Roller Coasters & CHD??

Hey guys,

I just have a quick question, my hubby & I recently went to an amusement park for Halloween scares & he wanted to go on a roller coaster (he hadnt been to an amusement park in 30+ years) so we went on a roller coaster, one that first sends you off into space forward then drops you from space to send you backwards along the same track.  forward was fine, but backwards, after the drop, i lost him.  he was dizzy, sweaty, shaky, nauseous and could barely function trying to get off the ride.  I freaked but kept it to myself and led him to the nearest bench and got him some water and after about 10 minutes he was ok.  My question is, being diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, unsure to the degree of severity of the hole in his heart and where it is, could a roller coaster ride be what caused him to feel this way?  he has an appt with a cardio but not for 2 weeks and he wants to go back to this park and do these things again!  i wanna know if i should let him or should i tie him down and tell him NO!!  lmfao  any input would be greatly appreciated!  thanks guys!!!!  xo

[vienna13]

aww nerdgirl, it is sooo hard to say. I have DCM. no way I would sit on any of those, but I did not when I was young with perfect heart, I was even dizzy on a swing as many people without heart problem are. I have a friend 39 who has hypertropic cardiomyopathy and loves to visit and try all those  awful rides out with no problem.
  I think you should let him to do it, he will give up on it if he will feel really bad. I don't think it was because of his heart, but of course a doctor would say don’t let him ,I think.
I used to stand on my head. Asked my doctor about it, he said, well..Better not...
Try to get your husband to ride on some less fast and less ridiculous ride maybe.
They are all awful for me.:)

[Yvette BG]

Hi, nerdgirl272--
My suggestion is that if he's not sure the severity of the congenital heart defect that it is best not to chance the adrenaline-producing rides. I would not have said that a few years ago, but some things that have happened since have changed my mind. I'm a 50-yr-old who had a heart murmur at birth and had a heart catherization at age 14. Several heart issues; never required surgery, thankfully. I've always wondered about the warnings on rides--did those heart warnings apply to me? I never paid much attention to them, and always felt reassured watching 70 and 80-year-olds walking off the rides saying, "It wasn't that bad." That is, until about 5 years ago when we went down to Disney World. My hubby wanted us to go on a ride called Mission Space. I was worried, but once again, saw a lot of elderly people walking off it and thought to myself, "Don't be a baby." Went on it and really felt the strange and not like anything I've ever experienced before. Very fearful I would die. Didn't feel well the rest of the day. The next day, I heard a woman that looked a little older than me saying how washed out she was from that ride 2 days before. It subjects people to G forces, like astronauts, and this is not good for people with certain heart conditions. A few days after we left Florida, a woman in her 40s disease died on Mission Space; I believe they later determined she had an undiagnosed heart ailment.

Did some reading and also learned that some military branches bar people from becoming pilots if they have certain heart conditions, due to the G forces.

Why risk it? It could be the thrill of a lifetime or the kiss of death....Yes, it's rare, BUT it does happen.