Heart problems and arrhythmias

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
Tomorrow I'll go back up to the remote valley where I took some nice wild llama photos and shared them here on the Mara returns to the Mountains thread.

And indeed I did — even seeing a bunch more llamas, much to my great delight.

This time, I took a pulse oximeter with me, a little device that you clip on your finger to measure your pulse and blood oxygen level. Many readers may know all about this, but just in case it's useful or interesting I'll report my experience.

It was quite a long hike this time, and after two hours I reached my high point. At that altitude the atmospheric oxygen is just 12.3%, 60% of what it is at sea level where it's a full 20.9%.

As soon as I got there I took my oximeter reading. The top number (106) is my pulse, and the bottom number (81) the blood oxygen level measured as a percentage. (98% to 100% is what a strong healthy person should be at sea level.)



Now, if I were sitting on a couch at sea level and had a blood oxygen level of 81%, someone should call an ambulance. That'd mean a serious problem, maybe a life-threatening one. But at high altitude where the available oxygen is much less (and just after working hard, going uphill!), this is to be expected.

The key thing is the recovery time. That shows how well the cardiovascular system is working.

So I waited a couple minutes, taking some deep breaths. Here's my second reading:



I'd recovered quickly, and that's what I wanted to see. What this means (in simple terms!) is that my heart, which like any muscle needs lots of oxygen to work properly, did a great job in restoring my system in a very short time. It was a simple stress test, but it strongly suggests that my heart is in pretty good shape.

In a tachycardia event, with the heart not pumping properly, the blood oxygen would drop very low indeed — especially if this happens at high altitude where there's much less oxygen anyway. Then there's a vicious cycle that can kick in, where the heart (which needs oxygen badly) just isn't getting enough to easily 'reset' itself. And all my tachycardia events lasting longer than a few seconds have been way up high in the thin air.

[samsdice]

When my Graves' Disease thyroid issue was at it's worst it caused terrible arrhythmia. I was recommended bugle weed tincture and melissa/lemon balm herbal tea. This combo really worked for me, calmed my racing heart down and gave me a a nice feeling of relaxation. YMMV etc. but it might help anyone else with a similar issue as mine.

[Bill Ryan]

Bumping my own post here, with today's timestamp, to again ask anyone at all if they may have any good post-heart-attack advice they could share here for Anna and Mike/mizo.

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Dear Friends, I'm bumping this thread with a report, and a request for help, from Avalon member Andula (Anna) whose husband Mike (Avalon member mizo) had suffered two cardiac arrests 3 weeks ago. Mike was hospitalized immediately, but is now back at home. There have been several posts about this on The Support Thread.

Andula/Anna has sent me this detailed update — but she is asking for help. I wonder if anyone who knows more about heart medications and post cardiac arrest care than I do might be able to offer some assistance and much-needed helpful information.



~~~

Dear Bill,

Thank you for your caring messaging. I am so very sorry I haven't been in touch, but the last three weeks been really testing and brought us many other problems.

Mike is at home from the hospital now. He is tired, weak, experiencing many side effects from prescription meds, lost lots of weight...he has never been a heavy type of man to start with. Neither of us have slept through the night yet. Hospital put him on 9 (!) meds, 7 of which he takes first thing in the morning and soon after he feels completely done in. I have been looking into the meds prescribed, and seeing all the side effects in action worry me greatly.

Due to the situation and the way things happened, Mike is full of anxiety. I am here for him to give him all my love and care but at the same time, dishing out all the meds to him every morning makes me feel like I am only contributing to his suffering. He is due to have an echocardiogram in about three weeks to see how his heart is recovering, but I am questioning everything, how can his heart muscle recover in such a short time, especially considering the side effects that meds have on his body?

I have good knowledge of supplements, but majority interfere with the meds he is on, so I feel stuck on being able to help. I know it's early days yet, but at the same time, I would really like to see more positive progress, especially seeing him constantly so tired and just not himself.

Due to the significance of the matter, I am really keen on getting any kind of expert advice on what is happening, from someone who understands my concerns and could point me in the right direction with how to proceed medically, and for Mike/me to help with discussions with his consultants and doctors. If there is anyone you could possibly point me in the direction of, or know of anyone who could help with this, I would be immensely grateful.

With all my love,

Anna

[Sue (Ayt)]

I can certainly relate to Anna's dilemma, having been in that same situation myself. After my husband's first event, which happened years ago, he came home from the hospital with a shopping bag full of medications. I, too, researched each one really carefully, and was horrified how many warned against supplements and even healthy foods and spices that should be avoided. And my husband was appalled too, at the thought of the chemical stew he was supposed to take, but we both had fear about changing anything on our own. (naturally, after what he had been through)

What we did, at his very first follow-up appointment, he was adamant with his surgeon about asking about each "iffy" med, and if the surgeon really felt it was necessary. Often, the hospital prescribes the standard barrage of drugs as a matter of course, but the doctor himself knows which ones are imperative and which ones can be cut down or dropped. Some of the meds are for side effects caused by the other meds, even! Bill (my husband) was eventually able to cut out all meds but 2 - thyroid and blood pressure. Bill and I made it clear that he wanted minimal meds, and he would go along with any other suggestions (exercise, diet, etc). The surgeon removed some meds immediately, and even replaced one with a natural supplement. But we had to speak up, or I'm sure the program would have just continued for life. That was our first step, Anna.

I am not sure if Mike had a heart attack, or cardiac arrest, as they really are quite different I've learned, as is aortic dissection - we tend to group all these things together, but I had to learn fast after my husband's aorta ruptured at home, like Lindsay Graham apparently, but by a miracle, Bill survived for another wonderful 15 years.

**edit to add - That anxiety after a cardiovascular event I was told is quite common. My husband had it too. We discovered that the supplement Gaba (NOT gabapentin) was a godsend for that. It stopped his newly acquired restless leg, and helped him sleep thru the night. When we ran out, he knew within a night or two, as the anxiety would return. Of course, this is just our experience and we all need to research for our individual needs.

[Andula]

Hi Sue, thank you so much for the info and for your kind words. Apologies it is taking me a while to reply, with all the things that are going on I find it difficult have any time to check emails/messages daily. I Used GABA in past, thank you for this reminder, I forgot all about it. I had a look online just now.... seems like it is almost impossible to buy now in the UK. I found some caps, but they also had some other ingredients added, but will keep looking.
Mike had his review today, but there is no badging with our GP, and medical professionals in general. It feels like talking to automatons.

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Andula (here)
I Used GABA in past, thank you for this reminder, I forgot all about it. I had a look online just now.... seems like it is almost impossible to buy now in the UK.

Dear Anna, I looked on Amazon, and it seems Gaba is available in the UK from the link below: (But maybe those are what you already found?)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/theanine-Su.../dp/B0GVZWRHJ1

(You could search on Amazon.com as well, and quite a few resellers would readily ship from the US to the UK )

[Andula]

Thank you Bill, I am going to get some of them. I was only searching for GABA before, did not look into L theanine.