旋转和心悸:芭蕾舞演员的不规则心跳多年未被诊断出来

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即使是青少年, 埃德森·巴博萨在排练时有时会感到自己的心跳得特别快. 这看起来不太正常. 但作为一名在里约热内卢参加比赛的芭蕾舞演员，他不确定正常的感觉是什么.

It's probably because I just did 17 pirouettes, he told himself.

The palpitations were short-lived and occasional, so he ignored them.

19岁时，巴博萨加入了位于芝加哥的著名舞蹈团乔佛里芭蕾舞团. He had relocated from San Francisco, 他拿着奖学金在旧金山芭蕾舞学校上学.

第二年，在一场激烈的表演结束时，他的心跳得比以往任何时候都快. 他感到精疲力竭. A few minutes of rest later, all was well.

He told his mother what had happened. She urged him to see a doctor.

Realizing his body was his livelihood, Barbosa went for a checkup.

The doctor found no problems.

几年后，巴博萨与一位重症护理护士迈克尔·里德开始了一段恋情. The episodes continued and Reid urged Barbosa to keep track of them.

Barbosa's notes read like a dance program. A three-minute episode after "Sleeping Beauty" when he was 22. Another the next year during the finale of "Glass Pieces.2020年2月，25岁的巴博萨在“时代在赛跑”期间心跳加速.

While doctors continued to find no underlying problem, 巴博萨了解到躺在地板上可以停止心悸，帮助他恢复精力. In that way, he kept it under control.

然后是COVID-19. 巴博萨停止了表演，放松了他的锻炼计划，没有发生任何事故.

In 2021, once rehearsals returned, the palpitations returned. 频率越来越高.

That March, the Joffrey Ballet presented "Bolero" as a digital piece. 因为是录下来的，巴博萨和其他舞者可以在节间休息.

By late summer, class and rehearsals were back in full swing. 一天早上, after barre exercises and jumps for 90 minutes, Barbosa could feel his irregular heartbeat return.

他做了他一直做的事，那时候，他的舞者们已经习惯了. He lay on his back and took deep breaths. But this time he stayed down longer than usual.

“你还好吗?”?" the rehearsal director asked. "Do we need to do something?"

Barbosa said he expected to be fine soon. 他不是. After an hour, he headed home. He usually walked or took the train. Fearing that he might pass out, Barbosa ordered a ride.

When he got home, Reid was there. He listened to Barbosa's heart.

"That's not normal," he told him. “看看你现在能不能做个心电图，这样他们就能知道到底发生了什么."

Barbosa was able to get an appointment immediately, but he wasn't sure how long he'd have to be in the waiting room. 他走进洗手间，做开合跳来保持心率. He eventually had all the electrodes attached to his chest for the EKG, 或心电图, 这种测试可以读出心脏的电信号.

Then he was called into a room where a doctor was reading a printout.

“你得马上去急诊室，”他告诉巴博萨，递给他心电图结果. "Take this and show it to them."

医生告诉他，他患有心房颤动，这是一种不规则的心跳. 如果不及时治疗, 它会导致血栓, 中风, heart failure and other heart-related complications.

At the ER, doctors kept Barbosa overnight to run tests. At 26, it was his first stay in a hospital.

医生计划给他做心脏复律，一种重置心律的程序. 但第二天快结束时，巴博萨的心跳自行恢复正常. 他被送回家了.

在后续检查中，他的心脏病专家建议他做心脏消融. 这个过程本质上是电击心脏肌肉内部导致心跳不规则的部位.

For Barbosa, it couldn't come soon enough.

“比起手术，我更害怕心跳加速，”巴博萨说.

He was back in the dance studio within a week.

Since then, Barbosa hasn't had any AFib episodes. He takes beta blockers and has made a few lifestyle changes, 包括改喝不含咖啡因的咖啡，少喝酒.

他还使用了里德给他的几个小工具——一个提供心电图的手机应用程序, an oximeter to measure his oxygen level, and a type of spirometer to help increase his lung capacity. All help lessen his anxiety as well.

"Not only is Edson in amazing condition, he has a level of mental fortitude that many young people don't have,里德说. “当你在5000人面前的舞台上心跳加速时，这是一件大事." Barbosa and Reid are no longer a couple but remain close.

Barbosa joked that he's become somewhat of a hypochondriac, but mostly he appreciates the heightened health awareness.

“我一直与我的肌肉和关节相连，”他说，“现在我与我的心脏相连."

发自内心的故事 记录心脏病和中风幸存者、护理人员和倡导者的鼓舞人心的旅程.