RE:Update on my SituationSo, I'm back among rhe land of the living!
My procedure started about 1:20PM local time and lasted only 50 mminutes. It was successful and my heart was returned to normal rythym after being shocked. Im already feeling stronger and more steady on my feet. I don't know what kind of drugs they gave me to put me out, but for the first hour after I reawakened I was flying higher than a kite - man those were some good drugs.
For those who are interested, here's a little medical education. Last New Years Eve I was implanted with an ICD (combination pace maker and defibrillator) to help after a silent heart attack that occured sometime between Jan and Oct 2017. The electrical leads of this device all lead to various places in the ventricals of the heart, so they cannot help in the case of atrial flutter/fibrallation that I recently developed.
The cardiologist and the electrophysiologist (pace make specialist) discussed using the defibrillator function of my device to deliver the shock required, but decided to save the battery and use a manually and externally applied shock.
Here's an intereresting complication though. Atrial fibrallation lets the blood pool in the atria and this can lead to the development of blood clots. A shock to the heart can then dislodge these clots and let them travel to the brain causing a stroke. Performing a "cardioversion" (socking the heart to create a normal rythym) without checking for clots first results on average 1 stroke for every 200 procedures performed.
So, my team performed a Transesophageal Echocardiagram first. They put a device down your esophagus that can do sound wave echos from above the heart. They get a better picture this way as opposed to a standard echocardiagram because there are no ribs or lungs in the way.
So everything went well in the end. I literally owe my life to the BC Medical System and especially a great team of experts at the Kelowna General Hospital.
I should be back home tomorrow if my ECG checks out.