I was recently diagnosed with a Long Q Rhythm. I'm wondering if there is anyone else out there with this problem.
My Dr. recommends Beta Blocker and no more racing. He also commented that I've had this condition all my life so I'll probably be ok.
I would like to PM with anyone out there who is swimming with a similar situation. I am feeling very conflicted and would like to talk to someone in the same boat.
I read the paragraph about the sisters who swam in Nationals with a Long Q diagnosis, in fact that article motivated me to go to the electrophysicist (sp) and get this checked out by a specialist.
All the reading I did on long QT seemed to say that IF you have one of the genetic subtypes that has been linked to sudden cardiac death and IF you have had a previous episode, your risk of cardiac event is 50% higher than the normal person. Those are two big IF's.
I am not sure where Amy got this stat, but let us assume it is correct.
It sounds horrible, right?
A 50 percent higher than normal chance of a cardiac event! Lord Jesus, I will be lucky to wake up in the morning!
But before you start making plans to buy your cemetery plot, consider two additional bits of info:
1. Relative risk is different from absolute risk. Say there is a disease that kills 1 out of 1,000 people who have it. That's horrible for the one person, but, frankly, most who have it don't die. Your absolute risk from this disease is one-tenth of one percent. Okay, now, let us say that you have an additional risk factor that increases your odds of dying from this disease by a whopping 50 percent! Your relative risk is 50 percent higher than average. What does this mean about your absolute risk? Merely that your odds have gone from 1 out of a 1,000 to 1.5 out of a 1000. Drug companies play up relative risk all the time to convince people they are in great need of whatever product they are peddling. The truth is that if your relative risk for LQI is only 50 percent greater than the population at large, this should be a great comfort. Sudden cardiac death is not common. How many people do you know who have suffered it? I can count one. So maybe you are 50 percent more likely to succumb than the average bear. But the bottom line: it's still a very rare thing.
2. Amy said "cardiac event" not "cardiac death." The worst case scenario is that your heart, during strenuous exercise, goes into ventricular fibrillation, is unable to reset itself, pumps ineffectively, and you die. Who wouldn't be scared of this But the worst case is not necessarily the most likely scenario. Your heart could go into a bad rhythm, causing you to pass out, which I admit would be problematic in the water. But a teammate and/or lifeguard sees this happen and gets you out of the water quickly, and the heart resets itself with or without the assistance of an AED. (Your facility should have one of these nearby; if our little podunk Y has one, I am certain yours does, too.) Even more likely, you get lightheaded and sense an arrhythmia that lasts for a short while. (Note: everybody gets the occasional sequence of skipped beats, flutterings, etc. Don't worry about these. I am talking something much more dramatic.)
Bottom line: I absolutely, 100 percent understand your dilemma. You are not bipolar. You have been given a Sophie's Choice by the very well-meaning medical establishment. It makes eminent sense that you would be freaked out now. I am in total agreement with Amy's approach. Get additional information, i.e., genetic testing. Be reasonable in the pool for now, and let the life guards and teammates know the situation. I think that you, like Amy, will find that as more and more time passes without any incident, your comfort level will slowly creep back up.
What's the old quote? A ship is safe in the harbor. But that is not what ships are for.
Nor is it what Bobinators are for.
All the reading I did on long QT seemed to say that IF you have one of the genetic subtypes that has been linked to sudden cardiac death and IF you have had a previous episode, your risk of cardiac event is 50% higher than the normal person. Those are two big IF's.
I am not sure where Amy got this stat, but let us assume it is correct.
It sounds horrible, right?
A 50 percent higher than normal chance of a cardiac event! Lord Jesus, I will be lucky to wake up in the morning!
But before you start making plans to buy your cemetery plot, consider two additional bits of info:
1. Relative risk is different from absolute risk. Say there is a disease that kills 1 out of 1,000 people who have it. That's horrible for the one person, but, frankly, most who have it don't die. Your absolute risk from this disease is one-tenth of one percent. Okay, now, let us say that you have an additional risk factor that increases your odds of dying from this disease by a whopping 50 percent! Your relative risk is 50 percent higher than average. What does this mean about your absolute risk? Merely that your odds have gone from 1 out of a 1,000 to 1.5 out of a 1000. Drug companies play up relative risk all the time to convince people they are in great need of whatever product they are peddling. The truth is that if your relative risk for LQI is only 50 percent greater than the population at large, this should be a great comfort. Sudden cardiac death is not common. How many people do you know who have suffered it? I can count one. So maybe you are 50 percent more likely to succumb than the average bear. But the bottom line: it's still a very rare thing.
2. Amy said "cardiac event" not "cardiac death." The worst case scenario is that your heart, during strenuous exercise, goes into ventricular fibrillation, is unable to reset itself, pumps ineffectively, and you die. Who wouldn't be scared of this But the worst case is not necessarily the most likely scenario. Your heart could go into a bad rhythm, causing you to pass out, which I admit would be problematic in the water. But a teammate and/or lifeguard sees this happen and gets you out of the water quickly, and the heart resets itself with or without the assistance of an AED. (Your facility should have one of these nearby; if our little podunk Y has one, I am certain yours does, too.) Even more likely, you get lightheaded and sense an arrhythmia that lasts for a short while. (Note: everybody gets the occasional sequence of skipped beats, flutterings, etc. Don't worry about these. I am talking something much more dramatic.)
Bottom line: I absolutely, 100 percent understand your dilemma. You are not bipolar. You have been given a Sophie's Choice by the very well-meaning medical establishment. It makes eminent sense that you would be freaked out now. I am in total agreement with Amy's approach. Get additional information, i.e., genetic testing. Be reasonable in the pool for now, and let the life guards and teammates know the situation. I think that you, like Amy, will find that as more and more time passes without any incident, your comfort level will slowly creep back up.
What's the old quote? A ship is safe in the harbor. But that is not what ships are for.
Nor is it what Bobinators are for.
