Arriving at the Medical Assessment Unit at about 9.30pm, I
felt terrified as nurses recorded observations, did more ECGs, fitted cannulas
and hooked me up to a cardiac monitor above my bed. Left alone at the end of
the barrage of tests and questions, my mind was reeling – just 24 hours ago, I
was leading a normal life. I had spent much of my childhood in and out of
hospital because I was born with a cleft lip and palate. After 12 operations
and countless outpatient appointments, I was no stranger to hospital. But the
difference was that before, it was easier to deal with because I was used to
the routine. But this was a whole new entity – a cardiac problem at the age of
20? How? I tried not to dwell on the ‘what if?’s and ‘why me?’s. My dad and I had agreed not to tell my mum on holiday, so she returned to the news that I now had a heart condition. Ta-dah!
The doctors rounds at 9.30am answered some of my questions,
allayed some of my fears. The reason I blacked out was because my heart rate
was much lower than normal. A normal heart has four chambers – the atria at the
top, the ventricles at the bottom. In a normal heart, the atria send a signal
to the ventricles. This stimulates the heart to beat, which pumps blood around
the body. Our pulse is normally 60-100bpm. Some physically fit people have a
pulse of around 35bpm at rest. But ECGs showed that my pulse was as low as
30bpm at rest. As a result, blood wasn’t pumping enough oxygen around my body.
This lack of oxygen made my brain start to shut down , which caused me to feel
dizzy and lose consciousness. The doctors tried to work out what was causing the
heart block. The only plausible explanation was that the propranolol that I
was prescribed to prevent migraines. Heart block is a rare complication of
propranolol, so I was immediately taken off it. I was moved to the cardiac ward
for further tests and observation. My heart rate improved to about 50bpm, which
was positive but not perfect. By Monday I had improved enough to be discharged,
with strict instructions to rest.
TO BE CONTINUED…………………………
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