Hi there,

on sunday my boyfriend fainted at his house- he went to the emergency room, taken by his mother, where he was passed out for practically the whole day. Apparently his heart rate had dropped to the 40's and his blood pressure was very low. The doctors (at a not-so-wonderful hospital) didn't know what was wrong- first they thought it was a hole in his heart, then an irregular heartbeat. He stayed in the hospital until tuesday night, but they didnt really do much, just monitered him. However, they did say he was "lucky" someone was home or he might have had a stroke. This is a kidney question- I promise. Today he had tests done, a stress test which came up fine. He had a chest x ray and a ct scan...Which ended up showing unexpectedly two "atrophied kidneys." they do not know, they said, if he was born with them or if they are shrinking. I assume he had bloodwork on sunday which would have shown normal kidney functions or else someone would have said something. What does this mean? They said that the kidney atrophy probably has nothing to do with the fainting/heart thing on sunday - could this be true?

I am out of town and am a pro at hospitals since I have cystic fibrosis, but this stuff is new to me. I am trying to help him learn about what is going on, meanwhile he has an appointment with cardiology at a better hospital on friday. I am concerned about the kidneys. He is 27 and he drinks alot, and has for a while. Any info. On what atrophied kidneys means for the past and future would be helpful. Thank you!

Caitlin