I believe in perpetual motion

Had my date with the (quite handsome) cardiologist this morning.  He ordered me an ekg, which took all of two minutes and came back abnormal (like the last one I had) but he says that it’s fine.  (If you’re interested in that sort of thing, I have flipped Ts, which is also what your ekg shows if you’ve had a heart attack.  I didn’t, though; I just have a wonky heart.)  The persistent lightheadedness is probably because my blood pressure is low.  I have orthostatic hypotension, but I get lightheaded just sitting around thinking or whatever. 

He also told me that the weird veins in my arm are maybe just how it is from now on; or maybe I need a little more salt or water (or both) in my diet.  He says it’s not related to me feeling like I’m going to faint.  It’s remotely possible (but he really thinks not, and I think not even moreso) that there’s an obstruction (a blood clot) somewhere, or there’s an even smaller chance that it’s something worse, which he defined only as "exotic," because why worry over nothing?  Basically, we talked for almost an hour (!) and he showed me his support hose. 

It was a pretty good date.

I’m going back next month so he can watch me run on the treadmill (his idea and phrasing) and do an echocardiogram before and after exercise.  He gave me his phone number and email, but I’m totally not going to call.  Instead I’m taking Jenny’s advice and playing hard to get. 

7 thoughts on “I believe in perpetual motion

  1. Carly

    I had a problem like this. A few years ago I had weird heart rhythms and my veins turned strange colors. I got really scared one day and went to the ER, but they said it was just my diet. I didn’t believe them. Stay skeptical, my friend.

    “On a scale of one to ten, how sure are you that I’m not the Hulk?”

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  2. margalit

    Inverted T waves are a sign of cardiomyopathy. Did he listen very carefully to your heart, ask you to bear down like you’re pooping, and then listen to your heart again? Did he have you turn your head to the left side, bear down, while he felt your carotid artery in your neck? Did he listen to your heart sitting, standing and laying down?

    If he didn’t do those things, get a second opinion. Wonky hearts are NOTHING to fool around with. I know, I’ve got one and it sucks more than you can imagine!

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  3. Marsha

    Does wonky heart mean that your heart works fine and dandy and you will live to be over 100 but it just doesn’t act in the way the most other hearts act? Or does it mean it is going to be giving out before you turn 100 because it is faulty? I can never understand what it is doctors are actually saying. More salt could be fun, especially if it is on the rim of a margarita glass!

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  4. jenijen

    Thanks, Margalit — I had an echo (which was slightly off) and a nuclear stress test (totally normal) almost two years ago. The doc thinks that my “normal” just looks abnormal in labs and tests. But he’s keeping an eye on me 🙂

    Hi Marsha! So far I had salty chips with homemade guac. But I will definitely have a margarita this weekend!

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