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I am trying to get the nerve up to have nose surgery for a deviated septum. Medical procedures have always been difficult for me because I have panic disorder. I am afraid of anesthesia and this fobia has been heightened since I read a tragic artical about a young woman who died after being administered amnesia from what they believe was a case of MH.

I began to read about this disorder and learned some information that has me concerned that I could be suseptible to the disorder. Here is a direct quote from an informative website about Malignant Hyperthermia:

"CAN ANYTHING OTHER THAN ANESTHETIC DRUGS TRIGGER MH?

Only the anesthetic drugs already mentioned usually trigger MH. However, recent studies have shown that a small percent of people who develop muscle breakdown following exercise only, or after heat stroke, harbor the genetic changes associated with MH susceptibility. It is still unclear if the muscle breakdown and other changes result from these changes. Generally we advise MHS patients to lead normal lives other than when anesthesia is required. Some experts also believe that heat stroke may occur more often in MH-susceptible individuals."

The article later makes the following statement when speaking of certain forms of musular dystrophy having similar symptoms as MH when triggering agents are used for anesthesia:

"Rapid excessive release of potassium from skeletal muscle produces cardiac arrest."

These statements make me wonder if I am at risk of having the MH genes. The reason I worry is because I have a lot of problems with heat cramps. They are so bad that I had to give up tennis (my favorite) sport because I could not finish 3 sets in the heat without cramping up. I played in a tournament when it was at least 90 degrees and my entire body cramped up. I had to be hauled off in an ambulance and hospitalized over night. The doctors told me that my liver count (and possibly my kidney function) was not right and that my potassium levels were way to high. This is why they made me stay overnight and get bags of IV fluids put in me. Being told that my potassium was high has always confused me I always thought that you get cramps when you have to little potassium rather than too much. I was released from the hospital the next day but soon gave up tennis when I continued to cramp up real bad.

I do not have any family history of MH that I know of. I do have a family history of cramps though. I have undergone general anesthesia once about 18 years ago and did not have any problems. However, I have read that it does not mean you are not at risk for MH just because you have been under anesthesia in the past without symptoms. Can someone in the medical field please tell me whether they think I am at increased risk of having the MH gene based on my heat exhaustion and cramping issues?

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