New Chance at Bat

[paulh1]

I haven't posted in awhile. I was having issues while doing intensive exercise(swimming,biking,etc.). Would have periods where I would have to stop and "catch my breath". Since I had an ablation done I Thought maybe it was my AF coming back but this time it felt different. Went to my EP . You sit in a room they ask you all these questions. One was do you have shortness of breath -yes. Do you have periods of tightness in your chest-yes. Fill these questions out and when I bring them up at the doctor visit his solution was new meds or another ablation. Decided I had had enough. Changed doctors. This decision changed my life. This EP actually listened. Thought it might need a different approach since I had 3stents put in in 2014. Scheduled a follow up appointment with the nurse practitioner. She looked at my answers to my questions and said there is something definitely wrong. She suggested we find out if it is blockages or afib by starting out with a cath then going from there. That decision saved my life. Found I had 4 blockages 3 of the new stents were blocked plus an additional one. The scheduled me for a quad bypass in two days. The surgeon says while we are in there we are going to perform a maze procedure and block of the LAA. I'm thinking I'm getting 3 procedures for the price of one :-). I'm about a week out of the hospital and doing better each day. The moral to my story is if you feel there is something wrong with you and you know your body better than anyone then push it til they take action. I was a walking time bomb.. Thanks for letting me share

[pottypete1]

Wow that’s some story.

Just shows that you must listen to your body and persevere if you are unhappy with the status quo.

Hope you feel better soon.

Pete

[Hidden]

An amazing tale of perseverence and not always accepting what you are told if it doesn't necessarily make sense........ as someone who is apparently Lording it in London might say, knowledge is power!!

I think part of the problem is that whilst specialising in a particular condition may determine the best treatments for that condition, it can also run the risk that other related issues can be missed or overlooked. Hopefully, posts like yours will encourage others to challenge medics, but in a way that will encourage them to consider that heart problems can be caused by a variety of different reasons. I am fortunate in that I go to an AF support group which meets regularly and has a wide variety of guest speakers who talk about a number of heart conditions. What is particularly interesting is that the majority of younger speakers clearly do have a depth of knowledge and an open mind about finding solutions to patients problems so I believe things will improve over time.

The good thing is you have taken the initiative and hopefully will now reap the benefits and that bomb has now been safely diffused!

[Hidden]

Good for you I had many failed procedures from March 2012 to final diagnosis Nov 2013 when a benign tumour found in my heart. I had open heart surgery and a cox maze procedure too. It's a big op it takes time to recover . From October 2014 I've been able to go to the gym.,The pills and a pacemaker keep me ticking over. Nearly 63 now so happy gym still an option. Wishing you luck any questions re op/ recovery pleased to try and answer

[irene75359]

That is some tale! Wishing you all the best for an AF-free future (and keep that second EP on your fast-dial!)

[Ablation]

Glad to hear you are doing well!

Definitely have to listen to that voice inside your head!!!