Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Jon's in Hospital

Hi All,

Well my husband Jon has been in hospital since Monday 7th March. Something dodgy going on with his heart rhythms. Racing and palpitating. It seems to run in his family. He is having some kind of electrical test on Monday which will decide whether he needs a pacemaker installed (!!!!!) or not. So I have been extremely stressed out this last week. I have been having to take his food into the hospital every day also as he can't eat the food there (he's on strict No starch diet).

Gotta run I'm on my way to the hospital in a couple of minutes. I'll keep you all updated.

They are trying to link it to his AS. Found no sign of inflammation of the aorta or aortic valve as yet so I don't think it will be related but who knows, guess we'll find out next week.

See ya
Chelsea

Oh no! I hope they can find the cause soon and get him fixed up. And that's so wonderful your'e not letting him eat that horrible hospital food! Take care of yourself, Chelsea. It will be okay.

Hi Chelsea,
Thanks for letting us know. You and your family are in my thoughts. Please keep us posted as to his health please? Glad there was no inflammation but hope he gets better soon either way!!

Take care...

Chelsea,

sorry to hear about John, hope everything is ok, have heard it happens in AS, depends on what they find on the electrical tests.

David

Hi Chelsea,

Sorry to hear about Jon--I'll be thinking good thoughts for both of you.

Just based on many, many posts that have come up on the board in the past few years, there does seem to be a distinct link between heart rhythm and AS, even if the docs haven't formally found it yet (they have found some heart-related problems connected to AS, can'r remember if this is one).

I do know that I went through heart rhythm problems of my own and remain on medication for it to this day. The meds have worked great, as I haven't had the arrythmia once since I started taking them years ago. My heart woudl suddenly spead up for no reason; luckily, it would usually reset itself after a minute or two. I was supposed to have a procedure called a cardiac ablation (search KICK AS for that terms--you'll see several others here have had, or thought of having, the same procedure). In an ablation, the find the small path in the heart that is causing the electrical signals to get screwed up and tell the heart to beat faster. Using a catheter, they move a wire up to the heart and use a current to "burn" that pathway so that the electrical signal can never travel that way again. This is a permanent fix for the type of arrythmia I had; with any luck, they may find that this is what is bothering Jon. I say "luck" only because the ablation procedure is relatively easy and less risky than some others, plus, as I said, it represents a permanent, drug-free solution. Ideally, I hope they find something even smaller than this problem and that the solution is even easier, but if not, I hope it can be something as "simple" as an ablation.

As a bit of trivia, Detroit Lions football player Joey Harrington had the exact same problem I did and had a well-publicized ablation procedure just a couple years ago. It publicized the procedure a great deal here in the Detroit area.

Good luck to you and Jon, and I hope he gets to come home soon.

Brad

So sorry to hear about your husband's illness! I hope they find the cause quickly. Good for you to bring him his food--what a great spouse!

I've had some issues with my heart, but haven't had a big work-up yet. I've been reading what I learned in my pharmacist days and am wondering if it could be due to an electrolyte abnormality. I hope they've checked Jon's levels of Mg, Ca, etc.

Good health to you both!

Chelsea,

I hope all goes well with Jon's tests and that he is feeling better soon.


Pam

Hi Chelsea,

Sorry to hear that.

I recall reading that AS does affect the heart in some cases...hopefully the doctors can find the cause very soon and treat accordingly.

Not trying to scare you but it's always useful to know what we may be dealing with. Following are links to some brief info on heart problems and AS, hope they are helpful.

Heart Problems and AS

Cardiovascular involvement

Kiwi Sweet Girl,

My prayers are with you and your husband, hoping he is better ASAP!

Thank you for being such a good wife.

Lisa

Hi Chelse..I will keep you both in my prayers and you have our support and sympathy here at KICKAS ....take care/be well