Personal

Living with heart disease brings challenges that are hard to fully appreciate until you’ve experienced them firsthand. In this post, I’m sharing my personal journey with AV block, amiodarone, and ultimately receiving a leadless pacemaker — in the hope that it might help someone else navigating a similar path. Please note that I do not have a medical background. Atrioventricular Block I was recently admitted to A&E after a faint and subsequently diagnosed with atrioventricular block. AV block refers to a condition where there is a delay or interruption in the transmission of electrical signals from the upper chambers (atria) to the lower chambers (ventricles) of the heart. This can result in a slower heart rate or even a complete block of electrical impulses, which can be dangerous and lead to symptoms such as dizziness, fainting, or heart failure. AV block and tachycardia are not directly related, and their treatments can be different depending on the underlying cause. I already had an ICD implanted in April 2020 after a suspected cardiac arrest caused by ventrical tachycardia (ventricular tachycardia is a fast heart rate that originates in the ventricles of the heart), whilst out riding my bike The unexpected diagnosis – ARVC and this was extracted and replaced by an S-ICD in February 2023 Living with ICD complications. ...

In 2020, I survived a suspected cardiac arrest and crashed my bike. An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) — a small device placed under the skin of the chest to monitor and treat dangerous heart rhythms — was implanted as my safety net. Apart from greatly reducing my exercise levels due to the nature of my diagnosis, ARVC, I was living a relatively normal life. I even took part in Caledonia Etape on an Ebike in September 2021 — until I started noticing my neck swell and jugular veins pop out when I bent over, went swimming, lightly exerted, vacuumed or stirred a sauce for dinner. ...

I was diagnosed with ARVC (Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy) in April 2020. Nearly aged 40, I had participated in sport competitively for almost 30 years. From the age of 8, I ran my first competitive 10k in under 1 hour. In my teens, I played cricket as a batsman for my local teams Highland CC and Nairn CCC and in my 20s I played for Aberdeenshire CC as well as taking up squash. In my early 30s, I began running and cycling. I ran several 10km races and completed the Aberdeen 1/2 Marathon. In 2015 I took up cycling, taking part in many an Etape (Caledonia and Loch Ness) and even cycled coast to coast of Scotland with my brother, completing 300km unaided over two days. ...