Having just posted one of my funny incidents*, another came to mind and I wondered whether others had funny stories around their A-fib.
My other one was that in 2002 after my first ablation I was being really bothered by ectopics and I was actually booked in for another ablation for these. I worked in London and was under a Cardiologist at St George's Tooting (my ablation was done in France at that long-ago time). He wanted an ECG before we made the final decision, and this was to be whilst I was off the follow-up meds, at that time Flecainide and Diltiazem. So I had stopped a couple of days before and on the tube down to the hospital noticed I wasn't getting ectopics any more! 😀 We figured out that this was another manifestation of my vagal tendency, that the Diltiazem was slowing my rate and that was allowing or even provoking the ectopics. So I quit the Diltiazem and was able to cancel the further ablation. 😁😎
Because of doctor-centric scheduling, my TOE was scheduled an hour before my electrical cardioversion—making it two separate procedures instead of the usual one.
Just as I was about to be wheeled into the OR for cardioversion, a nurse comes over and says, “Hey, you don’t need to be cardioverted—you’re in normal rhythm.”
Putting two and two together, I figured the TOE—with its camera down my throat—and/or the anesthesia must have converted me.
Later, the cardiologist stops by and tells me again that I won’t need the cardioversion. I take the opportunity to run my theory by him.
“No,” he says. “It was just a coincidence. Afib doesn’t work that way.” And with that, he walks off.
The nurse, who was standing nearby, leans in close and whispers, “You are right. That happens all the time.”
For those unfamiliar, a TOE (called TEE in the U.S.) stands for Transoesophageal Echocardiogram. They do it to look for clots in the heart before electrical cardioversion—especially if you haven’t been on blood thinners for three weeks. No clots? They push the button. Clots? They send you home on thinners.
I was on a trial for Dofetilide which didn't by itself convert me. I'd had the TOE and was taken down for a cardioversion. A young trainee doctor, poor lad, was cannulating me in the back of my hand. He was having a difficult time and in the process hurt me so much that I converted! The staff were almost cross about it!
Never have had an electrical CV, except maybe post-ablation whilst I was "out".
Well it's always kind of funny (?) to freak out a family member. I was visiting my sister 3 weeks after my ablation and my heart went completely crazy. I was due to fly home that day, and I was debating if I should fly with such an irregular beat. I was talking w/ my sister about going to her local ER, etc. I finally decided to just get on the plane, and the relief on my sister's face was priceless. She tried to hide it, but I could tell it was really stressing her out the thought of me being so far away from my cardiologist.
During one of my emergency visits to the hospital due to flutter and lightheadedness, I was sitting near the 12-lead ECG room, waiting to be seen by a doctor. A woman, looking pale and frightened, was being hooked up to the ECG. The nurse then said to her, “You’re in sinus rhythm.” She promptly replied, “No, there’s nothing wrong with my nose, it’s my heart, dear.”
Even though I was feeling dreadful that day, her response gave me a chuckle at a potential frightening time for both of us.
When I woke up after my first, and to date, only, cardioversion, I was offered a cheese sandwich on white bread, a packet of salty crisps and a full caffeine coffee.Having dutifully avoided all these 'bad for you' items for weeks prior to the CV, I was amused 😀
I was gowned up for my cryo ablation and walked along to the EP suite. On arrival the nurse told me to remove the gown and lay on the operating table, which to my mind was unlike a normal theatre table and more like a sacrificial altar. As the theatre team entered I was introduced to each of them in turn. It was quite surreal being stark naked and exchanging pleasantries! All I could think of was Rocky Horror ‘Come up to the lab, And see what’s on the slab ……’
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