An arrhythmia is defined by the Heart Foundation as:
An abnormal heart rhythm
It is also what Dr Stobie thinks might be going on. Specifically he is concerned about ventricular issues which according to the Heart Foundation can stop the ventricle pumping blood around the body. It can result in sudden cardiac arrest.
So not good then.
I got a call from Dr Stobie today. Fair to say he is a bit concerned about what the tests showed last week. In particular he is worried about a string of 160 or so arrhythmic beats that strung together when I did exercise. That is not a good thing I am told.
Following on from the ablation in February the hope of Dr Stobie and myself was that things would improve and settle down. That doesn't appear to be happening. Instead it would appear that with the ectopic beats settling down the arrhythmia has come to the fore. Whether it was there before is a bit unknown, but its presence now is a concern. The thought was that the level of extreme exercise I had been doing had caused problems in my heart which the ablation would hopefully sort out. The arrhythmia seen last week would indicate more of an underlying issue
What to do about it is also a bit of an unknown at the moment. Dr Stobie said he has spent the last few days thinking about it and talking to colleagues. They considered putting me on beta blockers to keep my heart rate from getting elevated (beta blockers suppress your heart rate), but the concern is that my resting heart rate is already so low that if they drive it lower it could be dangerous, particularly considering that I am getting on a plane tomorrow. Dr Stobie thinks my risk will be lower if I simply just do no exercise and keep my heart rate under control that way.
Really, given that I am getting on a plane, there isn't actually a lot to do until I get back, other than keep my heart rate low. Dr Stobie is happy for me to still head away, as long as I don't do anything strenuous. Once I get back though things will kick off a bit more with a visit to see him next weekend and potentially another ablation the week after. Dr Stobie made mention of pace makers and all other manner of scary things, but he said not to worry too much about those and he didn't think they were likely. This whole thing may mean absolutely zero exercise for 6 months while we wait for my heart to shrink and see whether that improves things. Why wife is not looking forward to putting up with me if I have to abstain from exercise for 6 months, but she is willing to put up with it.
Up until I started typing this I was actually feeling alright about the whole thing, but typing this has made me think about it a bit more. In this whole process I have almost felt a bit blase about it, it isn't good, but it isn't something that can be made better by getting angry or frustrated or scared, it is what is is. I also have never really felt like I am in any great danger. I have to say I don't really feel that right now. In fact the phone call from Dr Stobie makes me wonder how many times I may have nearly had a heart attack in the last couple of months when I have been having these heart rate spikes. I hope that I am overreacting and that the risk isn't actually that great, however, the sort of phone call I had today is quite a sobering experience.
I have never really considered not doing exercise as a serious possibility. Deep down I have always known that I would be able to do some sort of exercise again, just not racing. Now I am not so sure. For the first time since this started I am just a little bit scared and I find that I am perfectly okay with the idea of not doing exercise anymore if that is what it takes to stay safe.
We shall see.
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