Skipping Hearts - Journal Entries

Driven to Help

Posted 09-14-2009 at 10:58 PM by Jeff

Some days I wish I'd been a bit more disciplined like Jodie, and become a cardiologist (Jodie's not a cardiologist, but she IS more disciplined than I am). Over the last few months I have found myself completely intrigued by ECG tracings and the vast amount of information they can provide. Every single millimeter of that squiggly line can provide valuable information about the health status of your heart.

But sometimes I'm not sure if I go too far. I'm corresponding with a single...

Jeff

Chief Busboy

Posted in Heart

Views 529 Comments 4 Jeff is offline

PAC, PVC, PNC, PAT, Couplet, Triplet, Oh my!

Posted 08-24-2009 at 01:56 PM by Jeff

Tags arrhythmia , couplet , pac , pat , pnc , psvt , pvc , triplet

Last week I stopped into my cardiologist's office to pick up the EKGs from my event monitor back in February. I picked them up because Jsuter69 was stressing about some increases in her heart rate that I thought were due to vagus nerve activity, and I knew I had captured some of that during my monitoring. I wanted to show her to confirm for her that it was normal, and that it was OK.

Ambivalent is a good word to explain how I felt about picking up those records. I was happy to be...

Jeff

Chief Busboy

Posted in Heart

Views 2147 Comments 4 Jeff is offline

Thinking of Another Woman

Posted 08-01-2009 at 11:53 PM by Jeff

Tags arrhythmia , dr. andrea natale , multiple ablations

I've got another woman in my thoughts tonight.

Not an affair. I love my wife. This woman's name is Adrienne, and she's a registered nurse. But more than that, until recently she's been very involved in another website, helping people understand their arrhythmias, treatment options and prognoses. She has such a long history of arrhythmia and treatments that she carries with her about the most street cred a person could have. And even when she's suffering, she's found a way to help...

Jeff

Chief Busboy

Posted in Heart

Views 368 Comments 0 Jeff is offline

The Power of Faith

Posted 05-29-2009 at 01:05 AM by Jeff

Tags arrhythmia , cardiologist , tests , trust

While I think that the power of faith in God can be a source of great comfort in times of need, right now I’m thinking more about the power of faith in my doctor. My cardiologist, to be exact.

As I read through posts on this site and others about people’s fear and even panic about the state of their hearts, I can remember a time just a few months ago when I felt the very same way – afraid of dying, but too afraid to live.

Wondering if I was going to drop dead on my...

Jeff

Chief Busboy

Posted in Heart

Views 456 Comments 2 Jeff is offline

Strength and Distance

Posted 05-07-2009 at 12:56 AM by Jeff

Tags arrhythmia , pvc

I was sending emails back and forth lately with someone who suffers with a lot of PVCs every day, trying to help her to cope with them. The things she was feeling as her heart was flip-flopping in her chest read like it came straight from my own head.

You ask yourself "Can I die from PVCs? How will my family go on without me?"

It can be a constant reminder that something is wrong. And I mean every few seconds, all day long constant. But now, a little over...

Jeff

Chief Busboy

Posted in Heart

Views 393 Comments 0 Jeff is offline

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