Each Day Is a Gift

Hubby ran with me to meet Karen for easy recovery run and exchange Garmins at 7am. We were chatting away running easily east to Smith's then down and up trail next to SR 92, turned around to head back west once we reached the top.  With about 0.75 mile left before reaching my home, on 3200N by the Stake Center, my heart suddenly went into tachycardia, beating so fast that it felt like it would jump right out of my throat.  After I rounded the corner onto 600E, told Karen I had to walk because my heart was pounding so fast.  I could feel its rapid pulsating over my chest wall.  It was very scary even though I did not feel dizzy or any shortness of breath.  The strange thing is I was not running fast at all, (no pace because my Garmin is dead), in fact I was talking in full sentences the whole time about our upcoming plans for Fall marathons. 

This is the 3rd time in the last 16 months that I experience this alarming tachycardia.  I went back on my blog and found out that the other two episodes happened on March 29, 2011 and March 15 of this year.  The first episode was at mile 6.5 of a 12 miler on Bull River heading east after just cresting the 1200W hill.  Karen was with me.  The heart rate calmed down after walking a bit.  It was noted that the remaining miles were death march.  I felt drained and fatigued the next day.  Went to doc to get some Symbicort and the receptionist insisted that I had my O2 Sat checked because my breathing was labor, at the time I think I had broncho irritation.  I told the doc. of my tachycardia episode so he got an EKG to make sure there's no arrythmia.  The second episode was nearly a year later running on trail down from Traverse Mountain with Karen and Wendy.  Again the heart suddenly pounding rapidly as if it would jump right of my chest.  I stopped running; but no dizziness or shortness of breath.  However the last mile home felt hard.  Again felt drained during the day.

Today's episode was a bit more worrisome because it lasted much longer.  I walked the last 0.5 home and stood outside talking with Karen for another 5 min.  Upon getting in the house, I sat down petting my cat trying to relax; but the heart kept on pounding away.  Hubby told me to get the blood pressure monitor to check the B/P and HR.  The heart was going so fast that the monitor could not get any readings.  I got my stetascope out to listen to my heart and count the beats.  It reached 150 beats in 30 seconds; that was at least half hour since I stopped running.  I felt ok, no shortness of breath, just an uneasy and queasy feeling, like death-looming-nauscious-scary feeling.  I asked hubby to take me to the ER; but he said I would get better care going to the doctor especially since it's around 8:30am and there'd be no one at the doc's.  Turned out he's right.

On the drive to the doc (about 15-20 min.) I kept trying to take B/P and HR readings with the B/P machine with no success; and listened my heart with the stetascope.  The staff got me in right away and was unsuccessful in getting any B/P HR readings from neither the B/P machine nor the oximeter.  They grabbed the doc who also couldn't get any readings but confirmed that I definitely was experiencing tachycardia.  It took a while to locate the EKG machine and the charger.  As soon as the nurse put the EKG leads on me, my HR dropped.  My EKG result showed normal sinus rhythm with a HR of 66.  The entire tachycardia episode lasted about 90 min.,  clearly much longer than the last two episodes.  It left me feeling completely drained.  After I got home, I tried to do some core exercise while watching the Olympic swimming qualifying events but promptly fell asleep...so weak and fatigued.

The doc. said that he would consult a cardiologist.  Since it happened infrequently for no ryhmn nor reason other than that I was running, a halter monitor would not be useful.  He also doubt that the cardiologist would recommend angiogram since I have no angina nor eschymia nor other symptom such as shortness of breath or chest pain.  The only suggestion he made was that I should always run with someone.  Thankfully all three episodes happened close to home and I was with Karen. 

I think I'll wear my HR monitor which I haven't done the last 4 years.  I'll carry a cell phone when running alone, and resume taking liquid iron.