When I retired from Kimberly-Clark to take on a chemistry faculty job in 2002, I was excited and elated. Twenty years later, when I retired from my chemistry faculty job in 2022, I had a very different challenge.
I have a Fitbit watch for a long time. I use Fitbit for step and sleep tracking. For a long time, tracking how many steps I walked and how many hours of deep sleep and REM are good enough for me. Many times I received emails from Fitbit to see if I wanted to receive notification, I just ignored them. Then one day when I received such an email, I said ‘yes’.
Not long after, I received a notification from Fitbit that I had irregular heart rhythm. I received the same notification on the following day.
I notified my primary care doctor the next day. The doctor wasted no time to order a 48-hour heart monitor for me which confirmed that I had an 11% burden of irregular heart beat. Besides ordering blood thinner and medications to lower both blood pressure and heart rate, my doctor ordered ultrasound echo for my heart and a battery of test for thyroid function.
Thyroid tests were inconclusive. Ultrasound echo test results were troublesome. Although EF (ejection fraction) was normal, it showed that my tricuspid valve was leaking. It was labeled as ‘severe’ leaking which means it requires surgery to fix the valve.
Those problematic diagnoses helped me to decide to retire from my faculty job because having a heart disease while continuing to teach would not do any favor to my students and myself.
Talking to my cardiologist in Appleton, I requested a second opinion and also requested a less invasive surgical procedure for my faulty valve. The cardiologist in Appleton referred me to see the top-notched cardiologist at the Cardiovascular Center of UM at Ann Arbor. This is one of the reasons that we moved to Michigan, Ann Arbor.
I saw Dr. Bowling of the Cardiovascular Center of Ann Arbor In January, 2023 and had a second ultrasound surface echo test of the heart. To my pleasant surprise, the test showed that my valve was only mildly faulty. It didn’t require a surgical procedure. I was greatly relieved by the news.
In March of 2023, I had a successful ablation of the faulty wires in my heart that had fixed most of my arrhythmia problems. To this point, the doctors had done their jobs, and the results were marvelous. Yet, there are responsibilities on my part to keep my heart healthy. This is much more difficult than the medications and procedures received from my Medicare teams.
When my doctor performed ablation procedures on my heart, he had warned me that the ablation is not a cure. The arrhythmia could come back. Surely it did. I had experienced moderate arrhythmia episodes since the procedures. I became very intrigued to learn about the causes and triggers of the arrhythmia.
I was a chemistry faculty. Back then, my research subjects were atoms and molecules. Now, I am a heart patient. My own body becomes my research subject.
My research tools are, (1) a blood pressure device to check my blood pressures at least 2 times a day; (2) a blood glucose meter and testing strips to check my fasting glucose; (3) a portable electrocardiography (ecg) device to check my heart rhythm any time; (4) a Fitbit to check on my sleep pattern and finally the most important tool, (5) journaling on the patterns of my heart rhythm.
Here are few findings which may be useful for readers who have similar arrhythmia experiences.
First, blood pressure and blood glucose control are very critical. Never settle on pre-diabetics or pre-hypertension. Even on the so-called pre conditions, they can do damages to the blood vessels and to the heart.
Second, quality sleep is critical. Just a night of bad quality sleep can trigger episodes of arrhythmias.
Other factors triggering the arrhythmias are quite fuzzy. In my case, it looks like over exercise, or after a big meal could trigger episodes of irregular heart rhythm.
In the end, I still have not completely figured out the trigger, let alone to completely heal from this illness. The research on my own body is still continuing in the process.
I cannot believe that I am a heart patient myself and a part of the statistics. However, because this is my own body, I have a deep curiosity to find a cure for my illness. It may take me a year, or 10 years or a lifetime.
This continuing research on my own body maybe the only good outcomes of this lifetime bad experience.
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