Heart issues...

No, I am not speaking about my spiritual heart. This article will seek to inform many of you who have heard bits and pieces about the ongoing problems with my physical heart. But please, any and all prayer for my spiritual heart would be welcomed!!!

Let me say first of all that my father had a number of heart attacks during his lifetime. As a matter of fact, he died of a massive heartache on Father's Day of 1993 (June 20). He was only 50 years young.

I have had a heart murmor since I was very young (ca. 3 years old). Growing up, I was told that my slow heart rate was indicative of an "athlete's heart." At resting rate, my heartbeat was around 43 beats per minute. After strenous activity, my heartbeat would jump up to a whopping 90 or 100 beats per minute. While sleeping, however, my heart rate would drop just under 30 beats a minute!

During my third year of seminary, I began having some chest pains. I went to my general practitioner, and he ran an EKG on me. As the report was being printed, he left the room rather hurriedly. I heard him in the next room talking to someone, but I didn't pay any attention. Well, not until I heard him talking about a 27 year old man...then I realized that he was talking about me! He came back into the room and asked me, "How do you feel?" I told him that I felt fine and asked him his reasons for that question. He responded, "I think you might be having a heart attack." It seemed like the world stopped for a second or two. Within minutes, I was walking to the emergency room (just down the hill from the hospital). The ER staff welcomed me and ushered me back immediately. They monitored me overnight, taking all sorts of tests on my heart. The next morning, a cardiologist (Dr. Eric Lee) discussed my potential heart issues and a course of action. After about 30 seconds on a treadmill, it was discovered that I had arrhythmia. The top and bottom chambers of my heart were "blocked: (congenital heart blockage). Dr. Lee's recommendation was a dual-chamber pacemaker that would help to regulate both chambers of the heart, making sure that both "fired" at the same time. Otherwise, one chamber would try to compensate for the other - the result may be a swollen chamber that would eventually rupture. So, I had a St. Jude's dual chamber pacemaker installed on April 4, 2002. It has greatly helped me life, giving me more energy and stamina.

As many of you know, the Lord directed us to serve at Copperfield Bible Church in Houston, Texas immediately after graduating from The Master's Seminary. Houston is world reknown for its excellent cardiologists. My current cardiologist is Dr. Mark Hausknecht. Within two years, I have been diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse, an enlarged aorta, and a possibility of Marfan Syndrome.

It has been a learning experience over the past few years, to say the least! But God has been faithful through it all. We praise Him for His grace, mercy, reliability, and sovereignty. Without the full knowledge of Him being in control, we would have no confidence in the future!

The latest news from my cardiologist today (October 11, 2005) is that my aorta continues to enlarge. From December 2004 to July 2005, my aorta grew from 3.9 cm to 4.6 cm. From July to October, it grew from 4.6 cm to 4.8 cm. Once the aorta reaches 5-5.5 cm, my cardiologist is recommending me to have corrective surgery to repair the aorta. This is a very invasive surgery, but my youth and health should help me to recover quickly. I have been on Toprol XL since July, and it seems to be slowing the rate of expansion. It has helped to slow the rate of expansion; however, it has not fully stopped the aorta from widening.

I will continue to keep you updated through this blog regarding my health! Thanks for enduring me with me through this long blog. So many have asked, and I figured I would put my entire heart history up for her for others to read at their convenience.