Latest Plan for Ralph

We met with his cardiologist today. He consulted with some other experts in a-fib. They all agreed that the best way to get and keep him in a normal rhythm is to put him on anti-rhythmic drugs and do cardio-version while he is on the drugs. These drugs can cause other rhythm problems, so they will only do them in the hospital under close monitoring. So he will be admitted to the hospital tomorrow morning and will start on the drugs. Friday they will do cardio-version and he will be out of the hospital late Sat. or more likely Sunday morning. Hopefully, this will work and he will stay in a normal rhythm! More later............

Not Good News

Ralph had a follow up with his regular doctor and he is back in a-fib. His cardiologist was on vacation this week, so the cardiologist on call had some lab work done, adjusted medications and he goes in to see his cardiologist next Wed. In talking to the cardiologist office, he will very likely be schedule for another cardio. The park where we are staying will not allow us to extend (this park is a real pain!) so we will be moving Sept. 1 to a park in Mount Vernon. The park in Mount Vernon is where we have reservations for next summer and the manager was kind enough to find us a spot in her very full park for Sept. More later...........

Happy Anniversary

Wow! What a day to celebrate our anniversary. We started at 5am to get to the hospital just after 6am. He was admitted to the Special Observation Unit (an outpatient ICU) and they prepped him for the cardioversion and then we waited and waited. They were paging the cardiologist and finally he came at 8:15. Since they were now running very late they decided to do the cardio and the angiogram in the cath lab so off he went. A little over an hour later he was back for 3 hours of bedrest and close observation - except for one small glitch! His heart went back to normal rhythm with the first cardio - YEA!!! However, the angio showed a 70 to 80% blocked artery feeding the atrial, so to quote the doctor -"since I was already in there I just put a stent in there". That is an automatic admission for overnight observation in the hospital. They finally got the doctor to sign all the necessary papers and he finally was in a room at 4pm. He will be discharged tomorrow morning as long he is stable - doesn't even need a doctor to see him so we don't have to wait and wait! So far he is doing very good and his heart is still in normal rhythm. He will see the doctor in a month and if he is still in normal rhythm he will be off of blood thinners - he is looking forward to that! He will be on plavix and a beta blocker long term. So, time for me to eat and relax in a quiet place - at home!

Update on Ralph

They have been forecasting rain for days and it finally happened - showers that in western WA means light rain all day!

We met with the cardiologist today and really like him - quite a sense of humor and spent a lot of time with us explaining exactly what a-fib is, what treatment options are available and what he recommended. His echo cardiogram showed a slightly larger heart than normal and a minor leaking valve. Neither are cause for concern. He will have another echo cardiogram in 6 months and if no change in the size of the heart then that is just the way it is. The leaking valve and elevated blood pressure are probably the cause of the a-fib. He is younger than the usual a-fib patient - 1 in 10 people over age 75 will have a-fib!

On Friday they are doing an angiogram to make sure there are no blocked arteries. Then they will be able to do any of the treatment options with no further testing. After the angiogram (if normal) they will do cardioversion (external shock of the heart) and hope it goes back to normal rhythm. This is the first treatment option to try. The cardiologist says this will last from 10 seconds to 10 years - we are hoping for the 10 years! If that does not work, then we have 2 more options to try. Friday are outpatient procedures and will last all day!

And - the cardiologist says we will be out of here Sept. 15!!!! Sure hope he is right!