June will mark 4 years since I first discovered something wasn’t right. I was playing pool at the time in a competition match for prize money. There was a lot of pressure and my body could feel it. I was winning 1-0 and all of a sudden I started to go dizzy so I decided to have a drink and try and relax. I returned to the pool table to take my turn and next thing I knew the room went black and my heart was racing. I woke up around 10 minutes later not knowing what had gone on. After 2 hours of waiting I was taken to hospital via ambulance. After explaining all of my symptoms which consisted of my heart racing, sweating, dizzy and effected vision, I was discharged with heat exhaustion and dehydration. I didn’t know what to think other than something wasn’t quite right.
The next few days, I felt unwell and underwater so I called into work sick. After being off for a few days I returned to work to be told to go home. They later revealed I wasn’t allowed to return to site until I could prove I wouldn’t blackout again. This made the situation a million times worse. Nobody in the world can prove they will never blackout. My GP even declared me fit for work however my previous employer wouldn’t accept this, so I had to find another job.
From this day forward, I started to get palpitations quite often normally when I was stressed about something. I always remember the time I thought I was running late for work and I had palpitations then for around 5 minutes. I went back to the GP many times just to be told I’m stressed.
The second time I collapsed was at work’s Christmas party. I did not drink much alcohol, just a bit of dancing which led me to collapsing on the dance floor. I got checked out by paramedics who said I was fine and okay to go.
The day of a friend’s wedding was the next event and I attended the evening party. I was having a great time dancing and the next thing I knew I woke up around 5 minutes later in a pool of blood from my eye which I had split from the collapse. I was rushed to Nottingham Hospital and discharged the same day. A letter was sent to my GP. Each time tested my ECG was normal.
My GP finally referred me to hospital under the Cardiology department as I explained I was still getting palpitations. I was put under 24 hour ECGs which showed nothing and then a week long ECG which again showed nothing. My cardiologist made the decision to implant the reveal device. At this point, my heart was becoming progressively worse. Only 2 days later, I received a call to get to hospital right away as my cardiologist wanted to see me. He gave me a low dose of Bisprolol to try.
The tablets seemed to be working for a while however after some time the palpitations returned faster and harder than ever before. It was winter 2016 and it was cold outside and my heart began to palpitate whilst de-icing my car. From here I knew this was going to be a bad day. I was midway through my warehouse shift and I felt dizzy. My heart raced and I went blind. My vision returned blurred however I held my fingers close to my face and couldn’t see them. I knew this was serious, I was sweating like I had done a marathon.
I wasn’t thinking straight at all. I decided to call my doctors and ask for an appointment and I strangely got one! However, my team leader stopped me and made me ring 999. I’m one of the people who are very reluctant to dial 999 for some reason. I didn’t feel this was important enough. The ambulance arrived in super quick time with a cardiologist who plugged me in. It was at this point we realised how serious this was. My heart was racing at 288 beats per minute. I remember him saying to the crew get the stretcher this is serious. At this point my hands were blue due to lack of oxygen in my blood. When chatting to the cardiologist who told me the situation he said two sentences which will stay with me forever:
“If you were any older you wouldn’t have survived this”
“If you do go then I’ll do everything I can to get you back”
I asked questions like “will I be okay?” He didn’t reply to them.
We made the trip to the Royal Stoke and the Resuscitation team managed to calm my heart down and move me into the Coronary Care Unit. I was being observed for several days with the odd run of palpitations and odd beats here and there. After a few days had passed, I was moved onto a ward and then my tablets increased to the maximum dose with the view to go home. I wasn’t happy with this as the tablets were having a bad effect on me with the side effects such as feeling down and not wanting to do anything. I stayed in because I refused to be discharged, this proved to be the right thing to do.
Later that evening, my heart played up again with long runs of palpitations setting off the alarms connected to my chest. That same evening whilst resting, it happened again so the doctors decided to run an ECG whilst having a 1 to 1 supervision-this lasted for 12 hours. The ECG showed where the problem was and put me in for MRI scans first thing. The results showed a scar in between my heart and heart wall which created these palpitation beats.
My Cardiologist decided to put me in for a VT ablation. I was told this would be a short operation in which they would go through my groin in the artery leading to my heart ablate the affected area, which is burning on the area which was causing me problems. However when this was taking place, my heart went into overdrive which caused me to blackout twice which resulted in a shock from the defibrillator. I remember waking up and thinking I’m not coming out alive. This made me think of the people I love and the last things I did and said to them.
