Trumpet,
You are presumably anxious, or you wouldn’t have posted. So before I relate a bit of my own situation, I’d suggest you go and see your GP and ask to see a cardiologist. It may well be nothing – but it may not be nothing forever.
I’ve had a low heart-rate in the 50s ever since I bothered measuring it. I’m now in my mid-70s and have aways kept fit by running and riding. It’s probably fairer to say I’ve been keen to keep fit rather than obsessive and certainly only rarely extreme. I’ve been lucky enough to be a “natural” athlete, if not a spectacular one, so keeping fit has always been a pleasure rather than a chore. Living in the Pennines does half of it for you anyway.
I was first “checked out” (as opposed to the occasional insurance medicals) about 4 years ago, when I had a couple of light-headed experiences. The doctor sent me to a specialist, who arranged a stress test and an MRI. The stress test (treadmill-type thing) showed I had occasional ectopic beats but this was no cause for concern. The MRI indicated that my heart was fine. I was discharged. Incidentally, I had no further symptoms after the first couple of light-headed episodes. Feeling pretty pleased with myself at that stage.
Still feeling good three years later, when I have what turns out to be a minor stroke (TIA). Again. I have NO OTHER SYMPTOMS. But the subsequent series of tests (ECGs, R-tests and so on) show that my (enlarged) heart is in a very bad way indeed. I have atrial fibrillation, though it’s not constant and my heart can both stop for a couple of seconds or beat at insanely fast speeds, none of which I detect physically. I’m on tablets to try and stabilise this, with some success, I think, and I’m further encouraged by last week’s angiogram which indicated that I haven’t got coronary artery disease. Add that to the fact that my life-style (active, vegetarian, occasional drinker, non-smoker) doesn’t need adjustment, then I should be quietly confident. But…….
A recent (November) ultrasound of my heart, shows that the way it pumps (atrially) is really poor: 35% ejection fraction is regarded as “severe”. Mine is 10% or less, the prognosis for which is, shall we say, short. But I’m still riding my bike, albeit gently, still teaching and I’ve been supporting Newcastle for long enough for their results not even to cause me a flutter. And I’m very confident in my doctor and the other practitioners I’ve been seeing.
I hope you don’t mind me going on at such length. I’m not trying to scare you. What others have said is almost certainly correct and it’s what I told myself. But in my case, it turned out that there were developments which I was lucky enough to get a warning about, via the stroke.
I had no reason to suspect my heart all those years. But you actually feel signs.
So go and see a doctor again, please!