Atrial fibrillations

Oh boy, here we go.  About 10 days ago I began experiencing what I could only describe as heart flutters.  The wife put her ear to my chest and reported a lot of irregular sounds:  fast, slow, unsyncopated, flutters, all sorts of non-regular rhythms.  I felt pretty weak.

I had difficulty sleeping at night, especially on my left side (a classic symptom, unbeknownst to me), and the symptoms persisted all day Saturday and Sunday.  Definitely not good.  One of the most accurate descriptions I can think of is that some symptoms feel like you just took a hit of amyl nitrate.  Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, and a loud ringing in the ears.  Sit down immediately!

Naturally, I began searching the internet for info on heart flutters and stroke.  Fortunately, I had only one of the symptoms of a stroke, a little dizziness.  So I ruled that out.  But there were a few tense moments when I considered dialing 9-1-1.  

I called up my cardiologist (yes, everyone should have one) on Monday morning and they squeezed me right in.  The doc did a quick EKG and sure enough, atrial fibrillations all over the place.  He gave me some samples of Multaq, which is the brand name for the generic dronedarone (dro-NEE-da-rone), and I began feeling better immediately.

I'll save you the search on Wikileaks:  atrial fibrillations...

Atrial fibrillation (AF or A-fib) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heart beat). It may cause no symptoms, but it is often associated with palpitations, fainting, chest pain, or congestive heart failure. AF increases the risk of stroke; the degree of stroke risk can be up to seven times that of the average population, depending on the presence of additional risk factors (such as high blood pressure). It may be identified clinically when taking a pulse, and the presence of AF can be confirmed with an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) which demonstrates the absence of P waves together with an irregular ventricular rate.

In AF, the normal regular electrical impulses generated by the sinoatrial node are overwhelmed by disorganized electrical impulses usually originating in the roots of the pulmonary veins, leading to irregular conduction of impulses to the ventricles which generate the heartbeat. AF may occur in episodes lasting from minutes to days ("paroxysmal"), or be permanent in nature. A number of medical conditions increase the risk of AF, particularly mitral stenosis (narrowing of the mitral valve of the heart).

Atrial fibrillation may be treated with medications to either slow the heart rate to a normal range ("rate control") or revert the heart rhythm back to normal ("rhythm control"). Synchronized electrical cardioversion can be used to convert AF to a normal heart rhythm. Surgical and catheter-based therapies may be used to prevent recurrence of AF in certain individuals. People with AF often take anticoagulants such aswarfarin to protect them from stroke, depending on the calculated risk. The prevalence of AF in a population increases with age, with 8% of people over 80 having AF. Chronic AF leads to a small increase in the risk of death. A third of all strokes are caused by AF.

More here.

For most of this past week, I was feeling pretty good.  Went to work.  This past Tuesday I took a treadmill stress test and an ultrasound of my chest.  I will get the results this Friday, and I anticipate trouble.  

But during this week I had no problem climbing stairs (we have THREE flights of stairs in the house) and no problem sleeping, although laying on the left side still produced some flutters.  

Until last night.  I think I simply stood up too fast and swooned a little, so I sat back down and reclined in the recliner.  After a moment, my body, now in the prone position, got the message that I wanted to sleep, so I began to yawn deeply.  You know how some yawns are so strong that you just can't stop them, you can't talk, and you'll pull a jaw muscle if you're not careful?

Well, after each yawn, I got to feeling worse and worse.  Another yawn and I could feel my blood pressure rising.  We took a few readings:  150/112, 166/99, 152/92, and 159/88.  My pulse readings were bouncing around from 80 to 120, and I felt like shit.  

I didn't even want to chance climbing the stairs to bed, so I slept in the chair.  The wife, so worried, brought some pillows down and stretched out on the couch.  Around midnight I woke, feeling better and we climbed up the stairs to bed. 

So here I am, 55 years old, a family history of high blood pressure and stroke, and it appears that things have gone haywire.  I have a feeling that I am headed towards implanting a pacemaker.  

These recent "events" have indeed made me think about my mortality and all of the things that I have done and have not done.  I feel like I still have a lot of things to do.  I haven't been a religious person since quitting going to Sunday School as a young teenager, and I am not inclined to suddenly begin going to church.  Either science will save me or it won't, and I feel that no amount of prayer will do any good.

Is this the end of my road?  Time will tell.  Until then, vote Democratic!  And try to enjoy life.  As frustrating as it is, it's a beautiful world, and it's the only one we've got.