Post by krash on Feb 2, 2019 11:14:18 GMT -5
For them what know and update for them what don't... I have a bad heart but don;t want to rehash details, use your search capability.
Last Saturday morning, got up as usual headed out to walk the dog at 5:30a, back about 6:15a... normal routine, made my coffee, put the cell on its chag=rger across the room, did a couple things, then took my place on the recliner end of the couch, dog took hers on the other end. TV powered up, recliner back, rest of the house quiet as a mouse.
Then it happened, felt a weird twinge in my abdomen, starting losing focus, dark closing in, light going away, then complete darkness and thats it... kind of came around a few seconds or minute later, light comes back but very unfocused, hear the tv, but feel very weird. Can't reach phone, get up or make sounds.... and having difficulty breathing.. Relax, relax, and in a few minutes it starts to get more stable. Then I started sweating all over and figured it was the end.
A few minutes go by and the better half, my financial advisor, wanders through t ekitched and sees me laid back in the recliner, and I said I don;t feel well and explained.. she called 911, now its a little after 7 and raining outside.
Paramedics arrive, do their initial assessment and Q&A, while checking vitals... heart-rate is out of control 155bmp. Hook me up to monitor, put me on the stretcher, and wheel me off to 'the Ambo and off to the ER. Panic happening in the AMBO of what to do... seems the machines are confused and the protocols don;t match what to do... PM says I can't get a BP, his heart is racing, but he's talking, they tried another one with 12 leads instead of 4 which had pads to shock, but it was whacked too.... the thought process was that my pacemaker had taken over and was causing the issue... so they stood pat and drove faster.
Into the ER, straight to a spot followed by a team of people doing stuff, asking me questions, and telling each other stuff and asking each other stuff. Panic scene in my little cordoned off area. Ends up in same corner thinking the pacemaker is out of control but no-one knows what to do. Heart rate still running at 155bpm, BP varying to very low levels that are at the point where other organ shutdown starts occurrung, in the 50's/ 40's and I'm still talkin.
Ther tried setting up a team with a running EKG graph, paddles in hand, and try pushing a chemical that is supposed to instanteanously stop the heart, theory is it will reset itself and restart, if not the team intervenes to do what they can. They tried once nothing, double the dose and hit it again, nothing. Decide to move on and try heavier and hevier doses of a med that is supposed to control rythm hoping to lower that heart rate. Cardiac guys now calling my cardio doctor, the pacemaker surgeon, adn still trying to get Medtronics to send the analysis data.
Here is an issue.... the ER in the major hospital does not have the device available to analyze the data when reading the pacemaker, their devices are like the one I have at home that reads it, and sends it off using a cell network to MedTronics. They have outsourced all this activity to Medtronics directly who as reps that travel around with a different machine that can, they actually show up for surgeries deliver the device and program it on the spot.
So after finally getting this information its well after noon now, they find the pacemaker is not the issue and has not even reacted to the problem. But with this information they have now called in my pacemaker surgeon and dispatched the Medtronics tech to work on the pacemaker side.
Although I'm still laying there with a heart racing at a rate now varying between 135 and 147 bpm and bp above 60/45, still talking to them. At this point hey could ahve tried shocking me but were afraid it would kill me and figure they can do that later if it is decided as the next action in ICU. They decided my body is tolerating the situation and they will maintain that state while waiting for the Medtronics device and people a chance to work on it and transfer me out of the ER into ICU.
Medtronics people arrive mid/late afternoon, and in a few minutes find the device is functioning properly the issue is there are thresholds set per individual, decided by statistics, new math, and swag theory and in my case had been set to trigger at 173bpm, so in its opinion it was OK for my heart to be in SuperVentricular Tachycardia ... now they are off to do some more new math and decide to change the level to 150...
Coincidentally while setting up the parameters and just before pushing the send button (wifi connection to the pacemaker) my Heart magically jumps back into a normal rythm. The tech/nurse steps back and says I did not do that.. I don't believe in coincidence but OK, there is relief on lots of peoples face and I feel an instant boost. Seh completes the reprogramming and ran a few more test.
Now its about 5ish pm and I am left to be cared for in observation and meds... several follow up test then moved couple days later to middle ICU, then the next day to Telementry area one more step closer to the exit door, still lots of meds but less IV's.
Thursday nite about 8PM I was released after a heated discussion with the local cardiac doctor, he had the deciding signature, and yesterday turned myself into my cardio doc who I just feel better under his care, he changed a couple doses of the meds they sent me home with and removed one, told me to go home an recover but take it easy and call him if there were any changes, I'll see him again in a couple days.
I still feel it, very weak or fatigued, can't quite focus right, and tire easily. I did lose another few percent of heart function but perhaps it will come back, time will tell, but I'll not be on the water for yet another while.
Technically for them what know I have been wandering this earth with an EF of 20 for 6 plus years with scary low BP., but I get around. at one point with an US that was measured at less than 10 in the ER while my HR was 155, but on Wednesday nite I had a Muga scan and its 17 now on discharge. Apparently according to my kidney specialist I may have lost a bit more kidney function, when the bp dropped to its lowest, but he will determine how much and what to do next week.
Perhaps, If the pacemaker had recognized the issue in the first place it would have been able to pace my heart out of it or the defib would have shocked it, may have worked or may not have we'll never know. After conferring with my cardio and pacemaker doctors Medtronics came back the next day and lowered that threshold to 130.
