ER | Kevin Barrett's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘ER’

Zapped Again (Three)!!!

Posted in Health, tagged AFib, Atrial Fibrillation, Catheter Ablation, Deep Vein Thrombosis, DVT, Electrical Cardioversion, ER, Health, John Muir Hospital - Concord, Pulmonary Embolism, Thoughts And Prayers on January 6, 2023| 3 Comments »

Health Update: For those who haven’t been following my blog for long, I’ve spent the last dozen (plus) years suffering from non-continuous Atrial Fibrillation (AFib), which is an irregular and rapid heart rate that occurs when one or both of the two upper chambers of a heart experience chaotic electrical signals. Basically, “AFib” is a fast and irregular heart beat. The heart rate in atrial fibrillation may range from 100 to 175 beats a minute. A little more specifically, AFib is a condition where your heart has a kind of loose electrical connection, and the top part of your heart (the atria) fails to pump smoothly – essentially it flutters (fibrillates). If left unattended, the flutter can cause your blood to pool in your heart and eventually the pool coagulates and forms a clot. Then, since your heart is still beating, your heart can push the clot to other parts of your body and you can end up with a heart attack (if the clot lodges in your heart) or stroke (if it lodges in your brain). The clot can cause various other issues depending on where it finally settles. (Obviously, this a VERY simplified explanation).

My most common symptoms include: chest palpitations, sweating, a shortness of breath (difficult to fully inhale) and a “feeling” of weight on my chest. Most of the time my symptoms are brief – a minute to a half hour. My most frequent symptom is the chest palpitations. Occasionally, the symptoms double up or last longer. Rarely, the symptoms go to three and or last more than 90 minutes. When that happens, I go to the ER.

Just to be clear, many folks live with continuous AFib for decades. As my cardiologist told me: “Most AFib patients don’t die from AFib.” They die from blood clots and related illnesses: stroke, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism. My AFib has been non-continuous for most of the last decade.

To make a longer story briefer, last Monday (2 January 2023), I entered (more or less) continuous AFib. About 4am, I woke up with difficulty breathing and very strong palpitations. I was unable to breathe while laying down, so I got up, dressed and went to sit up in a chair.

Anyway, I hoped it (my heart) would revert to a normal rhythm on its own. It did not, so I took one of my “as needed meds” to try to slow my heart and take the edge off the AFib. The med, kind of worked, but not fully. I normally take my blood pressure (BP) three times a day. My pulse slowed and I was falling back into a regular rhythm, but it was not consistent. I continued to check my blood pressure / heart throughout the next few days and the AFib continued more consistently than the normal heart rhythm – but it didn’t get worse (or better) or have significantly different secondary symptoms. In the end, my wife an I decided it was time to go to the ER – which we did today (Friday 6 January). In the ER they decided to forgo IV drugs and just go for electrical cardioversion. Basically, they hit your heart with an electric charge which “in effect” re-boots the electrical system of the heart. Yes, it stops your heart, but only for a fraction of a second (everyone hopes). For those of you keeping count, this is my third “jump-start” since retiring in October 2017.

The procedure was successful (big shout-out to all the staff, nurses and doctors at John Muir Hospital in Concord, CA) and (by the mid-afternoon) I was sent home with my heart in normal rhythm. I’ll be chilling out for the next few days / week to make sure I don’t slip back into continuous AFib and then (again) I have to concentrate on dieting and exercise to lose weight and strengthen my heart.

Knock on wood… That’s the plan, anyway. In the meantime, it’s contact all the doctors on Monday and see about additional medical steps (Catheter Ablation is the “most likely” next step). Still, it is much better than the alternative… Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers (if you are that way inclined).

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Click here (6 January) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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Another Friend’s Passing

Posted in General Comments, Health, Included Video, Lyrics, Music and Concerts, Quotes, Song Lyrics And Videos By Others, Videos, tagged Carole King, Comments, ER, Favorite Lines, Health, Included Video, Quotes, Tapestry -- music video, YouTube on January 25, 2021| 3 Comments »

Tapestry



Favorite Line(s):
My life has been a tapestry
Of rich and royal hue
An everlasting vision
Of the ever-changing view
A wond’rous woven magic
In bits of blue and gold
A tapestry to feel and see
Impossible to hold

