Blessed and a New Reality

Many years ago, when I was just small I asked my mother if she could feel her heart beat.  She answered in the negative, asked if I could and looked a bit panicked when I said yes, all the time.

Fast forward to 1973.  I was on an awkward telephone call and my heart started pounding to the point that the bed I was sitting on was moving. It scared me so bad that I made an appointment with my childhood doctor the next day and went to demand that he tell me what’s wrong with me.  “Nothing is wrong with you, never has been and I have known you since day one.  It is atrial tachycardia.  Nothing serious”.

1975 found me in my on-gyn’s office at the beginning of my first pregnancy and the doctor says “your heart is beating hard and fast”.   “Yes, it does that a lot”.  “Hmmmpppp, atrial tachycardia, it’s nothing”.

1979 was a repeat of 1975.

Fast forward to 2006 and after my husband had bypass surgery I had an event where my heart went out of sinus rthym and that began a series of events that continued until last week.  I was sure I had aFib — an arrhythmia caused by any number of things and it seems to run in my family.   A while back my cousin called to tell me what was going on with her — yep, aFib — a hospitalization and a couple of procedures.  She encouraged me to check it out since I was doing pretty much the same thing.

I did.  I visited the cardiologist on December 12 and had an EKG which was normal.  I then wore a heart monitor for a week, returned to the doctor two weeks later and had an echocardiogram which was normal.  The report from the heart monitor showed the arrhythmia and the diagnosis is atrial tachycardia.  Not aFib.  Not particularly serious but more bothersome.

Atria tachycardia is treated by the use of beta blockers.  I have been prescribed a common drug — my husband takes the same — and within hours of the first pill all the drama and fluttering and racing in my chest had stopped and hasn’t, knock on wood, come back.  I have slept well, I feel good and I feel blessed that it wasn’t anything worse than that.

Now I have a Fitbit to track my movement which isn’t great due to the gimpy knees and trying to lose a little weight — my decision, not doctors.  It is a fun device — and I am always looking for fun.

Last night I attended Girl Scout Outdoor Training 101 in preparation for camping season. Haha haha— what a hoot!  That is a post in and of itself but I just can’t imagine me camping — unless it is at a Hilton or Marriot.  We will see about that!