  I didn't know what it was, but I knew I needed to call for help, and that something was very wrong. And I knew it wasn't benign. The ambulance crew told me I was at 220bpm. 

I ended up being shocked out of it in the ER, and immediately admitted. After a week of testing, I was diagnosed with Cardiac Sarcoidosis. 

When I next saw my PCP, she gleefully informed me that I was "A Zebra."  

I had no idea what that meant, until reading about sarcoid, and came across the line "physicians are taught in school to look for the obvious. 'If you hear hoofbeats, look for horses, not zebras.' "

Which basically means my cardiologist and PCP were both so hung up on my cholesterol levels (plumbing) they never thought to refer me to a EP - for the electrical problem I was developing.  

Clop-clop, clop-clop

 "are those coconut shells?" 

30 quid watch

by piglet22 - 2024-08-05 07:54:21

So would a 20 quid oximeter and a 40 quid BP monitor.

These would all show anomalies if you had rhythm problems arising from any of the heart conduction, of which there are many.

I can only speak for complete heart block (CHB) and 19 years on, no electrical signal reaches where it should and am now 100% dependent for atrial and ventricular pacing.

The BP monitor and oximeter are everyday tools of the trade, as are two fingers at my radial pulse.

I first noticed something wasn't right when I was using an exercise bike. I had already had the symptoms a year or so earlier when sitting talking to a colleague at work, everything went limp, total collapse.

Told not to drive and not to work for 6-weeks.

On the exercise bike, I noticed that my pulse wasn't budging, staying lowish and certainly not increasing.

A long battle with the GP surgery started and eventually, after false starts with my vagus nerve, I had the full tests, saw the consultant, "you have complete heart block, you need a pacemaker". A couple of weeks later enters the world of the PM.

PaceCahr

"If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck..."

It's interesting how the others had their problems picked up through something else.

You have to be grateful for someone's observation. They could easily not bother to mention it. More than my jobs' worth.

I went for a biopsy - OUCH - and the medic said "by the way, you have a heart murmur"

My neighbour, a plumber, went for a hearing test. The audiologist noticed a small swelling in the neighbour's neck. He was referred to cardiology. It was a pea-sized lump of fatty material sitting in his carotid artery. The surgeons removed it and gave it to him in a test tube. He liked to bring it out during coffee breaks.

Electrical Issues

by Penguin - 2024-08-05 08:52:02

It's interesting that so many people who have commented seemed to know very little about electrical issues before they were diagnosed, but most (including me) were reasonably alert about the plumbing side. 

Perhaps there's a case for more public health information about this type of heart 'disease'. 

Most of our NHS risk checkers - if you use an automated / online  symptom checker for example - will ask about your cardiac history but will concentrate on things like previous heart attacks.  You rarely see a question that checks the electrical side of things out.

Similarly post heart surgery or post heart attack you used to be referred for programmes to help you re-habilitate - mentally and physically. With a pacemaker, you're in and out of hospital on the same day and expected to adjust on your own. 

I think there's a case for more awareness of cardio-electrical issues. 

I certainly didn't know anything about any of it when I was first diagnosed. 

Penguin and Angry Sparrow

by piglet22 - 2024-08-05 10:31:14

Over the years 've come across quite a few people who have passed out or similar but didn't appear to have been followed up.

One used to keel over at his desk and the other blacked out while driving.

In my family, one relative (female) had a triple A in a swimming pool and died in the pool.

Another (lady) had the classic bradycardia but took a long time to find out. Another was tested for neurological problems while all the time it was heart related. In the second case, the gentlemans' wife described the neurologist as arrogant and reluctant to hand the case over to another speciality.

There really isn't enough preventative scanning and testing going on (UK). My father had a history of heart attacks and strokes, but that was never taken into account when my problems started.

Once you get into the system, you are probably better off.

Men are famously slow to get things looked at, but it's not all their fault.

Ask many people about the triple A scan and it's almost always unknown. I saw a poster for it in the local pharmacy, but it explained very little. As soon as I turned the qualifying age (60 or 65) and knowing how quickly it kills, I got tested. Negative, but is one scan enough for the rest of your life?

Despite the number of prostate cancer warnings, not once has the GP surgery mentioned it.

On a visit to A&E, a young registrar asked me how the "water-works" were. I could have said supply seems to be good, but didn't. That was years ago. All I know about it is a change in tiddling habits.

