my journey with a hole in my heart
I found an excellent research study that sums up what’s going on with me: Conduction Abnormality and Arrhythmia After Transcatheter Closure of Atrial Septal Defect [pdf] Conclusion: Transcatheter closure of ASD is associated with a transient increase in supraventricular premature beats and a small risk of conduction abnormalities and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in early follow-up. Transcatheter closure …
I have now been acquainted with heart butterflies, aka, atrial flutter. Let me backtrack… I was still feeling short of breath whenever I’d exert energy, i.e. having a shower or trying on different outfits, and my chest still felt like I was wearing a lead vest, so I called Cardiologist #2, and was able to …
There actually isn’t an elephant in the room, either literally or metaphorically, but it certainly feels like there is one sitting on my chest! Chest elephants, unfortunately, lead to ER visits. I had been recovering quite nicely at home with the help of my mom and sister. However, I think I got a bit too …
Surgery Day finally arrived! My day started at 5am with pre-surgerical instructions to drink a cup of juice at this early (dreadful) hour. 😉 Then I went for a little walk, got ready, and headed to New Westminster with my mom. I got a phone call shortly afterward that they could take me in earlier than …
I had my pre-admission clinic visit yesterday, which I like to refer to as a hospital scavenger hunt. I arrived at the clinic at 9am and was sent off into the depths of the hospital with a map, a pencil, instructions to visit the lab and cardiology department, and told to report back to the …