Ticker update

I went to an electrophysiologist on the 15th. I have to say, I REALLY liked this guy. Very calm, confident, and he took his time, making sure all my questions were answered. As I watched him speak, I'm thinking, "who does this guy remind me of?" I realized he looks like my brother-in-law. The good brother-in-law. Anyhoo, this is what he said: I have an extra electrical pathway in my heart. He said I've always had this. He said that this condition, and the neuro-cardio syncope, have probably been irritating/triggering each other all along. I was 19 when I started seeing doctors trying to find out why I had tachycardia and fainting spells. I am almost 47 before the whole puzzle is being figured out. My life would have been VERY different if they had put all this together years ago. Anyway, he recommended an ablation. He said that normally, in a person my age, they would just go with meds, but he did not like that my heart rate got up to 256 bpm and said that that can definitely render you unconscious(it almost did) and this is not something you want to happen on a plane or on vacation when not near a hospital. He told me some of the risks. 1% of patients wind up with damage to their normal electrical system and you wind up with a pacemaker for the rest of your life. Well, that would suck. In some people, it doesn't work all the way and they have to do it a second time. But he's confident that this will be a "knock the ball out of the park" procedure for me, and well worth it. It's actually his partner that he recommended do the surgery. He said he does LOTS of them. He said the other condition would probably improve after this ablation, and that, if not, they have medication for it that helps. But the electrical issue would be cured. I think I'm going to do it after our vacation to the shore July 4th week. I'm pretty calm about things now. He didn't seem to agree with my cardiologist that this was as deadly as he'd said it was. A woman from our MM support group meeting, 2 days later, told me that her husband had this done and that it was a piece of cake, and he'd been fine ever since. Another wife has this same condition and she was put on cardizem and it never happened again. This new doc said that the BP meds my cardiologist has put me on would help stop tachycardias, and my cardiologist had told me that. But, it's not as foolproof as going in and cauterizing the bad spot in my ticker. So that is the scoop. I have to try not to get myself riled up, in the interim. I have always noticed that big shots of adrenaline screw my heartbeat up bigtime. But, so much for staying calm, 'cause here is what happened to me today. I went to the post office, a 2 block walk from here. Took my Lacey puppy. It had rained earlier. While outside the post office, I stopped over on the side of the sidewalk(a wide walkway, our town gets a lot of foot traffic) to get all my mail together. I dash into the outside area of the post office and slip them quickly in the slot and dash out, 'cause I have the dog. Well, this guy, I'd say he was in his 30's, walked past us and I never saw him coming. Lacey jumped up to say hello and her paws hit his khakis before I could pull her back fast enough. Now, I ALWAYS make sure my dog can't jump on anyone. Some people come up and welcome it, but that is their choice. I use a VERY short leash for walks in crowds. I don't let her bother anyone. Not everyone wants puppy kisses and such.
I quickly said, "OH I am SO sorry. I did not see you coming," in an extremely apologetic tone. He walked a few steps, saw the damp, dirty footprint, and said in a really nasty tone, "THANKS!"
I threw my arms out and said, "She's a puppy." and he says to me "F*** YOU!" as he is crossing the street. Now I am mad. I said, "If this is the worst thing that happens to you today, then you're pretty lucky!" I walked home just amazed that this just happened. Sometimes, I HATE living in NJ and I have to ask here,
IS THERE ANYONE LIVING IN THIS STATE WHO IS NOT ON BLOOD PRESSURE MEDS?!!!!!!!! I mean, honestly, it was unintentional. I apologized quite heartily. I didn't see the dude coming! I go to take a little stroll to town with my doggie to run an errand and THAT is what you get. Pass me my calcium channel blockers, PUH-LEASE!