I'm a firm believer in self-help. I do very regular BP measurements, oximeter, temperature and once a month, a blood glucose finger prick. I’ve got enough data now to know my normal and spot any changes.

re: triple a scan

by PaceCahr - 2024-08-05 12:44:42

piglet22 

What a great tip!  I had never heard of a triple a scan, but reading about it now - that is what I had wanted my pcp to look into.  

We discussed that my PVCs might be related to my vagus nerve, as I noticed a trend that when they got bad enough to put me on "are we heading to ER? watch" - invariably - my body would decide that it needed to poop.

 I had no idea if the palpatations were a reaction to bad signalling from the vagus nerve relating to gastric issues, or was the need to poop part of my body going "you're having a serious medical event, I need to pre-evacuate everything."  

When my PVCs would get going, I could count my pulse without needing to "touch" anything with a finger. I'd feel/count the misses in multiple locations: inner ear, neck, top of abdomen. Watching a BP/pulseOX do it's heartbeat count matched what I was counting internally. Gaps where I "heard nothing." 

I'm scheduled for a full torso PET scan soon (to look for other areas of sarcoid) so they will be looking for exactly that - deposits of stuff that shouldn't be there. 

Angry Sparrow

Ouch. You are firmly entrenched in the history of ignoring women in cardiac reseach/development, meh - ANY medical R&D, really. The recommendation I was to follow-up on was for a woman cardiologist that specialized in women's cardiac health. The EP I am establishing with is one of two women in the group. 

I do consider the timing and response I got to my event to be truly "life changing medicine" as the group advertises. My "previous" cardiologist's office was on the same floor of the hospital as I was there for all the testing - yet he never stopped by to check in with me. I often wonder what would happen if I had walked down there in my gown, while going for exercise walks. 

No warning at all

by RickBT - 2024-08-12 22:39:13

I'm a fit 61 year old male. I did weightlifting and cardio 2 - 3 times a week. I had no warning at all. See bio for full story. One moment I was standing in the kitchen talking, next I'm on the floor eyes wide open, unresponsive. Turns out my heart beat had dropped to 30 beats per minute. Fortunately the ambulance arrived immediately. Diagonsed with complete heart block - electrical and had emergency pacemaker installed.I had absolutely no warning beforehand.

Still in recovery 6 months later....there were complications, but I'm doing well.

Listen to your wife

by Mad Hatter - 2024-08-20 19:11:00

My journey started on a red-eye flight from Anchorage to Denver.  I was sleeping when I suddenly passed out into the aisle, my wife pulled me back up, I vomited, and then passed out two more times.  The announcement was made for medically-trained passengers and a former navy medic and nursing student responded.  After consulting with a doctor on the ground I was given an IV and oxygen.  Taken by ambulance to the ER on arrival, where I was diagnosed with dehydration.  That diagnosis didn't sit right since my wife had thought I was dying on the plane, so I followed up with my doctor.  Checked out fine but referred to cardiologist just for peace of mind due to history of heart disease in father, deceased at 62. 

Stress echocardiogram fine, cardiologist says "your heart is really healthy, but how do you feel about wearing a holter monitor just to be sure."  My wife was waking me up at night to make sure I was OK, so I knew she would want me to say yes.  Cardio dr calls next day, says serious heart problem, heart stopped for up to seven seconds during the night, need to see electrophysiologist right away.  EP does brief exam, sinus arrest with vasovagal syncope and mild bradycardia, recommends pacer.  Biotronik Edora dual-lead PM implanted, had some early issues with rate response but absolutely no issues the past year.  So if I hadn't been on a red-eye flight and if I hadn't followed up with my doctor, and if I hadn't agreed to wear the monitor, and more importantly, if I hadn't listened to my wife I would never had learned about the issue.

Only here by God's grace

by Tex61 - 2024-08-22 18:31:29

Driving down a busy highway in Houston in the rain, I was mansplaining something to my wife and I told her "i can't see, i can't see" and blacked out.   She said later, you know that song, Jeus take the wheel?   Well, he did.

She said there was an angel in our truck.  The truck never moved an inch left or right, my hand never moved, even though I was out 5 or 6 seconds.  Very much a miracle we didn't have a wreck.  

Pulled over, thought my heart rate would be sky high but it was really low.  Took her to her doc appt.  While there they took my pulse and said I needed to go to an ER.  So we went.