For me, February has always been about Valentine’s Day, but this year it was much more about heart month.
Like they say, it’s not personal until it happens to you.
Well, me and the other 84 million people in the U.S. who suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease, according to the American Heart Association. This can lead to heart attacks, strokes, or other serious complications.
When my symptoms started, I tried to convince myself it wasn’t a big deal. Except, I know there is a prevalent heart history in my family on my dad’s side. My dad has had some heart events over the years and has had several stents put in. But, I had never given much thought to my own heart health until I started having weird feelings.
Last fall, I began experiencing rapid heart beats out of nowhere. I thought they were obviously due to anxiety or stress. At times with the rapid heartbeat, I also felt light headed, had bouts of chest tightness, and a few times there was also a weird pain in my left arm.
After a few weeks of symptoms, (and a not so subtle urge from my mom), I decided it was time to make an appointment with my primary care physician. At that visit, I had blood drawn, an EKG, and a heart calcium scan. The following week, I went back and got a heart monitor put on, which I wore for two weeks. (I named it Ed and we became good friends while he was attached to my chest.)
Once all the results were in. . .
- The CT results showed no evidence of any coronary calcium (meaning no radiographic evidence of early heart disease).
- The echocardiogram results showed everything was within normal limits.
- The heart monitor results weren’t too concerning, but did show occasional atrial tachycardia and possibly ventricular tachycardia (VT or V-tach). VT is a type of abnormal heart rhythm, or arrhythmia, that occurs when the lower chamber of the heart beats too fast to pump well, so the body doesn’t receive enough oxygenated blood. VT is a pulse rate of more than 100 beats per minute (mine were in 120’s and 130’s) with at least three abnormal rapid heartbeats in a row.
My primary care doctor then referred me to see a cardiologist.
So, I booked an appointment with my dad’s doctor, who has been seeing him for well over a decade. He and I went over all my prior test results, and he decided it would be best for me to take a low dose of metoprolol. While it is often prescribed for high blood pressure, it also slows down your heart rate and makes it easier for your heart to pump blood around your body.
Since starting my half-pill each day, I’ve only had my symptoms a handful of times. I go back for a follow up visit with the cardiologist in April. This may become a yearly event for a bit, but I’d much rather be safe than sorry!
