digsite

the nurse took my blood pressure and did an ECG on me (both normal). Then doc came in and asked me 200 questions, listened to my heart for a long while having me breath deap and hold my breath too (i thought it would never end). Then he excused himself and started talking into a little voice recorder for a long time and I heard “might have predisposition to tachycardia” blah blah blah. Lots of wordy words and phrilly phrases… He said he doubted that my almost passing out the other day had anything to do with my heart but my other complaints needed to be checked out. Then he had me get an ultrasound of my heart. That’s where it gets interesting.

The girl who did the u/s on me looked at my chart and said “oh, your baby must have rolled onto your inferior vena cava.” huh?! “that’s why you almost passed out the other day ” She said it happened to her a lot when she was preggo… she’d pass out, etc.. and it would happen when she was standing, sitting, laying down.. just about any position. And she’d stop from passing out by squatting down.

So I did a little research just now.

Finding a Good Sleeping Position
Early in your pregnancy, try to get into the habit of sleeping on your side. Lying on your side with your knees bent is likely to be the most comfortable position as your pregnancy progresses. It also makes your heart’s job easier because it keeps the baby’s weight from applying pressure to the large vein (called the inferior vena cava) that carries blood back to the heart from your feet and legs.

OK, so i knew about this vein but I didn’t know what it was called exactly and I didn’t know that baby could squish it even if you weren’t laying on the right side.

And in fact, the thing I had done right before that episode was squat down for a few seconds, then stand up. Of course, it may not have been this that happened to me. But it’s good to know it’s possible!!

I have to wear something called an ‘event recorder’ for a couple weeks so doc can see what i’m talking about when i say my heart races for no reason and i get pain in my chest since it doesn’t happen all the time..

He also told me that since pregnancy makes you carry around a lot more fluids and blood, our hearts will expand and get bigger to compensate and sometimes will beat harder too and this might be why it’s worse. And it’s possible that my heart could have grown more than normal in there.. who knows. Either way, it’s looking like there’s nothing wrong with me …so far.