Nice to hear that you are on the mend Phil
I went through a similar thing 5 years ago and was up at Abbeyard at the time when it got worse, Cup weekend 2017
Basically I was sneezing & coughing alot leading up to Cup Day and thought it
was hayfever as i do suffer from that and to say more than a few words without coughing was seldom. I went to Abbeyard anyhow as the weather was beaut and its so relaxing however noticed little things like setting up the tent, gazebo & walking round the block seemed a bit more of an effort and would sweat more than normal.
Whillst we were riding to Wonnangatta i was coughing and putting it down to the dust from bikes ahead. I made the decision to go home once we got back on the Sunday arvo
I woke up on Cup Day at about 3am abruptly with breathing difficulty however as soon as I sat up it cleared and I
went off back to sleep (I was too find out later on that this was blood pooling in my lungs)
Anyway, my wife convinced me (stubborn Taurus) the next morning to go to the Austin ER just to make sure as the hayfever tablets didnt seem to be working and the cough was getting worse. My stubbornness again......
It was a nice sunny day so was looking forward to going for a ride after lunch when I got home however this wasnt to be
I never felt or noticed that my heart was racing but when I got to the
ER, my pulse was hovering around 180 just sitting down, I just felt a bit tired / lethargic however
within a couple of minutes I was on a bed with tubes stuck in me and meds to reduce the heart rate however it
didnt get down below 100 for four days. The shock paddles were brought
over and thats when I got really nervous however didnt need them but
they stayed right next to my bed for days.
I remember watching the monitor and it would come down to say 125 and then start racing again. 198 was the
most I remember seeing but for most of the time was around 140.
It was 5 days later that they could accurately do a scan (apparently when racing over 100 bpm its difficult or inaccurate to do the scan)
They said my heart had enlarged 50% and the beat was irregular / sporatic. - Atrial Fibrilation
They asked if I was coughing up blood as my lungs were pooling with blood
but I wasnt, it was one of those dry coughs and after spending that week
in the cardiology ward I can tell you its a certain type sounding cough
as I heard others with it.
I had an angiogram and my arteries were clear I really thought there'd be a blockage as I love my food.
All blood tests come back fine.
Jan 28 2018 I woke up feeling 1000% better. My heartbeat had returned to normal, sinus rhythm
Its hard to describe but imagine a misfiring engine that all of a sudden clears up and just goes. That lasted a week and then it was in & out of normal rhythm however by June 2018 returned to normal size and maintained a
regular rhythm to the point where i could reduce medicine dosages which
is great cause it causes a bit of the shakes and occasional blurred
vision which is a bit of a pain in the arse but better than being 6foot
under and since reducing the meds appears to be settling down.
I have since had a procedure called an Ablation done on my heart in june 2020 and havent missed a beat since plus it enabled me to stop taking some medication and reduce others however still 3 in the am and 2 at night. They went in through my leg and it was done in about 5 hours. Felt like i was sunburnt in my chest for a few days after but all good now
It amazing how much one becomes familiar with themselves when something like this happens. Im now seeing the cardiologist once a year as he says my heart is doing great now however still have blood tests, holter scans, ECG's & the other scan where they visually record the heart function & take measurements etc. When watching the screen its like an engine, valve opens, compress and out the other - we arent much different from combustion engines when you see that !
In hindsight I remember saying to my wife ' i dont understand why im
gaining weight when im doing all this riding and eating normally' The
weight gain was due to fluid retention as when the heart doesnt beat
properly the other organs become affected and go into survival mode.
I came out of the hospital 10 days later and 8kg lighter
Im fairly active but need to do more & mountain biking is my main thing along with walking etc
Want to get out on the trailbike more however there is always that little bit of trepidation that i need to overcome knowing what I know now and went through
My cardiologist said Im lucky I came in when I did as it was only a matter of time, maybe a day or two from a major stroke
stay positive