Interesting news from the Doctor

[binny]

Im not quite sure how I feel about it or really, what to do about it.

Remember last August when they rushed me to the ER by ambulance thinking I was having a heart attack? Well I got a copy of those records and took them to my new doctor, she did an EKG and looked at me funny and said. " Well this is weird, youre backwards" I look at her with more than a little confusion and asked her what she meant and she said " when you were born your wiring was put in backwards, your T-waves go down instead of up. In most people that would mean theyre having a heart attack, but in you its normal" apparently my new EKG came back the same as the one that they took when they thought I was having a heart attack. She also said if I have an EKG that is normal that means Im having a heart attack. :dunno
so what do I do now? Do I carry a note in my wallet saying if Im having a heart attack you wont know it cause my wiring is backwards?

Oh she also told me that the pain and exhaustion that sent me to ER was my first foray into the wonderful world of Fibromyalgia .

 

[Cindy'sCastle]

Wow, I've never heard of that, wiring backwards to your heart. Lets hope, in your case, you never have a "normal" EKG.
When I went to the hospital last year w/my left arm going numb, thinking the same, my EKG came back normal and come to find out I have corpal tunnel syndrome. But it's great to know my heart's doing just fine.

Cindy

 

[cheeringmom]

How about one of those med alert bracelets? Have the doc help you write what needs to be on there. Maybe there is a medical term for it.

 

[Serena]

Wow Binny, I wonder how many people are like you. I also wonder if they need any kind of precautions because of it.

 

[lsyorke]

Inverted T waves are common. In most cases it can signal a heart attack, or electrolyte imbalance, but if all this turns up negative its as one doc I know called it a "GOK"(God only knows!). Did you have a stress test or cardiac cath when you were worked up? If you did and all that is OK you'll just have to tell future docs your "wired backwards!"

 

[binny]

So is this fairly common then? She seemed to think its weird.

they did one EKG with the stress test on the treadmill and I passed what I could finish ( I have really bad knees and the incline was killing me). They did the radiation test as well and it was normal.

Thanks!

 

[Micca]

That's freaky about the EKG. Sorry about the fibro

 

[chell]

Binny sorry to hear that you have Fibro. I hope you find a great way of dealing with it and keeping the pain low. Feel free to PM or e-mail me if you ever need to vent about it or if I can do anything to help you.

 

[lsyorke]

"So is this fairly common then? She seemed to think its weird"

This is one explaination that I found.

"In general, T wave changes are very non-specific. They can occur with hyperventilation, anxiety, drinking hot or cold beverages, and positional changes. Dramatic T wave inversions are often seen in the athletic heart syndrome (a constellation of findings not associated with any pathology), and the dramatic T wave inversions associated with CNS events are very rare. Hyperkalemia (hyperpotassemia) can cause tall, peaked T waves. Hypokalemia and ischemia can cause low amplitude or inverted T waves."

So while its not normal, it is seen. As long as heart damage(ischemia) has been ruled out its just something to keep an eye on.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Very strange indeed, binny. Hoping you do well going forward and that the fibro is mild, as many can be.

 

[binny]

thanks for the good wishes and the information
Thanks Chell I might take you up on that. So far its been relaly mild, only one day was it really bad. Usually nothing a couple of Ibuprofen cant handle.
Im a positive person I think that helps. My SIl says " youre the opposite of a whiner so when you complain I take it seriously" LOL