Minor glitch

Things had been going very well, although a couple of weeks ago, I felt like I overdid things. My heart rate went up and became irregular. I thought I might be in atrial fibrillation, having had that in 1990 when I had endocarditis, although this irregularity was not as bad as it had been then. I thought of calling my doctor, although I wasn't too worried. I am aware that there is some stroke risk, however, I am on coumadin, so I knew I was protected from that possibility. By the weekend, my heart beat seemed to resolve, although I did take note that it still was fast. This was not something I could tell by myself, but when I took my pulse, it was clearly holding at 120 beats per minute. So, I called my cardiologist and was told to come in.

Dr. Ginzburg was on vacation, but I saw one of his partners who told me I was having atrial flutter. He changed my atenolol to metaprolol, and told me to come back the next day. I saw a different cardiologist, who ordered an echocardiogram, but otherwise did not seem alarmed. By the end of the week, they called Dr. Ginzburg (apparently on the golf course). He upped the medication further, and said he would see me the next week. I saw him on Friday and, after two weeks of an unrelenting flutter, he decided it was time for cardioversion (shocking my heart back to a regular beat).

This does not lead to pleasant thoughts. But, I did what he ordered and, on Monday, had a combination transesphoghial echocardiogram and cardioversion. I felt like I was on death row, as the nurse attached the electrodes to my chest and back. They assured me I would be sedated. They did the TEE first, to make sure there were no blood clots, which might get dislodged when I was shocked. I remember the tube going down my throat. From that point on, everything goes blank.

The procedure worked and, whatever they gave me, it was not your ordinary anesthetic. It wiped out my memory. Not only don't I recall getting shocked, I don't recall leaving the hospital and riding home. Everything is a blur. Even though I went to work the next day, I felt in a fog.

Anyway, it was a good thing they did what they did. This morning, when I got up, I could truly feel the difference. My heart is beating about 60 times a minute. It is completely steady (which it has not been in a long time). I feel very good, to the point that I think, I'm almost normal again. So, a minor glitch. Otherwise, everything seems to be going very well.