In May 2022, Bryce De Witt, then 35, felt his heart flutter rapidly, what he recognized as a heart palpation. Two months later, he fainted and went to a local hospital. Doctors there found that he had a low heart rate but dismissed his concerns and sent him home.
After that, he started "passing out more frequently, and my symptoms (were) getting significantly worse," De Witt, 37, from Forest Hills, California, tells TODAY.com. He went to two more hospitals that year for his heart palpitations and other symptoms but was always dismissed.
"We were becoming incredibly frustrated,” he recalls. “They’re like ..
. ‘You’re 35, you’re healthy, have a great day.’” Eventually, De Witt, an Air Force veteran, visited his local VA hospital, where a doctor realized he needed a pacemaker.
Since getting one, De Witt has been able to enjoy life with his four children and work as an emergency room technician while attending nursing school. “I am able to play with my kids. I am able to do yard work, and everything feels like it’s returned basically back to normal,” he says.
“I’m grateful for it.” In April 2022, De Witt left the Air Force and began civilian life. A month later, he noticed heart palpitations, when it feels like your heart is beating too fast, which caused him to worry.
“Something just didn’t feel right at that point,” he says. “Something felt very off to me.” In July, he passed out suddenly.
“We went down to the hospital locally, and my hear.
