I’m sick today. Actually, I’ve been sick for about 5 days now. It got worse yesterday and today. I’m all stuffy and can’t stop coughing. So it looks like I won’t be working out today. And since I can’t work out, I’ll write!

The reason it’s so important for me to work out and eat healthy is because I have a heart disease called Dilated Cardiomyopathy. I was diagnosed December 19, 2002. It’s where your heart will enlarge and become inefficient at pumping blood through your body. The larger it becomes, the harder it pumps. The harder it pumps, the larger it becomes. It’s a nasty cycle. Typically the prognosis isn’t so great. If you look it up on the internet, most sites say you’ll be dead in 5 years! But the advances in heart disease and medications have made it possible for those of us with DCM to lead a relatively longer life. That’s not to say that it’s easy to fight. The reality is that DCM can eventually lead to Congestive Heart Failure and sometimes death. Many patients end up on heart transplant lists. So you can imagine I wasn’t real excited to learn that I had this disease!

DCM can be caused by many different things (i.e. a virus, pregnancy, other heart problems, alcohol) but in my case, they’re not exactly sure what caused it. I was pregnant with my second child when I was diagnosed, however, most cases of DCM are diagnosed towards the end or after the pregnancy when there is major stress on the body. I was diagnosed when I was only 16 weeks pregnant. It’s possible that I developed it while pregnant with my first child and it was just never diagnosed.

The only symptom I’ve ever had is palpitations (where your heart skips a beat). But palpitations are very common anyway and not a great indicator of DCM. With cardiomyopathy, most people can’t breathe too well, especially during physical activities or when lying down. Even walking up stairs can be difficult. Fatigue is a common complaint as is edema. None of this was true for me. In fact, had it not been for my son (who I believe is my Guardian Angel), I wouldn’t even know I had this disease.

While I was pregnant with my daughter, I had palpitations. When I asked my OB/GYN about it, he said that it was very common during pregnancy and not to worry about it. So I ignored it. The same thing began happening while I was pregnant with my son. Again I asked, and again I was told the same thing. Because of the history of heart disease in my family, and because I had this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that something wasn’t right, I insisted on seeing a cardiologist.

My initial tests were fine. He decided to do an echocardiogram because of my history taking Phen/Fen and the possibility of valvular damage. My valves were fine. Instead, he found DCM (which was not caused by Phen/Fen). At the time, the DCM was mild. My ejection fraction (the percentage at which your heart pumps blood. A healthy heart range can be 50-75%) was 45%. But I still had to see an OB/GYN and cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic who specialized in cases like mine.

Over the next month, my EF dropped to 30% and stayed there throughout the rest of my pregnancy. My left ventricle was 5.9 cm (healthy range is 3.5-5.7 cm). I wasn’t on medications because of my son, and for the fact that I had no major symptoms still. Even after giving birth, which was a C-Section because my son turned breech, my heart was fine. I wasn’t put on medications because my overall health seemed good and because I really wanted to breastfeed my child. About one month after having him, my EF had dropped to 19% and my left ventricle was up to 6.1 cm. Again, I had no symptoms. But because the EF was so low and my heart was enlarging, my doctor felt it best to put me on medications. We were able to find some that didn’t interfere with breastfeeding and I was able to continue for at least 3 months. For that, I am grateful.

My EF went back up to 25% and hung out there for the next few years. My left ventricle got as high as 6.8 cm, but it too stabilized. I was put on a cocktail of medications (Coreg, Digoxin, Lisinopril, and Spironolactone). I switched cardiologists when I moved. I spoke of him before when I wrote about how much I hated him for wanting me to start South Beach. Today, I’m thanking him.

I had been on South Beach and exercising for a few months before we decided to do another echo. My EF had increased to 30%, and my left ventricle had dropped to 5.6 cm…. it shrunk over 1 full cm and was a normal measurement!!! I was ecstatic!!! Now, I am in no way saying that my results were caused by switching to South Beach. But my next echo, done a year later, showed an increase in my EF to 35% and my left ventricle remained stable. Could this healthy eating and exercising be contributing to it? Sure! Am I just some lucky bitch who’s cardiomyopathy is reversing on its own? Sure! We don’t know why it’s happening. My cardiologist is amazed as well. But, as he says, the diet and exercising are definitely NOT hurting and could be helping tremendously.

When I was diagnosed, after weeks of crying my eyes out and wondering why me, I made a decision to do whatever it took to fight this disease. I don’t mind eating South Beach. It’s actually pretty good! And I’ve gotten good at cooking different recipes. I hate exercising, I won’t lie. But if it’s making my heart better, I will do it. My next echo is in January. I have every intentions of kicking this disease’s ass. And if I do, there will be a serious party!!

~ Slick