Heart beats

I'm about to become the proud new owner of a pacemaker.  Apparently my heart has a curious habit of stopping now and then throughout the day--not that I ever notice a thing.  My father also had weird heart rhythms and had a pacemaker, though somewhat later in life in his case.  Well, it's a boatload of money and a little surprising, but it's a wildly low-risk procedure and won't put any restrictions on me afterwards, so who am I to complain?  The good news is that I don't have a bit of A-fib, which was the heart problem I always expected to get.  A-fib actually is rather hard to deal with, whereas a pacemaker should be a virtually 100% permanent solution to my bizarre heart rhythm.

Among other things, my heart rate drops to 34 during the night.  Lub . . . dub . . . lub . . . dub.  My father's used to drop to 40 while he was sitting up and talking, which used to confuse the doctors no end.  Likewise, my cardiologist cannot explain how my heart could stop for 10 seconds at a time, as it apparently did last week, in the middle of the day, without my even feeling faint.

All of this came about because my new doctor, who spends time with his patients a la Marcus Welby, told me to get off my butt and reduce my weight.  I'm making good progress, and this shouldn't interrupt that program at all.

27 comments:

E Hines said...

You have fun with that. And it's good that it is, in fact, no big deal.

I have, supposedly, A-fib. I had a one-off event some years ago, with no recurrence since, and no change in my lifestyle. The thing even cleared itself while I was on the gurney in ER (that whole night leading into my unwanted ambulance ride was a comedy, from my perspective. Unfortunately, my body had gone autonomous so I couldn't tell my wife anything; all I could do was watch her fear in the ER until I got reconnected.) After that, my cardiologist made me wear a 4-wire heart monitor for several days, and she made me come in and spend the night in the hospital because the damned thing said my heart had stopped while I was watching the news--all unbeknownst to me.

You can look forward to living long and prospering.

Eric Hines

Grim said...

I hope that is quite right. In my family, we don't have any history of such things. Our hearts just stop once and for all, generally without warning.

Assistant Village Idiot said...

@ E Hines - your heart had stopped while watching the news? How is this defined as abnormal?

Texan99 said...

Eric, A-fib can be lots of things, not always serious. In my family, it mostly has amounted to people having to take blood thinners. I known other people who have frequent "heart flutters," which are odd but not too uncomfortable or dangerous.

Hearts stopping without warning doesn't sound all that terrible for people who've had good, full lives. Many lingering deaths are unspeakably worse! But it seems a little early for me, and this should be an easy fix.

E Hines said...

your heart had stopped while watching the news? How is this defined as abnormal?

The monitor said it had stopped for four minutes. I'd have noticed had that actually happened. I'm not that oblivious. Even with the news in front of me. It was a monitor failure. Even in the pre-Obamacare days, insurance would only pay for Brand X monitors.

Tex, my cardiologist talked about a pacemaker for me, too, to deal with the A-fib. Given how quickly it had cleared, and her insistence that I stop drinking a pot and a half of coffee every day, we decided the pacemaker was unnecessary for me. A-fib, even chronic A-fib, normally is pretty trivial.

Actual heart stoppages, even brief ones, are worth taking seriously. Have a long life.

Eric Hines

Elise said...

All the best with this, T99.

Texan99 said...

Thanks, Elise!

Eric, four minutes? Seriously? I wondered, too, whether my monitor was simply wonky, but the cardiologist convinced me it was not. But ten seconds is a little easier to explain than four minutes. Good grief.

douglas said...

Thank goodness the technology and surgical procedures are so good now, and something like this we treat as minor. We're a lucky lot to have those 'dastardly' medical instrument and pharmaceutical companies 'extorting us', aren't we?

