Some of you folks know of my heart conditions. I have Atria Flutter which means the upper part of the heart goes at flutter state, fast beating up to 300 beats per minute. I also have half heartbeats which means the blood does not flow into the lower chamber and thus no oxygenated blood goes into the body. My heart rate is 39 beats per minute and should be 65-70 beats. So, I get tired and wore out quite easily and after about 6 hours I am exhausted. I can only work my dogs in about seven minute shifts, then need to take a break. I had a heart procedure in Feb that tried to reset the heart and get rid of the atria flutter but it didn’t work. So now, everything had has snowballed so I have to have two surgeries tomorrow.
The first one is an Ablation. It is a “procedure used to selectively destroy areas of the heart that are causing a heart rhythm problem. During this procedure, thin, flexible wires are inserted into a blood vessel in the thigh, groin, neck, or elbow and threaded up through the blood vessel and into the heart under X-ray guidance. The wires allow the doctor to record the electrical activity of your heart and determine what kind of heart rhythm problem you have.
Then, your doctor will find the tiny areas that are causing the rhythm problem. The wires are used to send energy to those areas in the heart. This energy is in the form of heat or freezing cold. The heat or cold destroys, or ablates, the heart tissue. Destroying this tissue can cure your heart rhythm problem.”
This will fix the atria flutter issue. That is the first surgery and they will monitor me then do the second surgery.
The other issue is my heart is going at 39 beats per minute and it should be double that. Since my heart rate is low as well as my blood pressure, I get fatigue easily. The Doctor will install a pacemaker and it will ramp up my heart rate to 70 beats per minute.
“A pacemaker is a small device that's placed under the skin of your chest or abdomen to help control abnormal heart rhythms. This device uses electrical pulses to prompt the heart to beat at a normal rate. Pacemakers are used to treat heart rhythms that are too slow, fast, or irregular. These abnormal heart rhythms are called arrhythmias. Pacemakers can relieve some symptoms related to arrhythmias, such as fatigue (tiredness) and fainting. A pacemaker can help a person who has an abnormal heart rhythm resume a more active lifestyle.”
My surgeries are at noon tomorrow and they will do the Ablation surgery then the pacemaker surgery. I will be staying overnight so they can monitor everything and hopefully I will be home on Saturday. It can take up to six weeks for everything to be normal again so I won’t be tossing bales of hay around. I am off work on sick leave for two weeks then will be telecommuting for two more weeks. Then back to work and it will be great to have energy again, have a normal heart rate and be close to normal again.
So say a prayer for me, give your loved one a hug and snuggle with your dog. Life is too short and you should live it to the fullest. I will have my friends post to the comment section on everything turned out as well as Facebook. Until I am up and about, I will have recipes and cartoons for the blog.
Take care! This should be last of the heart surgeries!
7 comments:
Thoughts and prayers going out. Pooches are getting extra hugs in your honor. They say "Thanks". :)
Diane, you're in my thoughts -- take care and get lots of rest! [I too am hugging all the pups in your honor.]
We'll be thinking about you, Diane. Rodeo and Bonny get extra snuggles tonight.
Just think how much better you are going to feel! YEA! Here's hoping the ablation works. We know the pacer will....Looking forward to you getting back on line AND feeling better :0)
Both surgeries were successful today. Overall, Diane spent about 5 hours in surgery, getting out around 5:30pm. The ablation surgery took awhile. The pacemaker is already improving her heart rate. Her blood pressure is coming up. Diane hopes to be home on Saturday around lunchtime.
Good news, Janet. Wishing Diane a speedy recovery. My prayers are with her.
More good thoughts and prayers! Hope this surgery did everything it was supposed to, and that recovery will be swift and full!
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