Matters Of The Heart

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In November Daddy D treated me to an early Christmas gift of an Apple iWatch. We had just joined Slimming World together and I had been looking to purchase a smartwatch so that I could track my steps and get back to running.

I had been after an Apple watch for a while but they were always out of our price range.

But, as luck would have it, a friend of mine decided to sell her series one Apple watch and I was lucky enough to secure the purchase from her in double quick time before it got snapped up by someone else. (It was an amazing bargain).

Things had been going well with the weight loss and fitness plan with the pounds (lbs) coming off gradually each week (18lbs lost so far). During the monitoring of my activity via the health app on my iPhone, I had noticed some dips in my heart rate. Initially, I didn't really think much of it. Even though my heart rate had been dropping into the 40's I had been feeling fine in myself so just assumed the watch hadn't been able to pick up an accurate reading at those times.

Around a month later I started to suffer from lightheadedness and dizzy spells and so I started to monitor my heart rate more frequently.

After monitoring it for a couple of weeks it became apparent that my dizzy spells were consistent with my heart rate dropping into the low 30's.

Obviously, I am fully aware that smartwatches are not a diagnostic tool but I also knew that the readings seemed to be consistent and the fact that I was experiencing symptoms meant that it was not something that should be ignored, so I booked an appointment to see my GP.

The GP agreed with me that the readings seemed to be accurate and sent an urgent referral for me to have some tests and see a cardiologist.

A few weeks later I was given an appointment to have a cardiac monitor fitted, which I would have to wear for a month, so that whenever I experienced a symptom I could push a button to take a reading of my heart rate and then send those readings straight to the hospital via our landline telephone. (I know! Very clever stuff).

Once the monitor was removed and the results were analysed by a cardiologist it became apparent that there were some obvious abnormalities (which are now become more frequent).

During the month of wearing the cardiac monitor, I also had an echocardiogram which shows that there are no obvious issues with the structure of the heart, which is obviously very good news.

There are no definitive answers at the moment, but what we do know is that it is the right ventricle causing the issue and that lots more tests are now needed to get to the bottom of it all.

I have been referred to a consultant at Harefield Hospital, which is a specialist heart and lung hospital, as well as being given appointments for a cardiac MRI, a continuous 24-hour recording of my heart (to see how many times the abnormality occurs in a 24 hour period), a stress test on a treadmill (to try and establish whether the abnormality occurs more or less when my heart rate is elevated) and it is being recommended that I am tested for a rare condition called Brugada Syndrome (because of where the abnormality is and the pattern it gives on the ECG).

The dips in my heart rate (and dizzy spells) are becoming more frequent, the lowest so far has been 32bpm, but I am also now experiencing elevations in my heart rate (the highest of which has been 170bpm) which have occurred even when resting. Not to mention the heart palpitations which I also experience on a daily basis.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried.

As much as I keep telling myself not to stress about it (until I have to), it is always there in the back of my mind.

Each dizzy spell has me wondering if this might be the time where I lose consciousness and I have developed an unhealthy fear of going to bed and not waking up in the morning, which is making it virtually impossible to get a good nights sleep.

Unfortunately, all I can do now is wait.

And hope that everything turns out okay.

Let's hope I get some answers soon.

Missy x

About Missy B

Missy

Marissa Bird is a busy mum of six, blogging the realities of parenting, whilst trying to keep her sanity by reading books and taking photographs in her spare time... if she can ever find any!