For the past two decades or so since my original diagnosis of sick sinus syndrome I felt fine. There was an incident 10 years ago when I wondered if I would ever walk or bicycle again. I felt fine sitting down and lying down, but woozy standing, walking or cycling. I was thoroughly checked over including for MS, but no cause was ever found. It took me a full six months before I returned to my usual self. I always considered it some sort of mysterious virus.

In late November, almost precisely 10 years since my mysterious illness, I began feeling woozy. It felt a bit like walking on a floating dock. After a few bouts of this I decided to get it checked out by my doctor.

When I went my doctor noticed my heart beat was irregular and would skip beats. I sent for a variety of blood tests and an ECG (electrocardiogram). An ECG records the electrical discharges of the heart via electrodes and can give an indication whether or not everything is okay.

I was then sent to a specialist, who was not a cardiologist. (He also dealt with liver and kidney.) I was given a holter monitor to wear for 24 hours, which is basically a portable ECG. Then I was given a loop monitor to wear for two weeks and to press a button every time I felt a symptom. Much to my surprise I ended up pressing it four times. Then the specialist did an echocardiogram, which is an ultrasound of the heart. For the first time I became aware that I might have a serious problem with my heart. He noticed a part of the heart that wasn’t functioning
the way it should and told me that I had had a small heart attack. My doctor later told me that the jury is still out on this.

Sick Sinus Syndrome

In my previous post I introduced my blog. In this one I’ll talk about my original diagnosis. About 1990 or thereabouts I began complaining of chest pains and sought help for them several times. I was hospitalized in the cardiac wing of the St. Catharines General Hospital and saw a heart specialist, who put through a battery of tests.

The chest pains turned out to be something other than my heart. For example I discovered that sometimes I’ll get a very sharp stabbing around my heart, but it isn’t my heart. It’s from a nearby scar that’s
under my left armpit caused by a ping pong ball sized piece of fat removed several years earlier. I can now tell it’s the scar as when I press on it it hurts.

It was discovered that my heart tended to skip a beat or two, chiefly during the night, and I was formally diagnosed with sick sinus syndrome. Sick sinus syndrome is a group of heart rhythm problems in
which the heart’s natural pacemaker – the sinus node – doesn’t work properly. A person’s heart may beat too fast or too slow or a combination of the two.

It’s a condition that someone, like myself, may have few if any symptoms initially. It can also come on suddenly. It is progressive. Symptoms include: palpitations, fatigue and shortness of breath. A complete
list of symptoms can be found here http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sick-sinus-syndrome/DS00930/DSECTION=symptoms

In my case it was decided not to do anything since it wasn’t affecting me in any way at the time. I was monitored for several years afterwards and then it was dropped. And then things changed. In my next post I’ll tell you how.

Introduction

I'm scared, no two ways about it. I'm having heart problems, me of all people. I don't smoke or drink in excess (actually I don't drink at all) or otherwise abuse my body. I exercise regularly and am not diabetic. Okay so my diet does leave something to be desired, but I'm trying to improve.

This is the first in a serious of occassional blogs on my heart journey from symptoms to diagnosis to treatment. In it I'll share my hopes and fears, triumphs and failures. I'll confront my own mortality. I'll explore my relationships with God, my girlfriend, my friends and my cats as they relate to my heart problems. I'll talk about my symptoms and my journey to treatment.

Please join me on my voyage. I warn you that this blog will be, like my heart beat, irregular. Meaning you may see a constant string of postings and then nothing for a while before starting again. I promise to tell you when I think my blog has run its useful course and formally sign off.

I'm doing it to help me cope with my experience and in hopes that I might be able to help others with theirs. I welcome your feedback and your stories. While I know I'm not alone with dealing with heart problems, I'm curious as to whether my experiences, hopes and fears are unique to me or fairly common. With your permission, I may even share, anonymously, some of your stories.

Until next time, Peter D. A. Warwick