sbwertz
Member
Well, I was in the hospital for a couple of days with a type of AFib called Atrial Flutter. Heart rate at 140 and wouldn't slow down.
I will have to go back in a couple of weeks for an overnight stay for an ablation on the nerve that short-curcuited. It isn't a serious problem, but they want to make sure it doesn't come back.
Monday morning about 10 am, I was working in the kitchen when suddenly I had a lot of pressure in my chest. I thought I was having a heart attack and called 911. The paramedics came and said it wasn't a heart attack, but I needed to go to the ER to get my heart rate back down. They tried four different drugs before they found one that worked, and had it back to normal by about 3pm but wanted to keep me overnight so they could do an echo-cardiogram on Tuesday. It came back normal. Apparently, as you get older, sometimes the coating on the nerves thins, and two nerves very close together can actually short circuit. That is what happened. My pulse went up to about 400 for a few minutes, then stabilized at 140 and stayed there until they finally found a drug that stopped the AFib. It was scary, but not really dangerous, since they were able to break the cycle and get it back to normal. I have some pills to take if it comes back before I can get in for the ablation.
I feel fine, and have no lasting after effects. Scared me half to death, though.
I will have to go back in a couple of weeks for an overnight stay for an ablation on the nerve that short-curcuited. It isn't a serious problem, but they want to make sure it doesn't come back.
Monday morning about 10 am, I was working in the kitchen when suddenly I had a lot of pressure in my chest. I thought I was having a heart attack and called 911. The paramedics came and said it wasn't a heart attack, but I needed to go to the ER to get my heart rate back down. They tried four different drugs before they found one that worked, and had it back to normal by about 3pm but wanted to keep me overnight so they could do an echo-cardiogram on Tuesday. It came back normal. Apparently, as you get older, sometimes the coating on the nerves thins, and two nerves very close together can actually short circuit. That is what happened. My pulse went up to about 400 for a few minutes, then stabilized at 140 and stayed there until they finally found a drug that stopped the AFib. It was scary, but not really dangerous, since they were able to break the cycle and get it back to normal. I have some pills to take if it comes back before I can get in for the ablation.
I feel fine, and have no lasting after effects. Scared me half to death, though.