why you should pay attention to your body

[STOGEY]

Well I came very close to buying the farm if you know what I mean. I'm always going around saying that I know my body like the back of my hand and how finely tuened it is. Maybe these next few paragraphs my help some oneelse so that is why I'm putting it here. If I knew how to post it on the diving medicine thread from here I would.

You see like most guys I consider myself to be superman, but some ways I may and some ways I may not be, and I'm very stubborn. This last Tuesday I went to visit a different physician, since my last one had his license pulled. Being a truck driver I have to get a dot physical every two years, so I figured that I'd get aphysician now instead of running around like a chicken trying to find one later.

The physician assistant(P.A) took my pulse and blood pressure like ususal. At first she said that my pusle was erratic a little, eventually she found a pulse that was kinda a stable. Then she took my blood pressure which was normal for me. Then she went to listen to my heart, I actually found out that I do have one. She said that it sounded kinda of funny, and wanted to hook me up to a ecg machine. After doing the ecg three times, she told me that I had failed the ecg, and she wanted me to go the exeter hospital to get a better evaluation.

I went into the hospital of this last Tuesday and didn't leave until this Friday afternoon, talk about a shocker. It seems that my heart was in a fib. A fib means that pat of my heart is doing what it shold be and the other part is doing its own thing as far as timing is concerned. My nrmal heart rate is about 58, when I had my pulse taken at the hospital it was 150,100,115,90 basically all over the place.

 

[STOGEY]

At first they also thought that I may have had a silent heart attack, but luckily I didn't. The following day they did a catheter, that is they put a wire up your groin and see what is going on with your heart. By the way exeter hospital does have very good looking nurses, which is probably one reason why my heart rate took so long to get stable.

The physicans found out that I don't have any permenant damage, but my heart rate efficiencly was down to only 10%, most people heart rate effeciency is between 50 and 60%. Heart rate efficiency is how much blood your heart pumps. The higher the pulse rate the less efficiency your heart is pumping, they like to keep a heart under 100 bpm, and when I was admitted it was at 100- 150.

Because of my normal physical rountine, I normally workout from 5-7 days a week and very strenously, at 10% I would have been hospital ridden months ago. I didn't realize I was having a problem untl I went to my new physician.

They even say that as long as I let my heart get back to its normal rythym, even if it were to stay at a fib as long as it is below 100 bpm, it gives my heart a chance to rest between beats. I guess like all muscles even a heart must have its rest as well.
I just took my pulse and it is at about 58 which is good for me. Even if it were to be going from 60,65,70,60 as long as it is belowm 100 I'm doing good.

 

[ScubaNorth]

Stogey,

Glad to hear all's well that ends well. Hope this was an isolated incident. You may have to get a new tag line (no smoking). I went for my first physical this year since oh 1984, when the doctor heard that she almost fell off her chair. Heck I hadn't been near any kryptonite so why go to the doctor? I ended up having (minor) surgery to fix something I didn't know was broken. Great advice for everyone out there. Thanks for posting

 

[STOGEY]

I will be diving again in a few weeks, jsut got to let my heart rest some and actually do what my doc says I should do for a change.

I was probably having this problem for the last 20- 25 years and I didn't even realize this. If you think that things are changing in your body and you don't have any explanation go to your doctor.

 

[Mike Newman]

If you think that things are changing in your body and you don't have any explanation go to your doctor.

Great advice for us all to heed - especially the 'mature' divers. Good to know that you got the assistance you needed - even better to know that your diving is not compromised.

Enjoy the rest - and the diving, when you get back in the water, even more.

 

[ScubaNorth]

For the definition of "mature diver" add 5-10 years to your current age.

 

[ScubaSarus]

Hey there Sogey.

There was no major blockage I gather from your catherization results. Looks like if the heart is fibbing it just doesnt pump blood properly and is inefficient. Some athletes end up with an enlarged hearts and hopefully it may just you strenuous workouts and stress etc and maybe lack of nutrition calcium, and potasium, and electrolyte depletion etc. But whatever, please keep us informed and I whish you well in getting the ticker back to 100%. Get back to diving soon dude. We are all pushing for ya.

 

[Rafael]

Stogey, thanks for the advice, is good to know things are going back to normal, rest and get well soon.

 

[STOGEY]

Actually when they stuck the wire into me, I think that they all expected to find some type of blockage or damage, but they didn't. I don't think they even found too much cholestoral. So my me being as fit as I am went a long ways for not making me alot worse off and probably earlier then most people in the same condidtion.

They even think that I may have had this along time, something like 20 years or more. To go grom 60-70% to 10% that would mean that I was loosing effeciency in my heart at a rate of 2% a year. It would probably be hard to detect that little a drop in efficiency until it got to be significant.

So in a few weeks of r&r I'll probably be as good as new if not better and deffinetely ready for a dive.

 

[NWBoiler]

Stogey,

Glad to hear all is well!! A-Fib scared the hell out of me! I was diagnosed with Idiopathic Atrial Fibrillation 5 yrs ago. I listen well to my body, but I had to learn what to listen for. Over the past 5 years I have learned to adjust my lifestyle to keep me out of A-Fib with the help of my cardiologist. Healthy living and exercise are my keys.

For those that do not know what A-Fib is, it happen when the sinus node (electrical impulse center for the heart) in the right atrial chamber (atrial chambers are the upper chambers, Ventricular chambers are the lower ones) of the heart sends out thousands of small impulses instead of one continuous solid impulse. The ventricular chambers react to these impulses (atrial pulses, ventricular reacts pumping blood, hence heart beat sounds like a thump thump). In A-Fib the atrial chambers quiver and the ventricular chambers try to react by pumping as fast as they can to react to each impulse.

The big threat of A-Fib is staying in A-Fib for a long duration upping the chances for blood to pool in the atrial chambers, possibly clotting, and pushing a clot out to the lower extremities or the brain (a stroke).

It is very important that we all (as divers) understand what are bodies are telling us. Stogy, keep the faith let your ticker rest and blow bubbles!