How Do the Rhythem Go Again

I couldn't sleep. My heart rhythm was in chaos and my listen was racing. I had a resting heart rate of anywhere from 110 to 140 beats per minute. In that location was no consistency to the rhythm or forcefulness of my heartbeat. I was easily winded doing everyday tasks, felt uncomfortable in my breast, and if I stood up also chop-chop, I'd go dizzy. In short, I only felt "off."

Fifty-fifty though I knew it was atrial fibrillation, which I'd been diagnosed with 18 months ago, the idea of being out of rhythm again worried me. I was physically and emotionally taxed. The electrical anarchy going on in my heart was causing chaos in my head and making information technology difficult to slumber.

I didn't feel I was in any firsthand danger, but I'll admit I had some what-if-I autumn-asleep-and-don't-wake-up-because-my-centre-throws-out-a-blood-jell-that-causes-a-life-catastrophe-stroke thoughts running through my head. Atrial fibrillation definitely creates some anxiety, to say the least.

What had acquired my heart to get out of rhythm this time?

My all-time gauge was stress. While I love running, I don't run often. When the opportunity came to run a Thanksgiving Day 5k for a projection I was analogous at work, I took the challenge head on – just I probably should have taken some training head on showtime. I ran the race in 33.5 minutes, capturing the photos and videos I needed for piece of work AND I vanquish the local mayor to earn myself a medal. But I gauge I also won a side dose of chaos.

3 days later on the 5k, I was still tired. I attributed information technology to the footstep I kept upwardly in the race. I tried checking my heart rate and discovered I had no rhythm. I even had my wife listen to my heart and she agreed the beats were sporadic and the strength of the heartbeats varied, too. Equally soon equally the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Establish clinic opened on Monday morning, I was on the telephone with a nurse who confirmed my fear and I was scheduled the post-obit day to have my heart shocked back into rhythm.

The treatment is known as a transesophageal echocardiogram (or TEE) followed by a cardioversion

In layman terms, they put a scope down my pharynx to capture images of my heart to make certain no clots have formed in it due to the irregular eye rhythm. If information technology turns out to be clot-free, they take a pad on my chest and ane on my dorsum and they deliver a shock to my middle. Having gone through two of these procedures, it's not every bit awful every bit it sounds – but like anyone who has to get their middle shocked, in that location's some feet that accompanies the thought of swallowing a tube and getting shocked.

My experience was positive, and I was glad to share it publicly. I've worked closely with the team from the Intermountain Medical Heart Centre Establish for the past iv years in my function every bit a public relations professional with Intermountain Healthcare.

I've helped share new technologies and research that requite eye patients a 2d chance at life, returning to doing what they love with family unit and friends. But I'd never been involved in sharing information about a TEE or cardioversion, then I arranged for my feel to be shared live on Twitter – including the moment 200 joules of electricity raced through my middle.

The day went something like this

After checking in at the front desk, I was taken to an exam room and put on a hospital gown. I had monitors placed on my chest to follow my heart rate and they took my claret pressure level as well. My BP was 115 over 93 and my heart rate was ranging from 110 to 140+ beats per minute, compared to a normal middle charge per unit of 60 to 100.

The next function of the prep work definitely took me out of my comfort zone. I wasn't a fan of showing the earth my chest, let alone having a strip of chest pilus shaved off so the cardioversion pad could exist positioned. But it was but part of the process. When the teams began to get together in my room, things started moving pretty fast.

Later on a cursory chat with cardiovascular electrophysiologist Jeffrey Osborn, Medico, he got the process started by giving me some lidocaine to gurgle, swish, and swallow. That helped numb my throat for the TEE. The taste wasn't bad – but it wasn't good either. At the same time, fluids were hooked up to my Four and medications were started to help sedate me for the procedure.

The last affair I remember was the physician asking me to lay on my left side and a nurse placing a pillow behind me to help keep me on my side. I started to feel a little sleepy and close my optics, and when I opened them, nearly everyone had left the room and my center rate was hovering around a consequent 90 beats per infinitesimal. I was told the TEE was a success, and after sharing a tweet from my personal business relationship that everything went well, Dr. Osborn replied to my tweet: "I shock, that's all to restore rhythm to normal."

During the adjacent hour, I looked to see what had been shared on Twitter while I was sedated and so I could get a ameliorate idea of what happened. Afterwards going into lite sedation, the telescopic was inserted into my esophagus and images were taken of my heart, which showed information technology was healthy (other than the abnormal rhythm) and I had no blood clots.

In one case that was completed, 200 joules of electricity shocked my heart back into rhythm. In fact, a brusque video of the "shocking experience" was posted to Twitter – which prompted some feedback from others around the country:

• Cheers for being willing to share this video! Too many #afib patients see terrifying vids online. This will assistance so many of us. – Debbe McCall (@DebbeMcCall), a cardiovascular patient researcher and abet.
• Thanks for sharing the video and the fact sheets. Will exist using to educate our patients and hopefully decrease some of the fears and concerns that they take. – Haide Landeros (@hidee27), a nurse practitioner in cardiology in California.
• Only a social media manager would live tweet ain cardioversion. Amazing resource for patients. - @JediCath, an interventional cardiologist at Brigham Women's and Deaconess Hospitals in Massachusetts.
• I hope my friends at @Intermtnmedctr don't mind that I compiled these to make them easier to follow and to utilise equally education for patients? Thanks for live=tweeting your #cvTEE Guided #Cardioversion for #Afib. – John P. Erwin 3, Physician (@HeartOTXHeartMD), a cardiologist at Baylor Scott and White Health in Temple, Texas.

The idea of getting your heart shocked may sound — well, shocking – only it isn't anything to be nervous nearly. I knew I was working with an amazing team of center experts from the Intermountain Medical Eye Eye Found, and they did everything possible to help me understand the procedure, know what to expect, and ultimately render to doing what I beloved without worrying about an abnormal rhythm or getting easily winded… although my wife has banned me from running any 5ks in the futurity.

Here'southward a recap of the journey as it unfolded on Twitter.

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Source: https://intermountainhealthcare.org/blogs/topics/heart/2018/02/shocking-the-heart-back-into-rhythm-isnt-as-shocking-as-it-sounds/