WOT: 30 hours lost this week. Glad I'm here!

[danjrusdug]

"Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated"

Mark Twain

Long story short:

I have a condition called Atrial Flutter. http://www.emedicinehealth.com/articles/10851-1.asp

This has only happened a couple times, but it makes my heartrate which is normally below 50 to go to 160. Tuesday I went to the ER per my doctor's instructions to get the heartrate back down to normal as it jumped to 160 late Monday evening.

In the ER, they gave me the wrong medicine, one to slow down Blood Pressure instead of Heart Rate. I flat-lined less than a minute after receiving the medicine. OK, so it was a short demise. My heart started back on it's own before they could use the paddles on me. Anyway, I am fine but the hospital wanted me to stay overnight as they wanted to make sure that everything (organs, circulation) was functioning properly and to flush my circulatory system.

My condition, Atrial Flutter, is treatable by medication. However, under this shell of a middle aged, balding, fat man is the strong heart of a teenager. Since my resting heart rate goes below 40, they can't risk my heart beating any slower due to the medication. So I have to have a procedure called cardiac ablation. http://hrspatients.org/patients/treatments/cardiac_ablation.asp

It is an outpatient procedure that should cease the Atrial Flutter from occurring again.

It is scheduled for March 1st. However, I will not be attending Der Krewe Mardi Gras. I WILL see you all at the Midwest '02 Fest in Eureka Springs!

Now, back to your regularly scheduled forum.....

Doug

'73 tii Atlantik

'72 Ceylon

[billhiddle]

I've had the same condition for over thirty years, but is controlled by meds. Good luck on the procedure. Will miss you in La - Looking forward to seeing you in Eureka Springs.

[_z_]

holy crap!

Glad you made it back

[c.d.iesel]

..........phew ! glad you ARE here Doug!

but I think their diagnosis is alittle off.

Have the Doc recheck with my method:

And lean out your Air Correction jets 1/2 step.

Stay Well,

Creighton

ALUMINUM HEADS? loosen the spark plugs when cold,

and snug up to warm up the motor

remove all the plugs

battery must be fully charged and starter motor

spinning like mad

disconnect your ignition PRIMARY - even more

important if you have a HugeBox-o-Transistor mega-spark system

hold the throttle fully open during cranking

valve clearance should have been adjusted first- COLD -

only crank each tested cylinder 4 revolutions

record each of the 4 pulse readings of each of the 4 revolutions

the 1st pulse of the needle should be more than 1/2 of the 4th pulse

for example, if 185 is the target:

30-60-90-120= there's a leak all the time and uniform in size like

a burnt valve, or severly burned out head gasket

90-100-110-120 = that cylinder is sealing up to a point

but begins to leak - rings, leaking head gasket....

120-145-165-185 = is normal

adding a little oil to a weak cylinder and re testing will only show

some sealing by the rings - but indicate a direction to look

...next proceed to the Cylinder Leak Test

[Guest Anonymous]

...I think we oughta swap cars for a week. that'll keep your heartrate down and mine up.

glad to help,

brent

'71 1602

Little Rock

[Neil_in_PA]

Wow, intense! I would HIGHLY recommend getting a second or even third opinion, one can never be to careful working with the heart! I was diagnosed with Pulmonary Artery Atresia in my early 30's, which is basically a birth defect that kills newborns! I survived going on 37 years with one working lung and a real funky heart (Dr said I was a freak!), anyway, after three hospitals and a handful of Dr's, it was decided to let it go. (first doc wanted to explore!) That was six years ago or so. Moral of my story, get another opinion!

Best of luck, glad you are here too!

Neil in PA

[f1reverb]

(nt)

[SteveJ]

DAMN!

Now, If they are using HP(Philips) monitors, their algorythm will not correctly call Atrial Flutter. It sees it as an arrythmia and will alarm for that, but it just won't call it by name. As the one HP tech said, "It's sort of like it looks like a duck, it quacks like a duck, our computer just doesn't know what a duck is."

Didja get your own heartrate monitor to wear around?

I prefer the ones by Polar. Their chest belts are the most comfy.

[HarryPR]

DAMN!

Now, If they are using HP(Philips) monitors, their algorythm will not correctly call Atrial Flutter. It sees it as an arrythmia and will alarm for that, but it just won't call it by name. As the one HP tech said, "It's sort of like it looks like a duck, it quacks like a duck, our computer just doesn't know what a duck is."

Now, the above really freaks me out. I know absolutely NOTHING about the Medical Science, but I can not comprehend how those monitors are even allowed to be used.

My "roommate" at the hospital this week was an 18 year old kid who was also getting a gall bladder operation. He was sent to surgery the same day I was let out of the hospital. As I was leaving for home, his Dad came into the room to get his possesions, since he had been sent to the ICU. The surgeon (not the same as mine) had accidentally cut into a vein while operating and the kid had lost a huge amount of blood.

Don't know the kid or his family, but our family has been praying since then for him to make it through OK (we'll probably never know, though).

[TMK-001]

Hey mate,

I hope all goes well with the procedure. My sisters boyfriend has the same thing, they say he was lucky - at 26 and very fit and healthy - to be alive after one of his attacks.

The doctor told him he has to excercise regularly - but not over exert - to ensure his heart can cope if he has another sudden rise in heart rate. He got really tired of his heart racing and went in for the operation. As far as I know all has been well since.

Good luck.

Todd