Ticker update

As most of you know I've been having problems with my heart. Went into Atrial Fibrillation about 3 weeks ago. I've had it happen before for no apparent reason but after just 3 days on medication it would convert back and be fine. First happened in 1997, then after 3 days went away for 5 years and happened again. 3 days of meds and it went away and 2 years later it happened again for another 3 days. This time it hasn't responded to the medication. I wore a heart monitor for 24 hours and it was said to show a "normal controlled rhythm" but i was resting the entire time. Also had a nuclear stress test which scans the heart before and after a treadmill test and it showed two things. 1. Ejection Fraction of the heart (percentage of blood the heart is able to pump out of itself) was decreased to 41. My normal value is 65% from the test I had 2 years ago. They said it may be a normal drop in % since the top of the heart isn't pumping correctly or may be due to the heart getting weak. 2. the study showed a "Mild fixed small sized apical defect" which translated means there is a small part of the heart that isn't getting circulation to it. I was told it could be from a "silent heart attack" but they are not sure. They also feel I may have had a blood clot in the lung causing the shortness of breath and swelling in the hands and feet. I am having an echocardiogram of the heart on thursday before big dogs and was just scheduled for a ventilation perfusion study to check out the lungs. I will post an update when i hear the results. I've fired my cardiologist since he wont keep me updated or tell me whats going on and all theinformation I've obtained has been through my primary MD who has been fantastic through this whole thing. My "former" cardiologist scheduled me for a cardiac catheterization to look at the arteries but later cancelled (due to being out of town) and scheduled me for another test which isn't until the 23rd of June. I see my new cardiologist on Monday after big dogs. I write this because there has been a lot of concern for my health and I want to keep everyone up to date instead of writing 50 replies saying the same thing. I do appreciate the concern and dont mind discussing it on an open forum. YES I am going to big dogs unless one of the two tests thursday call for immediate care. Big dogs is just 15 minutes away from Winchester Medical Center which is a fine cardiac hospital. I do feel about 50% better than last time I saw everyone and can finally work a steady pace wihtout having to rest all the time. I've said it before that if something is going to happen to me it isn't going to be on the couch.

Good Attitude Cant wait to see you thursday nite

Hell yeah sounds like your ready to kick some cardio doctor ass. Good thing you have a new one. Thanks for the update I was going to ask for the full story on whats the deal but this answered all the questions I had. I'm glad to hear your making progress and if there is anything that Emily, I or any one of us (I guess I can speak for all) can do to help in anyway let us know. See you at Big Dogs.

Bill all i have to say is , see you at big dogs.

Sounds like there is more good news than bad. You will be as close to 100% as you can get soon im sure.

SEE YOU AT BIG DOGS

Thanks for the update Bill!! Glad you got rid of that cardiologist! Good to hear some more information can't wait till thursday!

Thanks for the text yesterday Bill.
Glad to hear you finally got some real information about that test from your doctor. I had never heard of that lung function test. Very interesting. You'll have to tell me more about it after you have it done.

V/Q scan; Ventilation/perfusion scan;
A pulmonary ventilation/perfusion scan is a pair of nuclear scan tests. These tests use inhaled and injected radioactive material (radioisotopes) to measure breathing (ventilation) and circulation (perfusion) in all areas of the lungs.

A pulmonary ventilation/perfusion scan is actually two tests. During the perfusion scan, a health care provider injects radioactive albumin into your vein. You are placed on a movable table that is under the arm of a scanner. The machine scans your lungs as blood flows through them to find the location of the radioactive particles.

During the ventilation scan, you breathe in radioactive gas through a mask while you are sitting or lying on a table under the scanner arm.
A ventilation and perfusion scan is most often done to detect a pulmonary embolus.

Good luck with all them tests Bill... doesn't sound fun.

So you're saying I shouldn't show up to big dogs in the middle of the night wearing a bear costume and rattle your tent???

We aren't going to need a fire...Bill will be glowing with all the radioactive crap they have/will put in him.

won't need no stinkin flashlight

Hows the DOC ??

New cardiologist was Fantastic! sat and talked to me for about 45 minutes and cleared up a lot of questions I had. Turns out the tests aren't very accurate that were done while in atrial fibrillation which is what I was thinking as well. Also the tests from last week had normal findings which was a relief. He said I have a trigger on my heart that can be set off with Caffiene or cold medication or if the planets are misaligned. So with that in mind his main concern is fixing the atrial fibrillation and then doing the tests as needed. Also said my resting heart rate of 100 is too high and the reason i feel so miserable. So he put me on a beta blocker to slow down the heart rate. Made a visit to the vampires today and my coumadin (blood thinner) is now in a "therapeutic range". So if it stays there for 1 month the new cardiologist will put me in the hospital, knock me out and shock my heart back to normal rhythm and keep me in the hospital overnight for observation. I see him again in 2 weeks and have more blood sucked out of my body the same day to check the levels. Finally I feel we are making progress with this. He also said once this is straightened out and if it ever happens again I need to get to the hospital within 24 hours so they can shock the heart before the treat of blood clots is there.

Thank god there is some progress i'm really happy to hear it!! I think we should MAR your previous cardiologist!! It's got to feel good to have some questions and major concerns answered. I'm glad to hear the new doc spent the time with you to give you a better sense of your situation. I'm glad it's getting somewhere. You're a hell of a trooper - most people would have been laid up feeling sorry for themselves. Great news! Thanks for the update!

That is great news nice to hear that

glad to here that you are on the right track , bill. great news

Saw the new cardiologist today for the 2nd time. blood has been thinned long enough to go ahead with the cardioversion and he doesn't want to drag out the atrial fibrillation too long so this thursday is the date. I go into the hospital at 11 in the morning and they will knock me out, do a TEE or transesophageal echo to see if there are any blood clots in the heart and if all is clear they will lay on the juice. Takes about 15 minutes for the entire procedure and I have to stay in for observation for about 5 hours. The next day it is back to normal activities.

good luck with everything bill.

You will be a new man and ready to go for this weekend

good luck brother.

Good luck Bill. I'm glad you will be back to your old self soon.

GOOD LUCK BILL

Good luck Bill!!

GOD SPEED!!

Wow - Good Luck tomorrow!

Text when your done. I want to know how it goes.