50MillionChickens

Thank you for pointing that out. The IRS *never* calls you. They will always issue any communication via official letter. However, DO open and respond to any and all letters from the IRS promptly.

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Very common scam I'm sure everyone and their mother has dealt with a few times. Random call claiming to be IRS with a pending warrant for your arrest unless you settle up overlooked tax issue.

TIL: Being a good interviewer = being a good date. - Ask questions. - Be Interested. - Act like it's a party. You'd prefer to be nowhere else. - Be real. - Don't let your crew work against you.

Have you noticed that parallel, Ira?

(And may I add I am staring intently at you waiting with anticipation for your answer. I'm not glancing around the room or checking my facebook feed, just focused on your bound-to-be-interesting response.)

OP, not a question here, just some support here on spreading awareness and thanks for doing this AMA. Twice.

I am also no doctor but a father of two children with LQT "Prolonged QT" which is another condition like Brugada's. There are several electrocardio conditions that contribute to what we refer to as Sudden Arhythmic Death Syndrome. And yes, it's "SADS," another wonderfully uplifting acronym.

SADS is also a non-profit org serving victims, families and the medical community, and looking to spread awareness.

http://www.sads.org

OP is lucky for that ECG and I'm also a very lucky Dad. My daughter was diagnosed at 12 after having an episode at home, and getting immediate CPR from her Mom. She's doing fine now, and while these conditions are indeed extremely scary, if you get a diagnosis, they are often manageable with lifestyle modifications and medication (beta blockers that essentially prevent your heart from ever going into overdrive, no matter what you're up to).

These conditions are often genetic, so the first order of business after a death or a diagnosis is to round up every immediate relative for ECGs, and possibly genetic screening if it's warranted.

Awareness is HUGE. About 3,000 teenagers and kids die every year, in their sleep, on the sports field, from sudden cardiac arrest. And in many of these cases, there are warning events or signs. However, once diagnosed, the survival rate is very promising, especially if you get the IED implanted.

Warning signs that should warrant a child getting a cardio review:

• any family history of sudden, unexplained death, especially in a young person

• feinting or seizure during exercise, stress or excitement

• consistent shortness of breath during exercise

What's tricky is that there are clearly many benign feinting events, even in kids. And unfortunately, this is why so many kids with warning signs never get the full ECG. Feints are often explained by low blood sugar or other physiological things, and if the kid is back on their feet, families are often all too willing to be back to normal.

What can you do to help?

1) Know everything above, be aware of warning signs and take extra care when children feint.

2) Get trained in basic CPR and AED. ANY idiot can do this. The AED practically talks you through the process as soon as you turn it on. Kids who get immediate CPR and lucky enough to have AED present will thank you.

3) Talk to your schools, your workplace, any public facility. Do you know where the nearest AED is? Do you know how many people know CPR and who they are?

Lastly, don't panic. The cooler you are, the more chance you have to give someone else a second chance.

The restrictions are somewhat subjective, and can seem pretty arbitrary. When my daughter was diagnosed, we were handed a chart of YES and NO sports activities. Singles tennis NO, but doubles tennis YES. Biking was ok, but NOT uphill. It was a stupid list.

Bottom line, it all comes down to how much stress each activity involves, what meds you're on and most of all patient's self-awareness. Competitive sports are usually high on the NO list because of the added emotions of competition, especially in non-stop team environments. So baseball is less of a risk than basketballl.

Swimming is high on the NO list, because even if you have a minor event (feint, no arrest), guess what, you're gonna drown before you can get any cardio assistance.

Please tell me you've watched the Long Way Round with Ewan McGregor and his mate biking all the way through Mongolia/Asia.