I'm a 55 year old masters swimmer who's been competing and training for over 30 years. I had a stroke after an early morning swim 15 years ago, with an extensive workup subsequently revealing nothing but a patent foramen ovale--a common and usually inconsequential atrial septal heart defect. Since that time, I've been on Coumadin anticoagulation and haven't had any more strokes. However, I have had transient spells of confusion after workouts, that I had either ignored or ascribed to hypoglycemia, as they resolved quickly, usually after eating. My latest episode lasted longer, and my wife was there to witness it, so I ended up in the hospital and had a bunch of tests (CT, MRI, Cardiac Echo, EEG). Now my doctors think these have been TIA's, and that I may need a surgical closure of the atrial septal defect. I was wondering if any other masters swimmers have experienced this, as the Valsalva maneuver that one performs while swimming (like the breakout after a turn) reproduces the breath-holding, then sudden relaxation and inhalation that they asked me to perform during the echocardiogram, in order to bring out the abnormal blood flow through the patent foramen ovale. I felt just like I do during a workout when I was having the Echo. I'll bet this is something that isn't unique to me. Has anyone else had similar episodes?
