I think I had my first symptom

[AmyBL]

Hello everyone. I have not posted in awhile but am generally doing well. Earlier today I think I experienced my first official symptom. I will call the cardiologist to report but am curious to hear from people who have lived experience with heart symptoms. After about 30 minutes of vigorous exercise, I tried to do a jump-press (a bend in the legs and then straighten legs and jump with arms above the head.) When I got to the top of the jump, I felt dizzy and everything looked dark? I tried one more and the same thing happened again (dizzy and dark).

Did any of you experience this? Otherwise, I feel pretty good, a little tired but I am not sure if I should attribute that to heart stuff or just the end of a long semester. If you did experience something like this, did it only happen during exercise or was it while going through everyday activities?

Thanks for your time and sharing,

Amy

 

[DebbyA]

Amy,
very likely you did have that symptom--calling the cardiologist was a good idea. Before both my AVRs, I was describing feeling like I was peering out of a tunnel, much of the time. A friend said that's what happened to the early pilots--blacking out because of lack of oxygen at altitude. I also remember my cardiologist saying "you pass out, you go straight to the hospital". Feeling tired is a hard call if you have other reasons, and therefore easier to discount. Feeling tired, waking up feeling tired, was my primary symptom both times.

 

[Mentu]

Symptoms

Symptoms

Hi, Amy, as Debby said, this is one of the most classic symptoms although it is likely that you have been experiencing others but just wrote them off to other things. The primary symptoms are

Heart murmur
Tightness in the chest/Chest pain
Feeling faint or fainting with exertion
shortness of breath, especially with exertion
Fatigue, especially during times of increased activity
Heart Palpitations - sensations of a rapid, fluttering heartbeat

Not everyone will have all the symptoms but most will have several of these. One of my complaints is that some cardiologists want you to neatly complete the list before they become too concerned. I for one think that the appearance of symptoms is certainly the time when better diagnostic tests need to be performed. If you had no symptoms before and have begun having them in the recent past it may indicate that something has changed and Aortic Stenosis does not change for the better. Sometimes if you do not push your cardiologist to explore what is happening, nothing will be done until your are much more ill. Follow up with you doctor. You are much more familiar with your body than he is.

Larry

 

[AmyBL]

Thank you both. The cardiologist office just called back and fortunately, I recently had my six month testing appointment where a heart MRI was completed. According to the nurse, my aneurysym has not grown appreciably in the last 2 years (4.6 2 years ago and 4.6 or 4.7 now - margin of error) and my regurgitation is still mild. The structural changes of the heart (thickening of left wall to compensate for poor valve) have not yet begun to appear. In early July I will go in to talk with the physician and will monitor any and all changes in the meantime.

On-line communication at times, frightens me when I think about its effect on relationships. This site, and the people who post to it, are exempt from that worry and fear. How awesome is it that for all intents and purposes, strangers from all around the globe share their deepest fears and dreams about life and death with one another? Surely this is an example of humanity at its best.

 

[pellicle]

Hi Amy

Back when I was in my early 30's (a couple of years after my homograft) I used to play squash with a friend (as well as cycle 11km each way to work every day and other things too). Kevin and I were fairly well matched but he would beat me time after time if I didn't do something decisive in the first few minutes. The reason was that as a rally went on I would start to loose my periphery vision to darkness and I could not track the black ball as well.

I recognised this as hypoxia onset and viewed it as an insufficiency in the valve being able to get blood around the place. I mentioned it to my surgeon on our next meeting (probably 6 months later) and he seemed equally unworried. I seem to recall he said something like if it starts happening walking up stairs we'll look into it.

My valve lasted another 14 or so years after that. Now that my mechanical valve is fitted I actually can't provoke such hypoxia any more. Last winter I bettered my best ever fitness test (cross country skiing) and now I am also 20 years older than then too.

My point is that its an indicator of things, not a problem in its self

Best wishes

 

[AmyBL]

Pellicle,

That is interesting. A black ball would be difficult to see when one's world is black (at least the field of vision). So it sounds like when engaged in vigorous exercise, I am not the only one to experience darkness. It was kind of creepy but it did resolve almost immediately.

Congratulations on your best fitness test EVER! Cross country skiing is supposed to be an excellent cardio workout. Having never been, I did not think it snowed in Austrailia. I will need to look this up!

Amy

 

[river-wear]

Amy, Pellicle recently left Finland for his homeland.

 

[pellicle]

Hi Amy

That is interesting. A black ball would be difficult to see when one's world is black (at least the field of vision). So it sounds like when engaged in vigorous exercise, I am not the only one to experience darkness.

yep ... actually I had problems also on longer climbs (hills) on the bike. I had a favourite climb which was about 2.6Km long and loved meeting younger guys on that (especially when I could catch and pass them with tactics and fitness understanding).

Congratulations on your best fitness test EVER!

Thanks Its taken an amount of work, but I posses a character attribute that the Finns call SISU (in English its translated as "damn stubborn bastard")

Cross country skiing is supposed to be an excellent cardio workout.

it is singularly the best exersize I've ever done. I simply love it. Its much smoother than jogging (I liken jogging to waterboarding and other tortures) but Skiing is just magical. You get your rythms right and get your kick just right (not too much or you'll break grip and waste energy) polling right and you can get places well. My standard 'training circuit' was out on the lake from Joensuu (where I was living) and back through the forest. It was about 23Km or so (depending). I don't use track skis (or tracks) and use skis like the Asnes Combats. This is a vid my wife shot for me while I was trying to explain it to my Australian friends.

[ link ]

I did not think it snowed in Austrailia. I will need to look this up!

Yep, often people know nothing (well, perhaps even less than nothing if misconceptions count as negatives) about Australia. For starters here is a comparison with the USA for size.

of course that picture is misleading and should be upside down, so that the north (where its hot) is down in the South for the USA (where its hot) and Hobart should be up near Canada (cos hobarts south and colder than Florida of course ;-)
Its like everyone sees only the rock and the reef and that's it. The Snowy Mountains (for instance) are at 7,310 ft altitude and look like this:

Australia is quite large and diverse ...

 

[pellicle]

Amy, Pellicle recently left Finland for his homeland.

indeed. I have traded this:

for this

(although that's an older shot as I haven't been down the the beach since getting home ... dunno why)

 

[AmyBL]

Cool! What a fun response. Cross country skiing lesson, interesing facts about the geography of Australia and a new name/word to use for my husband, "too much SISU." HA! Love it. He is out of town running a 100 mile race as I type.

I do admit that I have several traits common to USA people (never left the U.S., a general cluelessness about wonderful parts of the world that are not the U.S.) but I hope to remedy this soon. And contrary to stereotype, I also do not own any guns, and will never own a gun.

Right after signing off yesterday I learned that the snowy season is just beginning for the Australians! However, I had no idea that Australia was so similar in size to the U.S. Thank you for the new information.

River wear, you have a big day coming up soon. I wish you the best.

Thanks again all. I am smiling.

 

[carolinemc]

Heart murmur is not a symptom, it is a condition of a leaky valve. I had one and had a valve replacement and it cam come back. The other things mentioned are symptoms to never be ignored. Always when you experience these things, call a doctor or visit the nearest emergency room, can never be too careful these days with heart problems are being more rampant.