Comment(s):
[A few days ago, I got word of an old friend’s passing (from COVID). This makes two friends in less than a month. This friend was a nurse who I bumped into at the ER over ten years ago when I went there for heart issues. She didn’t recognize me as it had been almost 35 years since we’d seen each other. I said she reminded me of someone I used to know back in the 1970’s in San Francisco and she got excited as she remembered me, too. Anyway, I was having heart issues and she triaged me into the back area for an immediate IV and care. The ER doctor said I was lucky as for most men my age (early 50’s back then), the first sign of heart problems is your face hitting the floor. He said most men are “too tough” to admit they have a problem when they start to feel “a little” chest pain, and then their family is burying them. So, in a very real way, this friend from the past helped to save my life. This song came to mind as I was thinking about her passing. The song is kind of sad (to me). She was NOT like that at all. She was enthusiasm, laughter and infectious smiles. I guess, the song came to mind because it reminds me of the tapestry of our lives weaving in and out of other’s lives creating a vision we don’t really see until we’re well beyond the current moment. I wish I’d been able to see her before her passing, so I could’ve thanked her for these extra years to work on my tapestry. — kmab]

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Click here (25 January) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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Happy MLK, Jr Day!!!

Posted in Faith Family and Friends, General Comments, Pictures, Reading, Running, Walking, tagged Books, Cathy Lazere, Computer Science, Dennis Shasha, ER, I have a dream, Martin Luther King Jr, Out Of Their Minds, Picture of Hil's Mum, Pictures, QRC Code, Reading, Recommended Reading, Slow jogging on January 17, 2011| 8 Comments »

First, of course, Happy Martin Luther King, Jr Day to everyone! If you haven’t read it lately, I highly recommend your re-reading the “I Have A Dream…” speech. I believe it’s one of the top 10 speeches in American history. As a Christian, I revel in the fact that we have a national holiday for a minister who’s stated purpose in life was service to others. That’s saying something as I also firmly believe in the separation of Church and State.

Exercise:
Went out for 35 minutes tonight. Not really a jog, not really a walk, more of a shuffle-step. It felt good to almost slow-jog. (Remembering that last weekend I was in the ER for my heart makes that a whole lot easier to accept. Pride goes before the heart attack!) Anyway, I reckon I did between a mile and a half and a mile and three-quarters. No pain. No shortness of breath. No chest tightness. I didn’t feel “right” last night, so I skipped the walk. I’m trying to err on the side of safety, if I have to err at all.

How I spent today:
Mostly, as you can tell from viewing today’s post, I spent the day just adding quotes to the blog. I started a book about the lives of 15 of the greatest names in the field of Computer Science so I had a lot of little quotes to add. The book (“Out Of Their Minds” by Dennis Shasha and Cathy Lazere) is excellent so far and I’ll be shocked if I don’t end up highly recommending it when I complete it and do the review. I’m continuously amazed that most of the great discoveries / inventions / algorithms have been made / created during my lifetime. I went to get some blood taken for my cardiologist appointment tomorrow. I also finished unpacking the last of my suitcases from the aborted trip to Baltimore.

Finally, I went through some photos and I have a bunch to add to the site. Unfortunately, there is just so little time… As a taste, here’s a photo of Hil’s mum with her mum (Hil’s maternal nana):

Hil’s mum (as a little girl) and her mum at the beach.



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Click here (17 January) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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A Single Heartbeat

Posted in Faith Family and Friends, General Comments, Health, Work, tagged AFib, Atrial Fibrillation, Baltimore, Blood Pressure, BP, ER, Family, Health, Maryland, Mount Diablo Medical Center, Palpitations, Work on January 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »

First off, I need to give a big shout out of thanks to the Doctors, Nurses and staff at Mount Diablo Medical Center!! Without you I would not be here tonight blogging…

If you’ve been following this blog for the last few entries, you’ll know I was supposed to go on a 120 day assignment for work back to Baltimore, Maryland. My flight and room had been arranged and my bags were packed…

On Friday (7 January ’11), I started feeling palpitations in my chest around the base of my throat. Now I’ve been experiencing palpitations for at least the last five years when I had to go to the Emergency Room for IV’s to bring my heart rate down. I’d get them every couple of months, generally they last a few minutes – maybe up to a half hour, and then just go away. I’d discussed them with my cardiologist and he said I was probably just becoming hyper-aware because of my ER experience. Anyway, I went to the nurse at work and she took my blood pressure and pulse. My BP was fine, but my pulse was a little elevated (for me), around the high 90’s. I asked her to check my pulse manually. She asked why. I said because the machines aren’t very good at judging irregular pulses and I only trust people for that. She checked and found my pulse agreed with the machine, but I was correct and my pulse was irregular. She asked me the standard questions about how I felt and since everything else was fine, she said I could go, but cautioned I needed to go see my doctor or to the ER if my symptoms changed.

The palpitations went away, but I still didn’t “feel” right the rest of the day.

