hospital

HUGE Peace of Mind

By: leelefever on October 29, 2005 - 11:20am

Over the last 24 hours I have been through an event that will give us more peace of mind than anything else for the trip.  I had a cardiac procedure called Radio Frequency Cardiac Ablation, which will prevent me from having an irregular heartbeat during the trip and hopefully for the rest of my life. 

 

The procedure was done via catheter, which means that they run a couple of wires into my heart from veins in my groin and shoulder. The wires are then used to detect the electrical currents in my heart and burn out a node or two that cause the disturbances.

 

The procedure was done to prevent atrial flutter, which is an electrical disturbance that causes the right atrium of my heart beats irregularly for time to time.  I’ve had it about 10 years and it’s been the source of stress more than any else.  It’s not life threatening, but I do have to have access to a hospital if it the flutter keeps up for 12-24 hours.

 

In preparing for the trip, having atrial flutter was an issue.  My Dr. said I’d be fine, but I would have to be prepared to get to a hospital if needed.  I do NOT want to be having a great time and suddenly have to be medi-vac'd from some remote location.

 

So, I’m home now after spending the night at the hospital after the procedure and all is well.  All in all, the worst pain involved the removal of tape from my hairy tummy. This is one thing that I am very happy to leave behind for the trip.

I've written a little more about my whole history of this issue here

 


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