Be Still, My Heart

Good news! I do have a heart. Yes, that’s right. I saw it on the ultrasound machine today when I had my echocardiogram. I had an appointment at Unity hospital after my doctor ordered further testing. I felt a little fluttery in my chest, and after an EKG at my doctor’s office, she thought she saw something that hadn’t been there the last time I had an EKG. So she had me set up a visit with the cardiology department at the hospital for more testing.

The ultrasound hurt! I didn’t expect that. I have had ultrasounds before (when pregnant and when I had belly pain from an ovarian cyst). I’m used to the gloppy gel and the wand sliding around. It’s never hurt before. This one had the gel and the wand, but the technician spent a lot of time pressing down pretty hard to get pictures of my heart.

She poked hard at my breastbone and my ribcage. Ouch. I had to hold my breath while she took images and measurements. I’m not sure what she saw. I could see the valves opening and closing in my heart. They looked freaky to me, but maybe that’s how they are supposed to look. The sound effects were great. I could hear my heart beating and hear the blood whooshing and flowing. It was pretty cool. I wonder if there’s a white noise machine that makes those sounds. It seemed like something I could fall asleep to! Hey, maybe I’m just regressing back to my days in the womb.

Another test I had to have is the continuous monitor. I’m now wearing a Holter monitor for twenty-four hours. The paper they gave me indicates it’s a “24-hour Avionics study”. Avionics have to do with aircraft so I’m not sure quite what that means other than it has to do with electrical systems.

Fingers crossed for me that this is nothing serious. I’m already working on healthy eating and losing weight. As much as I like the folks at the Unity cardiology department (they are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met), I don’t want to spend a lot of time there.