I recently read that even very brief bouts of high intensity exercise give benefits rivaling those of the traditional 1/2 hour long workouts. I've made it a practice to do something active and intense a couple times a day (like putting pull up bar in the bedroom and hitting it morning and or at bedtime for just a minute or two), to add to my regular efforts, and I have to say, in those areas, I've seen results. I think it also helps keep the metabolism going at a little higher rate. I'm also a big proponent of eating the kinds of foods you like and want, with good fat and sugar content, because your body wants them for a reason, and limiting them too much is sure to cause a reaction from your body to act as though you are in time of want, and conserve- exactly what you don't want when trying to lose weight! Anyway, enough yammering from a self-appointed medical and dietary 'expert'!

Be well, Tex!

Texan99 said...

Yes, I've been reading about high-intensity exercise and interval training. Very interesting. Off to bed early, so I can get up long before dawn and head down to Corpus for the hospital!

raven said...

One gem here is you apparently have found a good doctor, something to thankful for! They still exist! Yes! Many thanks for buoying my hopes.
And stay well, someone has be be a voice of reason here!

E Hines said...

Tex, yep, four minutes. The equipment that screwed up wasn't my heart. Not that time.

Safe drive to Corpus.

Eric Hines

Cassandra said...

A-fib often isn't a big deal, but it can be.

My Dad has had chronic a-fib for years now. His heart constantly beats at a ludicrous pace, and it's very debilitating. Even walking from one end of the house to the other completely exhausts him, and he has completely passed out several times due to arrhythmia. We're pretty sure that's why he fell and broke his hip twice a few years back.

But he's an extreme case. Most folks I know who've had it (my Dad and sister in law aside) have not found a-fib to be that troublesome. It runs in my family, and I had one brush with it when The Spousal One was in Iraq. I didn't see a doctor because it was just the one time and there really was no one I could call at the time if the hospital wouldn't let me drive home. I found the feeling to be pretty scary - similar to a panic attack without the emotional feeling of panic (which I've only read about). Just a racing heart and dizziness.

My father in law had a pacemaker and he didn't have any trouble with the procedure (or afterwards, for that matter). I wish you luck - let us know how you're doing!

Anonymous said...

Heh. I went for my annual poke-n-cough and the doc has given up on trying to get me to see a heart doc. Everything tests normal, and my problem is related to anxiety and stress, not a true cardiac bug. That and being a under-50 female helps. He was, ahem, tactful about my weight, which is 15 pounds from where I would like it to be. "Feed The Teachers Week" is not the time to be discussing diet and exercise, however.

LittleRed1

Texan99 said...

Ah, for the days when my weight was fifteen pounds from where I would like it to be. Done with my easy peasy pacemaker installation, by the way. Have to spend the night then go home tomorrow.

Grim said...

Congratulations on evolving into a cyborg, Tex. Glad you're doing well.

Cassandra said...

Thanks for the update. I know it's silly, but I couldn't help worrying a little. Get some sleep!

james said...

Hope this is all that is ever needed.

E Hines said...

Fast and good outcome.

Welcome back.

Eric Hines

douglas said...

Good news, rest well.

Who knew a fib was so common. Dad has it now and then, usually mild, and I've had an episode or two, but nothing you couldn't stop by bearing down and increasing internal pressure for about thirty seconds.

Texan99 said...

What's going to be strange about this procedure is that, since I was experiencing no symptoms, I can't expect any improvement! On the bright side, no discomfort from the surgery, either. I actually slept through the night at a hospital! And now home today.

E Hines said...

nothing you couldn't stop by bearing down and increasing internal pressure for about thirty seconds.

I'll have to remember that. I finally controlled mine on the gurney when I remembered the breathing exercises my wife and learned in our Lamaze class all those years ago.

Welcome home, Tex. Too bad they didn't let you watch the procedure.

Eric Hines

Texan99 said...

