I’m back from the dead. Not really. I shouldn’t say that in the context of this blog! I just mean to say that I haven’t updated in quite some time.
My health hasn’t been great lately, so I’ve been seeing specialist, after specialist to get to the bottom of things. Yesterday I saw an Internist. I explained my symptoms and he gave me an exam. Apparently my heart is having many extra beats (ectopic beats.) He’s ordering me a holter monitor, so now I’m just waiting for that appointment. I also had an ECG while in the clinic, which I found a bit concerning. I suppose that’s why patients aren’t supposed to look at the ECG summary on the screen and try to interpret it themselves. It said “ischemia and possible problem with repolarization,” whatever that means. I’m trying not to think about it until I follow up properly with the Internist and my Cardiologist.
I also had a Coronary CT last week. It’s very similar to a regular cardiac CT but they give you a beta blocker before the exam because your heart must be 60 beats per minute to get optimum photos of the heart/vessels. Luckily, I usually have bradycardia, so I only needed a tiny dose of beta blocker for my heart to slow down enough to start the test. Then I needed an IV to get my blood pressure up, since my BP is usually low too, The test itself only lasts, maybe 10 minutes. They give you a spray of Nitro right before to dilate blood vessels, which makes your head feel funny, as does the contrast they inject in you. It makes you feel like you’re peeing your pants. It’s quite a shock the first time you experience it, but I’ve had it several times now, so I know what to expect.
So, back to the waiting game. The holter monitor should be available soon, then I follow up with the Internist and Cardiologist, Dr. D.