We discovered the operation was unsuccessful and we needed to act differently so he placed me on two drugs and offered me an ICD (implantable cardiac defibrillator). I accepted this and had the device implanted. Since then (touch wood!) things have been great and I’ve only had the odd run of palpitations. I’m still being monitored 24 hours a day by my device which transmits data back every day. Not only does it provide me with a shock if ever required but pacing to help my runs of VT.
Before leaving hospital, me and my fiancée analysed life and how precious it is. We decided to try for a baby when I was fit and well. Natasha was my rock and helped me every step of the way. We have since had our baby girl who is now 9 weeks old. Life couldn’t be any better-I was so lucky! Now my defibrillator sends daily data from my heart’s activity for them to analyse-this is so clever and impressive. If any problems are found, they give me a call. I now take 2 types of tablet (Flecainide and Bisoprolol). I take these 3 times a day, they are so good and I feel a huge difference.
Whilst I was in hospital, I had a text to say one of my friends had been rushed in too, due to his heart, but he didn’t make it. His brain was starved from oxygen for too long. The decision was made to switch off life support. I was thankful to the staff for letting me say my goodbyes even though it carried risk. I still carry Carl’s poker chip in my wallet as a good luck item. It’s working so far! Carl’s parents made the hard decision to donate his organs. Today he’s saved many lives. How amazing!
If my experiences taught me anything it is that life is too precious and short. So, live it how you want to! Any concerns you have whether it be your heart or any part of your body always get checked out. Sometimes the smallest symptoms can lead into something much greater.
I would like to give a special mention to the Cardiology team at the Royal Stoke University Hospital who looked after me every step of the way. Thank you also to Dr Morley Davis you has given me the chance to live a normal life which I will forever be grateful for.
If you’re in doubt about your heart and you feel the doctors aren’t doing enough or going in the wrong direction, don’t take no for an answer. I’m lucky enough to tell my story.
I just read this story, I just wanted to say what an amazing story, glad that you’re still with us.
Sometimes I think that I’m the only person in the world that thinks about life, and how short and precious it is.
It’s weird to say but sometimes I feel like we are the lucky ones ’cause we are able to appreciate life and look at life in a different way.
I still can’t believe it’s been 10 years since my cardiac arrest.
Thank you, as ive previously said to other members im sorry that you have read it because it just means youve suffered like i have.
To be fair i think you’ve hit the nail on the head, we have all had that moment when it could have gone so wrong however we are lucky. Sometimes i feel being through my experience has helped me mentally. I know that sounds strange but i can always revert back to the sad times to boost my morale at any one time. After all thinking “am i getting out of here alive” after being shocked twice is a very low point. So it always has a positive effect now.
Oh my god! Are you okay now? How has something like that affected your life?
I’m okay now, though like I said that was 10 years ago.
Looking back, I know that I have changed as a person but then I don’t want to put it down just to that.
Throughout our life’s we change, things happen and they make us what we are today. Some people go through less dramatic things but don’t want to go down that route of why me?
The great thing is that we have this place to vent or share our stories to remind us we’re not the only ones.
Hey – It was great to read your story as mine is very similar! It took me almost 1 year, numerous blackouts, injuries from blacking out, constant heart palpitations and numerous A&E stays for anybody to take it seriously. I was diagnosed with Wolff Parkinson White in May 2016 and have been on Verapamil ever since to manage my symptoms. I will eventually need to have an Ablation too.
You are very correct in saying you have to be persistent, I had gone to the Doctors so many times and each time they would tell me ‘You need to eat more’ or ‘You are just stressed’. It is incredibly frustrating, especially as we are the ones living with the symptoms each and every day!
Congratulations on your little girl, that is a lovely gift after such a stressful time.
Glad you are now able to manage your symptoms and feeling better!
Its times like these we thing we are alone but with services like myheart we discover we really arnt and we can only be thankful to those who make it happen
I know my experience of an ablation isnt great but if you have any questions then feel free to fire away or even message privately and ill try and help.
Its crazy! The NHS is that stretched i think sometimes its the easy option to say its stress ect. Its until you give them no choice they will do something.
Thank you 😁 its an amazing thing to happen in our lives and to think my bad experiences made us seriously think about going forward.
How are you managing your symptoms?
How does it effect you in everyday life? (Have you had to change anything)
Good to hear from you 😁
Yes, Myheart is fab for reading and being able to relate to everybody else’s experiences!
