So.... I could have died.

shonnakraft89 wrote: »

Im finally released .

I have congenital heart defects. For the last 6 years I've had palpitations that were ruled insignificant and my blood pressure was never effected. Palpitations themselves are fairly common but over the long term, cause damage.

Friday night I got the mother of all migraines. Literally felt like someone just tried to hit a homerun with my skull. Nathan actually had to coach me to breathe through them but even still, I puked. Over and over again.

It subsided a few hours later but I was still drenched in sweat and I couldnt sleep so I got up to freshen up and lay on the couch. Putting deoderant on is the last thing I remember. I woke up on my living room floor and crawled to the bathroom and stayed on the floor until my daughter found me in the morning. I couldnt stand up. I couldnt even catch my breath. I felt like I just ran a marathon. I couldnt bring myself to close my eyes because I was afraid I wouldnt wake up.

Nathan took me to our small island hospital where the RN tried to tell me that my blood pressure of 170/95 (stage 2 hypertension) and resting heart rate of 110bpm was normal. Sent me home with a holter monitor. Less than 24 hours later I knew things weren't right. I was extremely light headed and I couldn't talk, bend over or raise my arms without being totally out if breath. My lips and extremities were starting to tingle and I couldn't tolerate any pressure on my chest or abdomen.
Went to the bigger hospital 45 minutes away Saturday night and here I am today. They've been monitoring me on the ECG, bloodwork q6hr. Echocardiogram. Blood pressure q2hr.

All the palpitations they've caught apparently haven't raised too many red flags but because the ones I get are an extra beat in my heart rhythm, that extra beat doesnt actually pump any blood through my heart so every extra beat my blood pressure essentially drops in half. Not a big deal for normal people, but If I get more than a few in a row than my blood pressure is dropped low enough for long enough that I passed out. Further more, if my heart doesnt correct itself fast enough, it could very well be fatal.

So while I'm being released, My cardiologist 10 hours away wants to see me ASAP for an electrophysiology test. That'd where they send tiny wires through either the artery in my neck,wrist or groin up to my heart to assess its electrical responses to see if they can figure out where the responses are coming from that made me pass out. If they find something they'll apply either cold or heat in order to create scar tissue to interfere with those responses in the future.

Until then no working or exerting myself. Here's hoping I dont die of boredom before my cardiologist can keep my heart from killing me.