Doctor, Doctor, Tell Me The News...

We've gone several months now with no major medical problems with Joe.  (That's the sound of me knocking on wood).  However, we've had something new enter into our vast vault of which body part or medical problem will pop up out of nowhere.

Since the end of January, I've been aware that apparently Joe has developed an irregular heartbeat/heart rate.  I didn't think much of it.  I thought it just had to do with his heart murmur which his doctors have been aware of.  But recently, the irregularity has apparently gotten worse.  It's been pointed out on several recent occasions by the techs at the dialysis lab.  So, we got an appointment for Joe to see his cardiologist. 

Joe's recently had his six month pacemaker checkup and it's working as it should.  At the conclusion of his visit, it was determined that Joe has atrial fibrillation.  Atrial fibrillation (AF or A-fib) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heart beat). It may cause no symptoms, but it is often associated with palpitations, fainting, chest pain, or congestive heart failure. AF increases the risk of stroke; the degree of stroke risk can be up to seven times that of the average population, depending on the presence of additional risk factors (such as high blood pressure). It may be identified clinically when taking a pulse, and the presence of AF can be confirmed with an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) which demonstrates the absence of P waves together with an irregular ventricular rate.   

So, Joe was sent for some blood work, had to wear a Holter Heart Monitor.  Electrodes (small conducting patches) were stuck onto his hairy chest and attached to a small recording monitor. While wearing the monitor, it recorded his heart's electrical activity.   He wore it for 48 hours and then turned it in to have the data analyzed.  We are now waiting for his next visit in a couple of weeks the hear the results of all the tests and data.