Cardioversion... Part Deux

This prayer request is from the heart… no, for the heart… umm, about the heart. I don’t know how to say it. Seriously though, if you don’t already know, a couple of years ago, I developed my first case of Atrial Fibrillation. That basically means that my heart throws an extra beat out there once in a while. It’s not really serious and is actually very common. ...and it's back! The doctors don’t know what causes it in me and believe that it is just a freak thing that I have a propensity for but I still need to get it fixed. How you say? With paddles... You know the paddles that they use to jump start a heart and where they yell “clear!” so no one accidentally gets electrocuted. Yeah, those. I think they reverse the polarity or something… I hope.

Anyway, on Tuesday I’ll be having the ‘ Cardioversion’ done for the second time. It is a procedure in which an electrical shock is delivered to the heart to convert an irregular or fast heart rhythm (called an arrhythmia) to a normal (sinus) heart rhythm. A cardioverter machine (a converted defibrillator) is used to send electrical energy (or a “shock”) to the heart muscle to restore the normal heart rhythm. I hope it’s more than something ‘converted’. It sounds like it comes from the local medical supply scrap yard. It only takes about 3 minutes but I will have to be completely out to do it and it has to be done at the hospital. You know how hospitals go… I’ll be there all freakin’ day! A friend offered to hook me up to his car battery to save a lot of money and time! Hmmm...

Originally, I wanted to be awake for the shock so I could experience it and then write about but they won’t let me. Mainly it’s because the heart is more ‘stable’ when you’re asleep; it had nothing to do with the intense pain that the shock will cause and that I would probably pass out anyway. The unfortunate part… this time around, I’ll probably have to be on rate meds for the rest of my life. I jokingly asked my doctor if he had ever lost anyone doing a Cardioversion. He said nope… not yet. Thanks, Doc!

Anyway, here’s my prayer request: first that the procedure goes well. My doc is awesome so we should be good there. Also, please pray that God takes away any of the anxiety or the worry that my family and I may have. The main thing I need prayer for though is that it doesn’t come back this time. Experiencing the A-Fib is no fun. I can’t really do anything with any exertion without getting out of breath and tired. It also affects my sleep and I have to stay on blood thinners so that I don’t have a stroke. Apparently, when you heart isn’t beating right, there’s more of a chance of your heart spitting out a clot or two and ruining your day.

Thanks for your prayers,

fletch