I am calling my attack .. a Great One - given the follow-up discoveries and given that my first checkup in the summer of 2015 confirmed that everything was working A-OK.
My two Stents were working fine and my aneurysms were not growing.
I was feeling well and life was good. I also dropped a fair bit of weight and was in the best of health save for the above issues.
About 6 months after my checkup though I noticed that my pulse, which had always been strong and steady, was for some reason beating erratically.
Like a man - I kept this to myself thinking that over time it would resolve itself.
But at my June 2016 annual checkup they too found that my heart rate had become inconsistent. The previous year's results were checked which confirmed that the change had come about since that time.
I asked the technician if she would be notifying my Cardiologist about this new discovery but was told that it would be up to me to do so. (Her work apparently was focused entirely on the state of my aneurysms). This seemed strange to me but I was now determined to find out what was causing the irregular beats.
It was at this point too when I started to have thoughts of A Bridge Too Many. I had taken everything to date in stride... my heart attack, two stents, two aneurysms and a defective valve. The addition of an irregular heart beat was just one development too many even if it turned out to be nothing serious which I suspected it would.
But it was then that I went back to calling my heart attack Good ...not Great.
Sadly though, when I called her office, I was advised that she was on leave. They suggested that I contact my family doctor to see if he could provide me with a diagnoses. This advice also seemed a little strange since I would have thought the Heart Institute would be in a better position to discover what was going on with my heart than my GP.
But I was not going to let this drop.
I went to see my family Doctor who also expressed puzzlement as to why he was being asked to get involved. He took my pulse and found it to be erratic and asked me if felt light headed etc. I told him that other than being a little tired - I felt okay.
My G.P. said he did not think I had anything to worry about but to be safe, ordered a series of tests done. In due course, I was back before him with my test results in his hand.
He told me the tests confirmed the erratic beat but that they did not indicate any serious concern. Again though to be prudent, he said he would forward the results onto the Heart Institute for expert review.
This seemed like a roundabout way to get back to where I thought I belonged ... but at least it got me back.
I waited about a month to get before the appropriate specialist - a very nice chap by the way who had the ability to convey bad news while all the time smiling.
Prior to going in to personally see him - I was given an ECG to provide a up-to-date report on how my heart was beating. I took the report into my meeting with the Specialist and sat quietly as he read the results.
The following is more or less what he told me in layman's language:
A blockage in my heart was causing the erratic beats for which there are three (3) stages. The first is not considered serious, the second is considered serious and with the third - one's heart stops.
"Where did I fit in" I asked. "You sir are a two (2) plus plus.
Big Smile....I Smiled Back, but upon a minute's reflection - it struck me that this didn't sound all that encouraging.
I stopped smiling.
To cut to the chase, he prescribed a Pace Maker and said it would make me fit as a fiddle but to bear in mind its battery life is guaranteed for only 10 years.
Ten years sounded sufficiently down the road enough for me and besides all that it meant was I would simply get the battery replaced ... no big deal.
My Smile returned.
I was more concerned though with how long it would take to have the Pace Maker installed.
We'll get you in within three (3) weeks ...
Seemed a bit of a wait but thankfully I was only at 2++ and not the dreaded 3... or is 2++ really another way to say 3 ?
There goes my Smile again.
This coming Monday I go in for the procedure. It is done on an outpatient basis and is a very common occurrence.
I am glad I persisted and am not for one moment criticizing anyone in regard to my care. It has been first class. If it appears otherwise - it is really my heart that has let me down and in reality - I have let it down. Too many fries and milk shakes.
My advice to you is to take care of your body and its parts and by doing so. they will take care of you.
Or you can get a Pace Maker that is guaranteed for at least 10 years.
As I see it...
'K.D. Galagher'
p.s. Procedure successfully completed and I have a new lease on life. Moral of the Story...if you have a 6th sense that something is not right ...go with your instinct...you seldom go wrong. KD
