When you hear "Achy Breaky Heart," you are probably instantly shot back to 1992 with thoughts of Billy Ray Cyrus breaking our hearts with his 12-inch mullet, but this, in fact, is not my rendition of his super fun and catchy song that I can guarantee I line danced to many times while living back home!
I want to invite you a little further into my life while living with Supraventricular Tachycardia and Mitral Valve Prolapse. Although it was discovered I had been living with these conditions from birth (most likely due to poor prenatal care from my birth mother), these points I mention in the vlog are just the most dangerous and most scary times I recall living with the conditions. FYI, Everyone who knows my mom Linda, she is NOT the culprit, hee hee! I was adopted at 6 weeks of age by her and my father.
One thing's for certain, if you have an electrical problem with your heart, there aren't a lot of Electrophysiology Cardiologists out there, and you need to do your research to make sure you have a good one. I've now had 5 cardiologists in my lifetime and can say that one was THE best and another replaced her upon retirement.
I'll have 2 Vlogs, the first one is ready to be viewed, and the next will be posted in a few days. Part one has been broken up into 3 "entries" on my TexCalGrl Instagram account but may be viewed in its entirety right below.
I wanted to share this because I want to help anyone else who is going through something similar. Especially young athletes who may need an advocate for their heart health (or any aspect of their health). According to a Sharp Health Care ER Doctor, he's seeing more patients come in with arrhythmia due to "COVID related stress." Still, it is important to know when it's just a "little stress" when the stress is actually causing something greater that's going on in your body, and when it is plain and simply something more.
It is important always to be your own advocate for your health, and I am happy to help you if I can.
POST CARDIAC ABLATION
All 5 of the cables shown below were in my heart to perform the cardiac ablation in 2007.
4 were used to find the problem & 1 was used to burn the myocardium and create scar tissue to fix it! Sadly this is an old photo, and I cannot find the cables; they are somewhere in my garage, LOL!
Fun Fact! They all have platinum tips.
For most of my young life and young adult life, I was an avid runner. The rapid heart rate definitely put a stop to that. While I was on medication, I did have a fairly good workout routine and jogged some, but I didn't run competitively again until after my cardiac ablation.
Since 2007 I have run in numerous 5k's & 5k obstacle courses, an 8k up in Reno at nearly 10k feet, multiple 10ks, and even a half marathon competitively, and never once had any issues with my heart racing or feeling unwell where my body physically gave out during a single race!
It has been such a wonderful experience to feel alive again and has a new lease on life since my cardiac ablation!
I hope you enjoy learning a little more about me, as many of you had no idea or even knew the extent of my issues. If you feel you are having some health issues, please be sure to reach out to your doctor sooner than later.
If I can do anything at all, it is to help you find just one piece of yourself in any of these stories I shared with you and let you know that you are not alone. Let you know that you need to listen to that little voice in the back of your mind, and be proactive, be your own advocate!
Please do not let your health wait...BUT, that's not all folks, LOL!
Well, if you were wondering why I waited until now to come forward with my pitiful broken heart story, it was to prep for Part 2!
Times are uncertain, and JUST in case it is more than just a few extra beats keeping me down, I wanted to let yall know what was leading up to where I am today...those trips to the ER and that fun ride I just took last week.
Whether it is extra beats or low heart rate threw in with the very much added tachycardia I've been experiencing since February, I will soon find out. I must be my own advocate because just like I knew it was NOT me choking in high school, I know it's NOT COVID stress now. We MUST be our own health care advocates.
I'll be wearing an event holt heart monitor for the next 30 days to determine exactly what it is. Here we go!
Thanks for following along; I will keep everyone up to date on Instagram!
Traci
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