Later in the day, a friend at work came up to me and said she had to give me a hug and say goodbye. I asked what’s up and she said she had a dream something terrible happened to me while I was away and she felt she would not be able to live with herself if she didn’t say goodbye to me. We laughed, but I could tell she was serious.

When I got home, I checked my BP several times and it remained normal with an elevated pulse (and the irregular indicator flashing). I took my BP the following morning and it was the same.

I went out for a driving lesson with my son, James, and we stopped to do a bit of shopping while we were out. I was fine walking around, but when I’d get in the car, I kept feeling a tightness in the center of my chest. Not pain, just pressure. While we were out we bumped into a colleague from work who was out shopping with her family. Her husband was also going away on a business trip and we had a little chat. He advised me to check my flights as a number of them were being cancelled due to the bad snowstorm on the east coast.

When I got home, I checked and, indeed, my flight had been cancelled. I hastily rebooked for another flight – this one going to Baltimore via Detroit. My original ticket was for Baltimore via Atlanta, but Atlanta was closed due to the weather.

The tightness in my chest was not going away so I discussed it with my wife and we decided it was best to go to the ER – just to get it checked out. It was probably nothing, but just to be safe…

Well, to make a longer story shorter, they put me on a bed and started running IV’s into me. They were very reassuring, but I felt like I had to tell my story to every nurse and doctor who popped their head in my room. Having said all this, there is something definitely NOT reassuring about being told three times, “Don’t worry! You’re in the safest place in the county to have a heart attack.”

Needless to say, around 6pm, I had a panic attack!

Now I’ve never been overly sympathetic for folks in the movies or on TV who suddenly can’t breathe and start screaming… Let me tell you, I have a whole new attitude about it. It may look ridiculous on screen, but when it’s YOU – it ain’t funny. More precisely, it is terrifying!!

I suddenly felt like I was locked in a vise and it was crushing my shoulders together. I felt myself gasping for air, but I could not take any in. I was screaming (at least in my head I felt like I was screaming), but I’m not sure how much noise I was actually making with no air. Hil went out into the hall to get the doctors and nurses and they came in and calmed me down. Shortly after that, it was “happy-juice” time in the ol’ IV. That calmed me down and the decision was made to keep me for overnight observation and a stress test in the morning.

Hil went home to the kids around 11pm. I’m sure the whole experience had scared the bejesus out of her (it sure did out of me)!

The night was uneventful. They wake you up every now and then to take blood, give you more drugs and to make sure you don’t sleep to well through the night (just kidding about that last part).

In the morning, it was off to the treadmill for my stress test… Now, for my age, I’m only supposed to get up to about 140 for a few seconds to complete the test. Well, standing there getting wired for the test, my pulse was already 135-138. And I wasn’t even moving… The nurses decided they didn’t want to do the test without the doctor present – so we waited a bit. My cardiologist showed up and he restored their confidence and we got on with the test. As it happened, I guess I passed because his whole demeanor changed and he pronounced me fit to go home!!

We had a chat about my drugs and not exercising for a week (to start) and about being careful. He advised against my trip, but said he couldn’t stop me if I insisted on going.

Jumping ahead, I had to speak with another doctor before I could be released. He also advised me not to travel. In the end, Hil and I talked and we agreed for me to stay. Trooper that she is, Hil said, “I’ll support you if you go, but I don’t want you to because I don’t think it’s safe and you’re not well.”

When we got home, I called my Center Director and she agreed it wasn’t a good idea to travel so soon. She assured me the most important thing was my health and other opportunities would come along. I thanked her and began the process of cancelling my flight and room and committing to staying.

Today marks one week since the start of the palpitations… Hil has unpacked for me. She has really been a rock for me this week. I took two days off to adjust to my new meds and have now been back at work for three days. Everyone has been supportive at work. I’m still keenly aware of my chest/heart/pulse, and every now and then there is an almost exquisite sense of terror that my heart could stop any minute now. Today, Hil and I went for a short walk – about five blocks. My legs feel leaden and my chest feels hollow. No pain or tightness, just not full. I guess it’s the new drugs working at slowing my pulse.

In a way, I feel as if I’ve been given another chance at life… Hil and I curl up together at night to reassure each other and it all seems so precious and yet so fragile…

I have loads of new topics to blog about: atrial fibrillation, blood thinning, fear, renewed hopes, love of family, warm sunlight and fresh air, and the simple joy of being alive…

My New Year’s resolution of walking at least a half hour every day this year doesn’t seem like such a trivial accomplishment anymore. Technically, I’ve already blown it for the last seven days. I think I’ll forgive myself for missing it this week. Slowly, slowly, get better every day…

And that single heartbeat — the most important one — it’s the next one!

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Click here (14 January) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.