I went in to talk to the cardio doctor last Thursday.
He told me that I for sure have WPW (Woulf-Parkinson-White) syndrome, drew me pictures, answered some questions, etc.
The long and short is that there is an extra pathway of electricity between the top and bottom parts of my heart. This causes it not to be able to rest in between beats like it should... and essentially creates a short circuit (here is where Joel told me to look up his relatives in Town and Country.. hah).
So we made some decisions and I walked out of there with a stress-test date (for the dr to get some more information) and another date for my EPS/Ablation operation.
Fast forward to yesterday, when I had my stress test.
Apparently when my heart rate starts increasing, the electricity flow hops back to where it's supposed to... and now the physician's assistant is explaining to me a little more about the symptoms. He said that the main thing with WPW is the symptoms... so you could be sitting on a couch doing nothing and all of a sudden your heart might skip a few beats and start racing like crazy. Well hm. I've never really had that. If the symptoms like the racing heart aren't affecting your life, it's really not a problem.
I did really feel it when my heart skipped a beat on the treadmill, but the PA said that skipping a heartbeat every once in a while is normal for 6/10 Americans.
The PA also said that it's not life threatening (which the dr said also), and my heart will continue to change as I grow older. He said that it would look physically different in 10 years than it does now, just like the rest of our bodies.
So here's my quandary.
Do I wait? See what happens.. see if I ever faint again, or if my heart ever starts racing. I can take a chance throughout stress, pregnancy(ies), or any other situation that would affect my body, and see if I ever am affected. What if I let it go, and later on through life, maybe I need a permanent pacemaker because I didn't take care of it? Or maybe it gets better as I get older... no one knows.
Or should I get it done? Not take a chance on anything, and do it while it's paid for... is that a bad reason, by the way? Get rid of the cloud hanging over my head?
And is he brushing me off (like it feels) or am I over reacting (which is entirely possible.. haha)??
Anyway, let me know what you all think. Right now I'm leaning towards having it done. The EPS/Ablation surgery is at least 95% successful, and only takes a day or two to recover enough to go back to work. Plus, it would be covered by insurance... completely.
2 comments:
Are there any side effects/problems associated with HAVING it done? Are there any risks to the procedure? If not, I'd probably go for it. Especially since it's paid for. After all, it might not be later. Just my 2 cents. Good luck!
I would get it done seeings it's paid for completely. That way you can be a little more rest assured about it all. It's best to get it done now when it's paid for rather than later when you might have to fork over ALL the money to get it done!!
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