See, I am quite lucky in that I live on the Isle of Man and as the population is small, our NHS is pretty good, so I can only imagine how stressed it is in the UK and difficult to get appointments etc!
I am on Verapamil everyday to manage my symptoms, but I still have heart flutters/dizzy spells weekly, but I am quite used to them now, but they are still nasty! It’s more just a case of listening to my body and taking it easy when I feel bad. I’ve certainly had to change a lot of things, when I was first diagnosed, I was at the start of setting up my Personal Training Business, so I didn’t want to take time out then for an Ablation, but I’d really like to get it done soon now that my business has been up and running for 3 years.
Like your story though, I’ve heard many people that the Ablation didn’t work for, so that has always put me off slightly!
As a Personal Trainer, I have always been SO into my fitness/working out, so that had to change big time once I was diagnosed, which was definitely my biggest frustration!
I still manage to train every day almost, just not at the same intensity I was once used too!
I also can’t handle rollercoasters or theme parks anymore, however random that is, but that is something you don’t think about!
What have you had to change? X
Thts great that you can get appointments and stuff pretty easy. Most of our appointments go at 8am straight away. Nightmare.
Do you ever feel like you under water? Like you i have dizzy moments but only when standing up?
I think its brilliant youve managed to get your business up and running whilst all this is going on. Wishing it all the best for the future and provides you everything you need and more 😁
Its like anything though isnt it? How many successful stories have you heard? This could be closure for you. I havent seen a cardiologist not recommending the procedure. So why no go for it with full confidence? Afterall your in the best hands and you already have a backup plan with your daily tablets.
For me personally i was playing county a pool at the time for cheshire. Ive had to quit pool all together.
Also the bass in nightclubs/loud music areas always seem to have an effect on me so ive knocked going out to clubs on the head too.
I dont do any fitness now because to be honest im scared to do so. The tredmill at hospital made my heart go nuts so dont want that again… however my job in a warehouse makes me walk about 9-13 miles a day average and constant lifting. So doing a little bit.
If we both analyse our changes its no real big deal for the price of life. Im sure just like me you value it so much more?
Im so positive about everything now, the smallest things what used to frustrate me dont anymore.
Positivity is key
Yes, I get dizzy spells very often, funnily enough, today is a particularly horrible day for them! Do you still struggle with many symptoms?
I definitely agree with you that I just need to go for the Ablation, my husband wants me to get it done as he is the one who spends most of the time worrying about my heart more than I do! How long were you recovering for afterwards?
I can totally relate to the going out not being like it used to! I find that once i’ve had a few drinks my heart just goes crazy which is horrible, which is a shame, because I love a good double G&T and a dance!
Have you been given the all clear to exercise? I guess if your job is so physical then you needn’t worry about doing much other fitness! The treadmill test is awful isn’t it haha! Did you have to do the Tilt Test too?
I absolutely agree with you though, there is no aspect of my life that I miss out on just because of my heart. Yes, we certainly have to take things a little easier sometimes, but if it’s something we’ll have for life then we just have to accept that and crack on with life!
Im so sorry for the lack or response alot has come up these last few days and become the full front of my life at the moment.
Just the odd i feel underwater days and slightly dizzy at random times. It tells me how good the nhs are, im also monitored through my ICD which is great. It shows me how good my tablets are too with a huge change in what i experience now to back then.
Like i said previous, why not give it a go. It could be the answer youve been looking for and could be the moment you look back on your life and think thats the moment i said goodbye to this horrific situation. Has the doctor explained the risks? Most of them are extremely low so dont worry about them too much. As you know from my post that my operation wasnt the best however the recovery time was next to nothing. The only thing i had to recover from was tiredness. The next day i was okay again. Im sure youll recover from it very fast just like me. I hope it all goes to plan and your condition becomes a memory.
This is a strange one but did you ever find the bass off the music messes with your heart. For some reason the vibrations made the heart go into VT and also weird beats.
No i havent, however i cope with my job well. Ill always worry about running after that treadmill test. That sent me proper off, however i soon need to do something. Im putting on weight eventhough im eating much better and healthier. That being said its a big side effect on the flecanide tablets and its one of the only changes. Im looking into finding a specialist personal trainer who can work with me properly not like a normal healthy heart client. I havent donw the tilt test no, was it difficult?
Nice little quote, im not sure if i already asked as i dont have time to read back on the messages right now but do you feel more positive as a person because youve been through all this?