Answers

It has taken me a week to post about the doctor's findings. I was very happy to hear that they had a diagnosis and some form of a treatment plan. On the other hand, it wasn't quite what I was hoping for...so I have a few issues, that largest of which being that I have a giant sacular aneurysm in my right coronary artery. So it turned out that the bulge they found was indeed an aneurysm. It also happens to just fit in the "giant" category...nice huh! Well the director at Cedars consulted with some other doctors and decided that right now they don't have a procedure in place to fix my current problem, but hopefully in the next 10-20 years I will be able to have surgery to repair it. As a result I will now move to Coumadin, a much stronger blood thinner. This is the part I was least excited about, but I know it will be for the best.
The director was actually going to keep me on my Plavix, but after hearing that I ended back in the hospital a couple of weeks ago and after comparing the EKGs she said that I had bypassed another heart attack. That I had in fact passed another clot...well thankfully it wasn't another heart attack (I don't have the energy or resources to go through that again any time soon).
Then based on my holter monitor tests, they determined that I have some autonomic issues that cause my heart rate to jump rapidly and for no know cause. So this is part of the reason my HR is so high when I train, so I have been put on a beta-blocker metoprolol. This is to suppress my heart rate...it decreases my performance and energy levels. To be honest, I have been so on and off tired I don't notice much of a difference. Then I also have the issue of the angina in my heart while I exercise...she is hoping that with the help of the beta-blocker that my heart can rest enough to repair itself. So we are hoping at least some of that will clear itself up.
I still have the green light for exercise...so I am still teaching spin and trying to go out for runs. They are still difficult and maybe a little more so now, but I am headed to the beach this weekend and I hope the cooler weather will make it easier on me.
There have been a few rough moments looking at few unknown that lie in my future, but all in all this was the best news. The doctor found something and could diagnose it...oh and I forgot to mention that they believe that I had Kawasaki's Disease as a child and that is what has caused this aneurysm...look it up, it really is interesting. Well I am happy to be here with my wonderful husband and have a cute little boy to show for all of it. I truly am blessed. Just another little hurdle!!

Learning to Pay More Attention

After having my Cardiac MR results read to me the Doctor expressed my absolute need to stay at around 150bpm when I workout. This was after I mentioned that ended up back in the hospital after hitting 192 bpm on a run. Mind you when I hit 192 I was not running...this was definitely a jog and nothing more than that. So on my next run I looked down at the heart rate monitor as I approached the first stop light, which is no more than a quarter of a mile from the start and my heart rate was at 156. I think I kept it around or under 180 for that particular jog. This is when I realized that maybe my heart just beats a little faster. So Justin and I decided to compare. We went out for a run while we both wore HR monitors. Once we hit mid-way, we did a check to see how we compared: Justin 146 Danielle 188. Mind you Justin is about 5 years older than me and not really a runner. All the running he does, we do together. I must also note that we never "ran" this was a slow jog, probably 10min mile pace! This is when I realized that I cannot even fathom what 150 would really feel like. I just don't know if I have always run this high or not. To make matter even a little more interesting...you can tend to train at a higher HR when you RHR (Resting Heart Rate) is higher to begin with. Well I happen to have a really slow Resting Heart Rate at 45bpm vs. 67bpm (avg.). So who knows!!
The doctor's office called today, which made me a little nervous...only to find out if I wanted a slightly earlier time for my appointment! I think my heart would have been in better shape without that call! Haha..my life!

Cardiac MR Results

So in my last post I explained the joys of the MR, but it was all worth while...it seems as if they have something. Keep in mind that I will not get a final reading and plan until I meet with the doctor to go over the test, but one of her doctor's in her group read me the report. It seems as if I have another heart defect. While I undergo stress (exercise etc.) 5% of my heart does not receive blood. This is coupled by the fact that 4% of my heart has been permanently damaged from the heart attack, so that puts me at 9%. I have been told that anything under 10% is considered mild, which is good news. The only problem is that when my heart under went stress during the test it only got to 98bpm, so when it gets higher it is likely that less blood is getting pumped. This is most likely the reason I ended up back in the hospital. I was working out a bit harder and for too long, which caused a little more damage. Some day I will find a good balance:)
Now the doctor has instructed me to stay at 150bpm, which might be a little difficult, but I will try hard. I actually think that my heart rate is higher when I work out because it has to work harder trying to get more blood to my heart. For those that know me, they know how much I love to train and how hard I like to train...I guess this might be my breaking point. Either way it was nice to have some reports back with new information. I still haven't gotten the results back from all of my tests, but I will just have to wait until mid July for those.

ENERGY LEVELS
I cannot explain why or how, hopefully the doctor will have some insights, but my energy level is like a light switch. I found myself with what felt like tons of energy yesterday (this means that I got 8 hours of sleep and was able to go all day and get 8 hours the next night). I felt like an entirely new person:) I have felt this before but it was shortly after the heart attack(7-8weeks post) and only lasted for a couple of days; I hope it is here to stay but I will have to wait to know for sure. I even taught Spin yesterday and felt awesome...I love being able to say that. I am going to be teaching it 2x/week starting next week so lets hope that it keeps getting better.