Oh, I was awake, sort of, but I find it harder and harder to remember as the hours pass, even though I know I had the sensation of time passing while they were working. They had given me some kind of hypnotic don't-mind-nothing juice that allowed me to talk and cooperate without having an opinion about anything in the world. Poking around in my heart? Totally cool with me, whatevs. Apparently it also inhibits the formation of long-term memories. In the recovery room I was awake but deeply stoned for a half hour or so, in a mood to watch "Zardoz" or something.

I was afraid that, when the drugs wore off, I'd have pain, but I never did have any. Maybe a slight discomfort at the surface incision when I jiggle too much, such as when the car goes over a big bump, and I may wait a day or two before I take a long walk. The sooner I can get back on the treadmill, though, the better. The main thing is that the connection between the leads and the subcutaneous device needs to heal in place a bit before they get too shook up. The leads in the wall of the atrium are pretty sturdy, unlikely to be dislodged barring a serious fall or blow. They said no contact football, which is just as well.

At some point, I'm hoping to get confirmation that the device kicked in to fix a heart stoppage, so I'll be thoroughly convinced that this whole thing was not a dreadful misunderstanding. I can't find anything to explain why I wouldn't have felt any symptoms. So far, all it's done is speed up my heart when I drop below 60, but as I routinely drop to 55 or so whenever I recline for about 10 minutes, that's not saying much, and it wasn't the cardiac behavior we were supposed to be addressing. In fact, the device rep tells me the doc can set the device to kick in at 50 instead of 60, and I'm going to ask him to do that when I see him in a couple of weeks. Apparently, the rest of the time the device doesn't do much of anything, which I appreciate. I don't like to think of it overriding my natural sinus pattern all the time.

douglas said...

Eric H, if you do that, remember, it's an all out push for about thirty seconds- like a cross between a fighter pilot grunting it out to fight high Gs and forcing out constipation (sorry for that). I'm not sure why it works, but ever since the doctor told my Dad that one, it works almost all the time for him, and has for me the couple or three times I've don it, though sometimes I needed a second shot at it.

Tex, you might feel a little more energetic- those 'little things' that drag you down come up slowly over time, and you hardly notice until the weight is lifted off and you see what you've been missing for a while.

douglas said...

Hmm, reading a little more about it, maybe what I've had is atrial flutter, not really quite A fib. Anyway, I know my Dad has been diagnosed with A Fib before, and given the bear down advice. That is apparently called a Vagal Maneuver, because it's the Vagus nerve that's the culprit, and which you're trying to stimulate in the maneuver. Pretty good description at the first answer here.

Texan99 said...

That's interesting about the Vagus nerve, which I've always found mysterious and wonderful.

About the improvement in energy, I don't know. My rate went down to 55 or 53 only when I was completely relaxed and reclining, which is not a time you're exactly looking for more pep. It's (was) my routine first-waking beat. Any time I exert myself my rate speeds up just like it's supposed to. Deeply asleep, though, it may drop to a slightly worrisome but not particularly dangerous 34, but what do I care when I'm asleep? Nevertheless, the real issue of concern was the funny business of just downing tools every so often and going to zero. The doctor had the strongest possible objections to that.

I am curious to see whether I'm going to sleep better with a regulated beat. Did dropping to 34 and stopping now and then keep me from resting properly? So far I've slept great, but hydrocodone will do that for you! We'll see once that's all out of my system. And anyway, since I've started this treadmill business I've been sleeping like a rock, not even wanting to nap in the afternoon, bunko heart or no bunko heart.

You know what a great weight-loss program is? Hospital food. What IS that GARBAGE, I have to wonder. I know I can make low-fat, low-sodium food edible; it doesn't have to be tasteless mush. That stuff is a crime against nature. I figured, hey, you can't starve to death in 24 hours. Back home now, where the NPH would never affront me with such a thing, not even when I'm reducing aggressively.

douglas said...

Ha-ha! Sounds like you're getting right back to normal!
Okay maybe the energy thing isn't an issue, which is good. Enjoy the home cooking!

Texan99 said...

Snapper Veracruz!!!!!