I knew some day this day would come

Ever since being diagnosed with Mitochondrial Disease, there has been one condition which I have been constantly warned about. I have been told as Mitochondrial Disease progresses and affects muscles, it will most likely affect the heart muscle. This will lead to heart failure.

I had significant chest pain and decreased heart function in the spring of 2017. My severe respiratory distress (from my weak respiratory muscles) was putting strain on my heart. Once I received a tracheostomy in May of 2017 and was started on invasive ventilation, my heart issues seemed to have resolved.

In June of this year, I again started experiencing significant chest pain. I kept brushing off the symptoms. I reassured myself there was nothing to be concerned about. But, everything progressively became worse. I noticed I was out of breath doing simple things. I found myself gasping and feeling as though I could not breathe doing the slightest amount of exertion. I would have attacks in which it felt as though my chest was being crushed and the pain radiated to my neck, jaw, arm, fingers and back.

I finally decided I needed to do something. Through a series of divine miracles, I found myself at a clinic with an appointment to see a doctor. I like this clinic because the doctors always are very thorough. I rarely go to this clinic because the wait time is often 4-6 weeks for an appointment. This time, though, I was fortunate. I was able to be seen by a doctor three days after I called to schedule an appointment.

I described my symptoms to the doctors. An EKG was ordered. My heart rate and blood pressure were high. The results showed my heart has right-sided impairment. The doctor explained my lungs are putting strain on the right side of my heart. This is causing the right side of my heart to work overtime. More testing needs to be done, but it appears the right side of my heart is failing.

I have always known heart failure was a possibility, but I never imagined the heart failure would come from my dysfunctional lung muscles. I believed my heart muscle would just become weak from Mitochondrial Disease. Who could have imagined my decreased lung function would cause my heart to fail?

So here I am, waiting for more testing. I am relieved to know my chest pain is real. I am grateful nitroglycerin was able to take away a tremendous amount of pain. (I had no idea how much pain I was having until the pain was greatly reduced.) What the future holds, still remains the same. I have Mitochondrial Disease...and this is just another bump in the road.