My first episode was while I was at work. I had been rushing around as we were very busy and short staffed but I had been sitting for half an hour when the chest pain started. So I was carted off to A&E and subsequently admitted, but not onto the cardiology ward as there were no beds. Fortunately my troponins were negative showing there had been no damage to my heart. I was sent home after bei [...]
I'm 36 years old. Mom of 2 precious children (7 and 5 years of age). I was an extremely active elementary school teacher but I am currently on disability since being sidelined by chronic angina in 2015. I am writing to share my story about living with coronary microvascular disease. It is notoriously difficult to diagnose and even more difficult to treat and unfortunately I have experience with bo [...]
When your rhythm is a dancer Living with heart rhythm disturbances It started around four years ago. I am in the middle of my 40s, married, father of two children and successful in my job. I suffered from some kind of burnout due to heavy workload and as a consequence thereof I had some trouble with my stomach and heartburn. My GP sent me to hospital for some days to get a clinical internist check [...]
I’m extremely ill. Prior to 2010, I was a ballroom dancer and extremely active for 53. In june of 2010, I suddenly lost balance and coordination along with other symptoms. I went to the Cleveland clinic and all over trying to figure out what was happening. In 2011, I was diagnosed with pots. I kept asking why but no one was interested. I became home bound a lot and I needed help. I had horrible di [...]
I first became ill July 2016 after a vacation in the woods. Never saw a tick but I had a small bullseye. I knew nothing about lyme disease so I never saw a doctor. I have almost all the symptoms of a tick borne illness. My chest pain and fast heart rate started in November 2016. My ECG changed but nothing was ever found linking my heart as the problem. I was told its stress, depression, esophageal [...]
It was autumn 2015, and I didn’t realise anything was wrong until I woke up from what I can only describe as an ‘absence’; I was lying on my side, on my sofa, and I was confused, disorientated. I didn’t feel ‘right’. I wasn’t myself. Emotionally, I was numb. My behaviour had been erratic recently; that week I had literally pulled the hair out of my head in rage, and then spent several days staring [...]
In 2011, after a summer full of trail running in the Northeast US, and tons of tick bites including one that was fully engorged and tough to remove, I suddenly became very ill with a fever of 105, a pinpoint rash covering my entire body, and a swollen throat. Thinking I had strep, I visited a family doctor who informed me she thought it was Lyme and ran a basic ELISA test (which came back negative [...]
I am 73 years old and have had A-fib and ectopic heart rhythms since 2016. The first paroxysmal A-fib event happened while I was bending over and twisting my neck in my garden. But since then, I have noticed that any straining of my neck may irritate it and later I will have an A-fib event. Also, I now notice that if I eat a big meal, or have indigestion, or bloating, my heart rhythm changes. It s [...]
Thank you so much for bringing awareness to the stomach heart connection and validating what many sufferers of gastrocardiac syndrome know. I was diagnosed with paroxysmal atrial tachycardia ten years ago. During my episodes of arrhythmia, I burp and soon learned that if I burped enough the arrhythmia would stop; however there have been times when my vagus nerve was so stimulated I couldn’t expel [...]
Dr. Gupta, I am part of the Takotsubo Support group. I hope sharing my story may be of some help. I am 69 years old and living in Minnesota in the US. I was diagnosed with Takotsubo Cardiomyopothy on January 25, 2018. For the past several months I had been under extreme stress. I suffered a head injury at work and my worker's compensation was denying my claim, which resulted in a loss of income. A [...]
I am writing you regarding your facebook post related to all that is not shared is lost. First, I would like to thank you for your awareness of heart palpitations and the vagus nerve/stomach. My story - I am 56 years old and have suffered with ectopic beats/palpitations since my mid 20’s. I would had one or two a day or a run if I got into an argument with someone. I was always told they were rela [...]
Hi Sanjay, I am responding to your request for people who have experienced Takotsubo Syndrome (TTS) to share their story. Sorry but it’s a long one. I am 62 years old and had my episode in early December 2017. At the time I was experiencing my second episode of thyrotoxicosis, having been diagnosed with Graves Disease about 3 years beforehand. The first episode of thyrotoxicosis was managed with c [...]
Dear Dr. Gupta, Tomorrow is my 62nd birthday and I am writing you to share my experience with AFib. 5 years ago, I retired from my job as a school counselor. At that time my blood pressure slightly rose into the high blood pressure zone so I was prescribed losartan. At age 60 I took up long distance running and my blood pressure and over health and fitness greatly improved. I have completed two ha [...]
Hi Dr Gupta, Having seen a post on the Takotsubo Facebook page I thought I would share my experience. I was 51 at the time of my attack, which was seven years ago past June. Several weeks prior to my attack I was worrying intensely and always having a knot in my stomach, about a trip my 16yr old son was to take . With hindsight I was experiencing adrenaline surges but just felt this was me always [...]
I was a 57 year old woman working a high stress job, caring for my disabled brother and taking care of my family, including a young granddaughter part-time. On a saturday, after working outside for a few hours, (which usually served to help relax me), I began to feel sick again. Though I had always been able to tolerate heat very well and never seemed to get hot enough; I had recently began to swe [...]
I was diagnosed with this condition on 9 April 2018. I am a 62y old female and work full time as a practice manager in a health practice. We had a change of manager who instigated workplace changes without consultation and in a rushed manner. I was very affected by the changes and saw my gp who said I had high blood pressure and I was off work for 3 weeks. I have never had high blood pressure till [...]
During my struggle with GERD / REFLUX / HIATUS HERNIA etc. and having seen many Gastro and Cardio doctors you have been the only one to openly mention this correlation. Personally there are a few ways that I manage this and try to live with it as it can be very uncomfortable and disconcerting. 1. Dealing with this with professional counseling and the mental aspect. Accepting this condition and tha [...]
I'm 46 now.. my first 'meeting' with POTS/Dysautonomia was when i was 23.. i lost 50 pounds, high heart rate, fatigue. pain.. no one knew what was going on. It took me 4 years to feel better. Its like i grew a bit out if it. It never was completely away, but i was able to study, sport..LIVE.. Then may 2008.(i was 35). i became unwell one morning and it never went away. It took 8 long tough years t [...]