Till when, I'll have to enjoy fishing through your reports... if ya go catch um up and report.
Last Saturday morning, got up as usual headed out to walk the dog at 5:30a, back about 6:15a... normal routine, made my coffee, put the cell on its chag=rger across the room, did a couple things, then took my place on the recliner end of the couch, dog took hers on the other end. TV powered up, recliner back, rest of the house quiet as a mouse.
Then it happened, felt a weird twinge in my abdomen, starting losing focus, dark closing in, light going away, then complete darkness and thats it... kind of came around a few seconds or minute later, light comes back but very unfocused, hear the tv, but feel very weird. Can't reach phone, get up or make sounds.... and having difficulty breathing.. Relax, relax, and in a few minutes it starts to get more stable. Then I started sweating all over and figured it was the end.
A few minutes go by and the better half, my financial advisor, wanders through t ekitched and sees me laid back in the recliner, and I said I don;t feel well and explained.. she called 911, now its a little after 7 and raining outside.
Paramedics arrive, do their initial assessment and Q&A, while checking vitals... heart-rate is out of control 155bmp. Hook me up to monitor, put me on the stretcher, and wheel me off to 'the Ambo and off to the ER. Panic happening in the AMBO of what to do... seems the machines are confused and the protocols don;t match what to do... PM says I can't get a BP, his heart is racing, but he's talking, they tried another one with 12 leads instead of 4 which had pads to shock, but it was whacked too.... the thought process was that my pacemaker had taken over and was causing the issue... so they stood pat and drove faster.
Into the ER, straight to a spot followed by a team of people doing stuff, asking me questions, and telling each other stuff and asking each other stuff. Panic scene in my little cordoned off area. Ends up in same corner thinking the pacemaker is out of control but no-one knows what to do. Heart rate still running at 155bpm, BP varying to very low levels that are at the point where other organ shutdown starts occurrung, in the 50's/ 40's and I'm still talkin.
Ther tried setting up a team with a running EKG graph, paddles in hand, and try pushing a chemical that is supposed to instanteanously stop the heart, theory is it will reset itself and restart, if not the team intervenes to do what they can. They tried once nothing, double the dose and hit it again, nothing. Decide to move on and try heavier and hevier doses of a med that is supposed to control rythm hoping to lower that heart rate. Cardiac guys now calling my cardio doctor, the pacemaker surgeon, adn still trying to get Medtronics to send the analysis data.
Here is an issue.... the ER in the major hospital does not have the device available to analyze the data when reading the pacemaker, their devices are like the one I have at home that reads it, and sends it off using a cell network to MedTronics. They have outsourced all this activity to Medtronics directly who as reps that travel around with a different machine that can, they actually show up for surgeries deliver the device and program it on the spot.
So after finally getting this information its well after noon now, they find the pacemaker is not the issue and has not even reacted to the problem. But with this information they have now called in my pacemaker surgeon and dispatched the Medtronics tech to work on the pacemaker side.
Although I'm still laying there with a heart racing at a rate now varying between 135 and 147 bpm and bp above 60/45, still talking to them. At this point hey could ahve tried shocking me but were afraid it would kill me and figure they can do that later if it is decided as the next action in ICU. They decided my body is tolerating the situation and they will maintain that state while waiting for the Medtronics device and people a chance to work on it and transfer me out of the ER into ICU.
Medtronics people arrive mid/late afternoon, and in a few minutes find the device is functioning properly the issue is there are thresholds set per individual, decided by statistics, new math, and swag theory and in my case had been set to trigger at 173bpm, so in its opinion it was OK for my heart to be in SuperVentricular Tachycardia ... now they are off to do some more new math and decide to change the level to 150...
Coincidentally while setting up the parameters and just before pushing the send button (wifi connection to the pacemaker) my Heart magically jumps back into a normal rythm. The tech/nurse steps back and says I did not do that.. I don't believe in coincidence but OK, there is relief on lots of peoples face and I feel an instant boost. Seh completes the reprogramming and ran a few more test.
Now its about 5ish pm and I am left to be cared for in observation and meds... several follow up test then moved couple days later to middle ICU, then the next day to Telementry area one more step closer to the exit door, still lots of meds but less IV's.
Thursday nite about 8PM I was released after a heated discussion with the local cardiac doctor, he had the deciding signature, and yesterday turned myself into my cardio doc who I just feel better under his care, he changed a couple doses of the meds they sent me home with and removed one, told me to go home an recover but take it easy and call him if there were any changes, I'll see him again in a couple days.
I still feel it, very weak or fatigued, can't quite focus right, and tire easily. I did lose another few percent of heart function but perhaps it will come back, time will tell, but I'll not be on the water for yet another while.
Technically for them what know I have been wandering this earth with an EF of 20 for 6 plus years with scary low BP., but I get around. at one point with an US that was measured at less than 10 in the ER while my HR was 155, but on Wednesday nite I had a Muga scan and its 17 now on discharge. Apparently according to my kidney specialist I may have lost a bit more kidney function, when the bp dropped to its lowest, but he will determine how much and what to do next week.
Perhaps, If the pacemaker had recognized the issue in the first place it would have been able to pace my heart out of it or the defib would have shocked it, may have worked or may not have we'll never know. After conferring with my cardio and pacemaker doctors Medtronics came back the next day and lowered that threshold to 130.
Till when, I'll have to enjoy fishing through your reports... if ya go catch um up and report.
