Anyone else have any sort of heart related issues or problems??

I have a functional heart murmur and occational atrial fibrilation.  After several tests (ecco-cardiogram, ex-ray etc) the murmur was determined to be benign - good thing.  For the a-fib I wore a holter monitor for two separte 24 period tests a couple iof years apart but was unable to have any major episodes recorded.  It was happening once or twice every couple days or so not a lot but still gave me a lot of anxiety.  My doctor sort of brushed it off and told me not to worry too much (yeah right).  Anyway, unrelated to this I was put on an ACE inhibitor for mild hypertension last January(developed after the birth of my second child) and I can honestly say that I haven't had any fluttering for at least 6 months.  Some reading has convinced me that the drug has basically 'cured' me and put my BP to a nice low level too.  

Hopefully you will feel some relief from you symptoms after being on your drug for a while longer. 

really a bummer...sorry to hear this!  I do not have the heart issue you have but I did have a minor stroke a couple years ago.  some issue came up that I won't get into but I can somewhat relate to how you feel...it sucks!  After several months being a coach potato I started training again and continue to do so.  I know from some of your other posts that you have a family.  I'm am sure you are doing this but keep them in mind with all your decisions.  Somehow the bumps in the road always seem a little smoother when looking into my kids eyes!

First off, I'm sorry you are going through this. I know it's all looming so large right now, just know that it will all be ok.  Here's my story--sorry about the novel-- 

I have paroxysmal a-fib. I was diagnosed when I was in nursing school, of all things. I was in my early 20's, and not athletically active at the time. I was, however, a swimmer throughout my entire childhood and teenage years. My cardiologist ran the whole gammut of tests--the echo, the holter monitor, the event monitor. I was put on a beta blocker, had the nasty activity intolerance (just going up one flight of stairs left me winded for 10 minutes. I had never experienced that in my entire life), tried a different med or two. I still had minor episodes even on the meds, although they were fewer, shorter and didn't leave me feeling like I'd just run a marathon. I eventually went to a different cardiologist (due to insurance changes) and talked him into letting me go off the meds. I was told that due to my young age, and absence of some other risk factors, and the fact that my episodes self-corrected in less than 24 hours, I am at a low risk of developing a clot, and that in light of my youth, career choice, and the fact that I had episodes anyway while on the meds, got the ok to stop the meds. If I have a symptomatic episode (dizzy, near blacking out, feel like I can't get a good breath,  or lasts longer than a few hours) then I am to head straight to the nearest ER. I did go to an urgent care clinic once when I had a yucky episode while driving. They acted like I was crazy, the EKG was fine, the monitor had my HR high, but regular, then it went back to my norm while I was on the monitor. No changes in the approach by the doc after that. As a matter of fact, the only time I've ever had to go back and change the approach was after I delivered my second child, and had hemorraged after the delivery. I went back on a beta blocker for 6 months. I find that I have more episodes, and the episodes are more tiring, when I get physically fatigued for a prolonged period of time (like a week or more), stressed out, or don't eat/drink well. I find that the emotional stress is the most reliable trigger of those three.

I did find an article just after I was diagnosed that talked about athletes and those who were athletes in their youth being much more likely to develop a-fib in their 3rd and 4th decades of life. 

Just take care of your body, and take care of your mind/spirit. Hope you find the answers you are looking for. 

My situation is a bit different, but some of the implications are similar. 

I was born with a congenital bicuspuid aortic valve and had to have it replaced with a mechanical valve almost nine years ago.  My original leaky valve also resulted in enlargement of my left ventricle, the chamber that forces the blood out of the heart through the aortic valve.

The mechanical valve means that I will have to take anti-coagulants (Coumadin) for the rest of my life to minimize the risk of stroke or heart attack resulting from blood clots forming on the valve.  

My doctors support and encourage my triathlon participation, but with the proviso that I limit my HR in training to 75-85% of LTHR, or zone 2.   I also had to stop heavy weight training, particularly max lifts or doings sets to failure.

My HR restrictions basically cap or limit my potential performance.    In my case I didn't start tri training until three years after my surgery, so I am still managing to see improvement, but more due to weight loss and better overall fitness.  At 56 I'm also starting to see the effects of aging, particularly in increasing recovery times after exercise.  Throw in some bad genetics, and it all means I'm pretty much relegated to the BOP.  I'm okay with that, but I can imagine that it would be more difficult for you than me Rick, since you have been a very competitive athlete and have been able to perform at a high level.

At some point you need to be somewhat philosophical about such things.  I know that my experiences have helped to better priioritze things in my life.  The most important thing is to think about your family and what you mean to them.

Wishing you all the best,

Mark