Heartbeat Emergencies–Three of Them!

Air ambulance arriving as we are leaving just before dawn

Dear Nicholas, My husband Bob has had three ER trips in the last three months. One lasted into the fourth day and resulted in a pacemaker. The most recent–and dramatic–gave me a bad scare. This one included an ambulance, lights flashing, at our door. The reason: heartbeat emergencies.

Turns out the problem is an AV block: the electricity between heart chambers gets slowed or interrupted, temporarily causing loss of balance, extreme muscle weakness, light-headedness, skin the color of dough, chills and massive sweating. I’d thought that the pacemaker would prevent this happening again. It didn’t.

A Happy Aorta, But…

Only a few weeks ago, we were told that his aorta–which broke open in a horrendous crisis seven years ago–is now fine. Doesn’t need further watching. But there’s apparently more to a heart than an aorta.

On this third and most scary trip, he was treated in a hallway way back in the Duke Hospital ER.  Eight patients were lined up on gurneys in a hall that looked to be about a quarter mile. At first I thought he was waiting in line, but this was a treatment area and it worked better than our being isolated in a cubicle. Doctors and nurses were plentiful and I could stop them in passing, to ask a question, to get him another blanket, etc.

The-Wife-Who-Must-Be-Dealt-With

In ordinary circumstances I’d be hesitant about asking for a lot of attention, for “more than my share.” In this alarming situation, I became quietly, politely demanding, seizing passing medics, insistent that he get anything and everything that would help. I could see that in their eyes I was the-wife-who-must-be-dealt-with, especially when we were told that he was being released and I wanted him to stay in this hive of doctors until his problem was solved.

Finally I agreed to go home. It was 6 a.m., about 11 hours after after we arrived. The monitoring machinery showed that his heartbeat had stabilized. We could come back if it hit a glitch again. Now he has out-patient appointments with docs to try to get a solution to this problem. Perhaps medication? Google has not given me any easy answers to this.

 

Back to Normal? What Is Normal?

Now Bob has his strength and balance and steady heartbeat back. I count on that. Nothing is more important to me.

I have an idea there will be more heartbeat emergencies. These recent three were not the first. We can deal with these, he and I, as long as his steady heartbeat quickly returns and we can come back home. But a cure would sure as shooting be welcome.

Peggy

 

 

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Tags: alarming situation, AV block, bad scare, chills and massive sweating, Duke Hospital ER, electricity between heart chambers, ER trips, extreme muscle weakness, gurneys in a hall, heartbeat had stabilized, hesitant about asking, isolated in a cubicle, lightheadedness, more than my share, pacemaker would prevent, steady heartbeat, treatment in a hall