The Power of Faith
Posted 05-29-2009 at 01:05 AM by Jeff
Tags
arrhythmia
,
cardiologist
,
tests
,
trust
While I think that the power of faith in God can be a source of great comfort in times of need, right now I’m thinking more about the power of faith in my doctor. My cardiologist, to be exact.
As I read through posts on this site and others about people’s fear and even panic about the state of their hearts, I can remember a time just a few months ago when I felt the very same way – afraid of dying, but too afraid to live.
Wondering if I was going to drop dead on my next trip to the grocery store.
Trying unsuccessfully to make peace with that idea.
Then I had my tests. Blood tests. Event monitor. And I got to have a once-over from a cardiologist. I remember being impressed with her experience and ability to assess my situation. And even after I got the final phonecall from her office walking me through all the results, reassuring me that it was not possible to fall over dead from the heart condition she saw on my tests, it still took awhile for it all to sink in.
For the first time I had felt confident that I had captured the very worst symptoms my heart and it's arrhythmia had to offer, and I had faith in that doctor, but I still had a gripping fear that outweighed all of that.
At least for a little while.
Then a few days passed and I was still alive. I had a burst of PAT that scared me at first, but I mentally recovered much more quickly than I had in the recent past.
Pretty soon I began to trust what my cardiologist had told me - this wasn't going to kill me. And once that crutch was strong enough to hold all the weight of my fear, I started re-engaging in all those things I'd withdrawn from over the previous months.
I was ready to exercise.
I was ready to work. Hard.
So I guess what I'm saying is, if you're really scared like I was, go get tested - and don't stop until you know the worst has been captured and a trained specialist can look over the results and either put you an a treatment plan to save your life, or more often, tell you that you'll be just fine.
And then trust what the doctor tells you. Have a little faith.
As I read through posts on this site and others about people’s fear and even panic about the state of their hearts, I can remember a time just a few months ago when I felt the very same way – afraid of dying, but too afraid to live.
Wondering if I was going to drop dead on my next trip to the grocery store.
Trying unsuccessfully to make peace with that idea.
Then I had my tests. Blood tests. Event monitor. And I got to have a once-over from a cardiologist. I remember being impressed with her experience and ability to assess my situation. And even after I got the final phonecall from her office walking me through all the results, reassuring me that it was not possible to fall over dead from the heart condition she saw on my tests, it still took awhile for it all to sink in.
For the first time I had felt confident that I had captured the very worst symptoms my heart and it's arrhythmia had to offer, and I had faith in that doctor, but I still had a gripping fear that outweighed all of that.
At least for a little while.
Then a few days passed and I was still alive. I had a burst of PAT that scared me at first, but I mentally recovered much more quickly than I had in the recent past.
Pretty soon I began to trust what my cardiologist had told me - this wasn't going to kill me. And once that crutch was strong enough to hold all the weight of my fear, I started re-engaging in all those things I'd withdrawn from over the previous months.
I was ready to exercise.
I was ready to work. Hard.
So I guess what I'm saying is, if you're really scared like I was, go get tested - and don't stop until you know the worst has been captured and a trained specialist can look over the results and either put you an a treatment plan to save your life, or more often, tell you that you'll be just fine.
And then trust what the doctor tells you. Have a little faith.
Total Comments 2
Comments
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i can never understand that wen my hearts good i can run i can climb steep steps jump up and down and my heart feels healthy yet wen my attacks start its like a diffrent heart i cant run without setting them or climb steps jump up or down all these things make it jump and quiver all over the place making it feel that on the paused beats it may never restart and i will die there must be more to wotever makes a healthy heart turn in2 a bad heart in secondsPosted 01-05-2010 at 02:13 PM by greylady38
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It's not turning into a bad heart - it's the same heart you had before. Only when it's skipping it's out of synch for some reason. And the reason, usually, is something totally benign.
Right now I exercise about 5 times a week, and of those 5 times, usually 3 of them I'm having PVC's or PAC's during the exercise. It's just one of those things that happens. Sometimes it's because I didn't sleep enough the previous few nights. Other times it's because I've had too much caffeine lately. Other times it's because I've been nervous or agitated about something, or even that I've been eating lots of chocolate.
Those are all things that trigger it for me, but I've gotten to a place where I feel ok just pushing through it. My vision doesn't go grey, I don't feel light-headed - it just feels like there's a flopping fish in my chest. So even though my heart is doing wonky things, it's still doing it's job.Posted 01-05-2010 at 03:42 PM by Jeff
