After calling the paramedics last week for safety sack as my pulse went from 40 beats a minute to 93 beats a minute (I checked out okay.), I decided to see my doctor.
He says my heart can’t make up its mind what it wants to do: it beats normally, it pauses, it has a premature beat and it has an irregular beat. I have both atrial fibrillation and other arrhythmia problems. Oh joy! My doctor did again assure me that I do not have heart disease, a heart condition or any problems with my arteries, which is good news.
My heart reminds me of a line from Stephen Leacock’s Gertrude The Governess, “He flung himself from the room, flung himself upon his horse and rode madly off in all directions.”
I asked about cardioversion using a defibrillator to stop the heart and then restart it, which resets the heart beat. My doctor said that is used in patients who have constant atrial fibrillation, which I don’t.
I’m going to be sent to a specialist in Hamilton, who will map my heart’s electrical problems. I believe he also can correct them by destroying (burning) very small pieces of the heart to make a clear circuit for the beat signal. It will take a while before I see the specialist.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
Racing Heart
Last Saturday my heart really raced. Okay it was for a very good reason – I was trying to outrun a thunder storm on my bicycle. My cycling club had a ride that started at Niagara Christian College. When I started out it was overcast, but no threat of rain. It wasn’t until I got to south part of Niagara Falls in the rural area that I began noticing dark clouds to the north. I figured they would probably stay north.
Naturally I took a road that ended at a clay road. So rather than turn back to the main road I had just left, I continued along a clay road till the next paved road, which I took over to the Niagara Parkway trail. I noticed the dark clouds were getting closer. I picked up speed. I heard a rumble of thunder and a cool wind began. Then I saw flashes of lightning over Grand Island. I picked up speed again.
Closer and closer the storm came. The wind became stronger. I thought about my options: ducking under a bridge, the veranda of a house under construction, laying my bicycle down and crouching nearby and, my preferred option, take shelter at the Miller’s Creek Marina. I prayed over and over again, “Please God may I not get fried and may I make the marina.” Fortunately my prayer was answered and I made the marina in one piece. I wasn’t the only cyclist to take shelter there. A group from Buffalo, going to Niagara Falls, had arrived before I did.
About 10 minutes after I arrived the storm broke. There were great flashes of lightning, wind and rain, which, now safe, I was able to enjoy. It lasted no more than 20 minutes and then we were all underway again.
I cycled the half kilometer back to Niagara Christian College. With only the tour leader there, we both decided to return home.
My heart has been up and down, with bouts of skipping, added beats and racing. Mercifully the racing has been rare. One day last week my heart raced at 93 beats a minute, while my blood pressure was normal. I think it was somewhere around 110 over 63. The heat and humidity hasn’t been helping me any.
I have returned to doing Wii Fit Plus thanks to my girlfriend bringing back the Wii console. As part of doing Wii Fit Plus I’ve started running in place for two minutes. It is helping. I’ve also began taking a daily dose of aspirin.
Naturally I took a road that ended at a clay road. So rather than turn back to the main road I had just left, I continued along a clay road till the next paved road, which I took over to the Niagara Parkway trail. I noticed the dark clouds were getting closer. I picked up speed. I heard a rumble of thunder and a cool wind began. Then I saw flashes of lightning over Grand Island. I picked up speed again.
Closer and closer the storm came. The wind became stronger. I thought about my options: ducking under a bridge, the veranda of a house under construction, laying my bicycle down and crouching nearby and, my preferred option, take shelter at the Miller’s Creek Marina. I prayed over and over again, “Please God may I not get fried and may I make the marina.” Fortunately my prayer was answered and I made the marina in one piece. I wasn’t the only cyclist to take shelter there. A group from Buffalo, going to Niagara Falls, had arrived before I did.
About 10 minutes after I arrived the storm broke. There were great flashes of lightning, wind and rain, which, now safe, I was able to enjoy. It lasted no more than 20 minutes and then we were all underway again.
I cycled the half kilometer back to Niagara Christian College. With only the tour leader there, we both decided to return home.
My heart has been up and down, with bouts of skipping, added beats and racing. Mercifully the racing has been rare. One day last week my heart raced at 93 beats a minute, while my blood pressure was normal. I think it was somewhere around 110 over 63. The heat and humidity hasn’t been helping me any.
I have returned to doing Wii Fit Plus thanks to my girlfriend bringing back the Wii console. As part of doing Wii Fit Plus I’ve started running in place for two minutes. It is helping. I’ve also began taking a daily dose of aspirin.
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