The heart of the problem

It appears I have a heart problem. 

The above two screenshots kinda show my thought process this Sunday morning as I sat in my recliner and used my smartphone, which has a program called Samsung Health, and diagnosed myself with bradycardia symptoms. All I did was check my resting heart rate, which is slower than it should be. The lowest reading was 52 and the highest was 58, and that came after descending stairs and ascending with laundry, which should count as mild exertion. The lowest my heart rate should be is 60. There are cases when a healthy person may have a heart rate lower than 60 beats per minute, but those are usually extremely fit athletes who exhibit no symptoms of bradycardia. Unfortunately, I have all of the symptoms listed above and more.

I know it's not wise to self-diagnose, especially after consulting the internet (!!), but why do we have this technology if we can't use it? After I ate more food and after my morning dose of caffeine apparently kicked in, my heart rate did rise. I checked it several times throughout the day. My past experience supports the fact that I feel better when I'm active and when I'm caffeinated. Sitting still for me often feels like dying, and now I know why. 

What does this information mean to me? Not a whole lot. I don't accept it as a diagnosis since it isn't coming from an actual doctor, but it may prod me to actually see a doctor. But will I? Probably not. I don't have space to get into the reasons why, but it has something to do with my past. 

When I looked into bradycardia, I saw there are other possible causes including one I've long suspected is caused by my tonsils being inflamed. If I had health insurance, I would certainly look into having a tonsillectomy. I didn't know why I didn't do anything about that years ago. The cost of a tonsillectomy without insurance in this part of the country is roughly $5-6,000, so I'm going to pass for the time being. If my tonsils are indeed causing that particular problem, then there may not actually be anything wrong with my heart. That's what I'm hoping, at least.

Unfortunately, I can't do much about any of this because it's simply too expensive. All I can do is be aware and pray about it. 

The screenshot showing the symptoms of bradycardia makes the problem look pretty severe. Those are not things one wants to live with for long. And I've had those for a while. Another one I can add is my problem getting an erection (or, I should say, a decent erection). An erection needs a good, healthy heart to keep it going. There are other reasons (such as psychological) other than the physiological for impotence, so I'm hoping it's one of those. Yes, I can get an erection. No, it is not the kind of erection I'm used to getting, which is a concern. And I should probably leave it at that. 

Another thought is what it means to experience heartbreak. Why do we call it that? Does it actually affect one's heart? There are documented cases of people dying of heartbreak, so I think it's possible. Is it possible my years of enduring a heartbreaking relationship contributed to my heart problems, or, at least, my physical ailments in some way? 

The Bible says "a merry heart doeth good like a medicine," so maybe that's all I need. I feel I've been sad for far too long. I continue to experience sadness, too, but that's just life. So I will ask God for a merry heart or whatever I need. Surely I can't go on being brokenhearted forever. Right?