After becoming active and running my first half marathon in October 2014, I became unwell suffering from dizziness, tiredness and palpitations. A few weeks later , after a number of tests, the doctors told me they thought I had a condition called Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome. I’d never heard of it and at the time it didn’t strike me that I had a heart condition, I was more upset that I was told I wasn’t able to run or exercise whilst they carried out more tests and confirmed the diagnosis. I later found out it was a condition which I had had from birth but due to a previously sedentary lifestyle I hadn’t been aware of it. Once i began to understand the condition more I remembered episodes I’d had in the past of what felt like panic attacks where my heart had raced whilst either scuba diving or running in the past, at the time I’d put it down to feeling anxious but it was all beginning to make a bit more sense.
After a few months of tests I was told I could begin light exercise again, this was music to my ears and off I went and carried on my training. In the summer of 2015 I had an appointment with my consultant who recommended I go for an ablation procedure. This would confirm definitively if i had Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome and if I did they would be able to fix me there and then. At first I hesitated, by now I wasn’t getting regular symptoms and I generally felt okay but in the back of my mind I knew the right thing to do was attempt to get fixed whilst I was young, and generally healthy. So i booked in and had the ablation in January 2016.
It was at this point i discovered CRY. Following my operation I had a slower than expected recovery. I was told I would be fit enough to return to work after a week and well enough to run after two. Two weeks later i was still off work with chest pains and even walking was uncomfortable. I did some research and found articles on the CRY website from others who had been through similar situations to me. It was reassuring to see others had taken longer than expected to recover post the ablation and that they were now up and doing well. I took it easy and had some additional tests to check that all was well with my heart, it was great news and the ablation had worked. I no longer had an irregular heart rhythm! About 6 weeks after the procedure I eased myself very slowly back into gentle exercise.
CRY was a real comfort for me in those scary few days and weeks after the operation and it’s only since reading more about Wolff Parkinson White I have found out how fortunate I am that I have been ‘cured’ and it was a suprise to me to find out how many other people suffer from the same, or similar, heart conditions and how simple screening early on in life could detect these conditions and save lives.
To thank CRY for the support I received my Husband and I are both running the Virgin London Marathon 2017 for CRY. My place was deferred from April 2016 as I was too unwell to run post the ablation but now I am feeling strong and looking forward to raising lots of money for a charity who helped me in a time of need. thanks CRY!
