princessofburundi

I wake up every morning in the midst of an enormous panic attack. My heart races so quickly that I can feel my blood coursing through my veins. It's scary, but I've learned that it's actually panic and that my heart is just fine.

Until today. Apparently my panic attacks with racing heart are actually my heart racing. My diastolic is 130, which is far above the "less than 90" that it's supposed to be. My blood pressure was 138/130 which is simply not good.

I need to pop down to the pharmacy daily and check my blood pressure. If my diastolic isn't below 90 I'm to call the doctor. She is arranging for me to use a portable heart monitor for a 48-hour period; I will get electrodes stuck to my chest area and have a monitor around my waist.

Dr. S. has advised me to do no heavy lifting nor exercise for more than 10 minutes at a time.

I'm very worried. Without using scare tactics, Dr. S. did impress upon me that I need to be very careful, and she did mention that I'm at risk for a heart attack should I push myself.

The only positive note in all of this is that I'm going to have to get my roommate to mow the lawn.