Scared moment: Eddy Planckaert on an urgent visit to a heart specialist

Eddy Planckaert visited cardiologist Carlos Van Mieghem in the Kortrijk hospital. He had not been feeling well in recent weeks and had suffered from cardiac arrhythmia.

“I’m a little panicked because my heart was racing one morning. My heart rate went to 150 to 180 and that took twenty minutes,” Planckaert explains his complaints.

According to Planckaert, this is purely due to the stress and emotions. “I’m busy every day, always stressed. That work has to be done, and that too… It doesn’t stop in my mind. When I’m worried and stressed, I feel like I have to be careful. It starts with a heartbeat. That makes me uncomfortable.”

Planckaert had never had it this bad before and realizes that it is time to intervene, otherwise it could end fatally.

Problem with the liver

A cycling test did not yield a bad result and there is nothing wrong with his heart, the cardiologist said. An ultrasound of the liver did show fatty liver.

“And we don’t have pills for that. That is simply a lifestyle adjustment,” says cardiologist Van Mieghem. “If the fatty liver disappears, the risk of cardiac arrhythmias is extremely small. The susceptibility to cardiac arrhythmias will decrease as you adjust your diet and take moments of relaxation, for example going misuse.”

Planckaert was reassured and says he has the necessary character to adapt his lifestyle to what is necessary. A little more exercise and paying attention to his diet and he can last for years to come.