boring post about heart stuff
Jul. 20th, 2006 09:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bunrabWell, the stress echo shows that my ventricles are discordant - one side blobs out when it should be squeezing in; when I exercise, my EF DROPS from 20% down to the 10-15% range. (In the middle of the walk, my blood pressure started dropping because of this. Apparently, this is significantly abnormal enough to wind the test down early.) The bi-ventricular pacemaker would definitely be at least a partial fix for this, if they could get that bi-v lead in, and it looks like it would be worth a third try at it. So, my cardiologist called another EP (electrophysiologist, the pacemaker surgeon) and I go in to see him in a few weeks, and we discuss what we'd need to do to make sure that a third try at putting in a third lead would not be a complete waste of time and money; what can he do differently to avoid the stuff the other EPs ran into? Since the new pacemaker would need to go in a different spot, because the old location is all scar tissue now, where, precisely, would we put it? (And if I was freaking out airline security before, having a pacemaker when I'm not a little old lady, imagine if I have a pacemaker in some spot other than the upper left thorax!) And a few other questions. But anyway, there's no question but that my heart needs the help.
I asked Dr. G, "Why don't people just believe me when I TELL them I get really tired when I walk?" (This is sort of a running thing, because every cardiologist I've ever seen says things like "Oh, you've got to walk more, it will help!" And I keep saying, no, it doesn't build up my stamina, it makes me feel worse! And they never believe me.) And he says it's because I don't panic enough. When I was on the treadmill, I was muttering that it was boring and that I'd like something to read, and maybe I'd just critique the technique of the painting I was staring at, and when the speed and incline increased, I told him that I really wouldn't want to do this for very long, and that it's not a pace I would choose if he weren't making me. Well, that was true. However, according to him, from what the echo was showing, what I *should* have been saying was "This is too much, stop the test, let me off this thing" while panting for breath. Because I wasn't panting for breath, and I could still finish a whole sentence, they didn't believe it till they could see the heart itself.
So OK, I'm supposed to get more upset and panic more often and get hysterical if I want people to take me seriously? C'mon.
Can I help it if playing the saxophone all these years has done wonders for my breath control?
I asked Dr. G, "Why don't people just believe me when I TELL them I get really tired when I walk?" (This is sort of a running thing, because every cardiologist I've ever seen says things like "Oh, you've got to walk more, it will help!" And I keep saying, no, it doesn't build up my stamina, it makes me feel worse! And they never believe me.) And he says it's because I don't panic enough. When I was on the treadmill, I was muttering that it was boring and that I'd like something to read, and maybe I'd just critique the technique of the painting I was staring at, and when the speed and incline increased, I told him that I really wouldn't want to do this for very long, and that it's not a pace I would choose if he weren't making me. Well, that was true. However, according to him, from what the echo was showing, what I *should* have been saying was "This is too much, stop the test, let me off this thing" while panting for breath. Because I wasn't panting for breath, and I could still finish a whole sentence, they didn't believe it till they could see the heart itself.
So OK, I'm supposed to get more upset and panic more often and get hysterical if I want people to take me seriously? C'mon.
Can I help it if playing the saxophone all these years has done wonders for my breath control?
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Date: 2006-07-21 03:32 am (UTC)~~~~~
Maybe that's what you need to tell the doctor!
*gentle hug*
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Date: 2006-07-21 06:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-21 12:57 pm (UTC)So he essentially tells you to behave just a like a character in distress in an average TV drama, to run in circles, scream and shout? Is the medical opinion that people should learn soap opera overacting so other people could understand their problems?
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Date: 2006-07-21 06:57 pm (UTC)He said I'm too stoic, and I can't argue that exact terminology since I do, in fact, usually read a few lines from Marcus Aurelius before bedtime (note the quote I have on my page...)
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Date: 2006-07-23 12:49 pm (UTC)Kemopetrol - Saw it on TV
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Date: 2006-07-26 05:55 pm (UTC)1) Docs keep telling me I'm tough, too. I think it's in large part because they're comparing us to old people who have multiple illnesses -- you've probably got stronger legs, better lung capacity, and other things that will give you an edge over 70 year olds who have CHF *and* lots of other things wrong. My doctors are happy when I can do things that are normal for a 65 year old; I'm happy too, but I want to do even better, which they don't seem too concerned about. A little discouraging, really.
and 2) Sorry to hear about the ICD/ventricle trouble. Hopefully the new electrician can get it working. Mine's on my right side, under the muscle -- nobody's ever given me a lick of trouble about it. It might not be fun to switch to your dominant side; my right side is still weaker than my left, but it doesn't bother me as much because I'm left-handed. But I think most people don't really know or think about where pacemakers go. Plus they can just send the leads across your thorax, instead of coming up through the abdomen, which I believe has a higher risk of coming loose.
-katemonster