Yesterday, was not the first time that I experienced heart palpitations. I've had these fluttering, irregular heart beats over the past few months, maybe even years -- when I indulged in food, drink, caffeine, lacked sleep, etc... But, they tended to go as quickly as they came and were, generally, few and far between.
Yet, since my second bout with lyme disease (less than two months ago) I feel like my body has not fully recovered. I find that I'm more vulnerable than usual (to fatigue, headaches, anxiety). This also includes more heart palpitations, these past few weeks, usually when I'm waking up after a short afternoon nap.
In the past week, however, the frequency and intensity of the palpitations have gotten worse. Few days ago, I had such pressure on the left side of my chest, all day long, that I felt discomfort breathing, deeply, or coughing. While the past couple days, I have felt my heart racing up to three times (or more) a day. It got so bad that my sleep was suffering and I began to dread going to bed, out of fear that I was going to have a heart attack -- the palpitations are, invariably, accompanied by numbness in my left arm and leg, akin to a sensation of pins and needles.
Finally, in the middle of the night, yesterday, after another scary episode, I decided enough was too much, dialed an Uber and went to the emergency room at the nearest hospital. As it turned out, I ended up spending the night hooked up to machines to monitor my heart.
Mercifully, I was dispatched around five hours later, with a clean bill of health and the recommendation that I follow up with a cardiologist, to get to the bottom of this.
Overall, a sobering experience, particularly considering the horror stories that I saw and heard from the rooms next to mine at the emergency room. Yet another reason, since turning 45 a month ago, to meditate on mortality, try to lead a healthy life and give thanks for the countless blessings.
Take good care of yourselves, and don't ignore signals your body may be giving you.
Health is wealth _/|\_
