The timing of the beating of one’s heart is an important and complicated process involving chemical and electrical signals and best left to someone else to explain. Nancy’s heart has been irregular and a bit fast at times and so she gets a pill to slow it down. As that chemical waxes and wanes so might her own internal controls and if the two combine just so – sometimes her heart rate slows. It did that last night.
The doctor in charge of the evening crew thought Nancy’s heart was being less than true and sent her downstairs to have a temporary pacemaker attached. For closer monitoring purposes they than moved her back into the ICU rather than into the room on the 4th floor where she had been. I talked with her and the nurse at about 1 AM, then went down in mid-morning.
In the ‘temp’ setup the power source is outside the body with a lead to the heart and then initiates the impulse for contraction of the heart muscle. [Look up the ‘sino-atrial node’ if you really want to know more.] The plan was to insert the lead up through a vein in the crotch area. Those veins either had a problem because of having been used earlier for the balloon angioplasty, or perhaps has some blood clots from weeks of inactivity. In any case, those trying this entry point had no luck and after some considerable period of time decided on a new route through the side of the neck. That was quickly done. Nancy compared their antics to The Three Stooges. I don’t know if she told them so but she did tell some of us at mid-morning. I don’t think the decision has been made to implant a permanent pacemaker although that is a possibility. Meanwhile the pulse is steady now.
When I arrived this morning a crew was doing an exam of veins to check for the aforementioned problems suspected when the ‘stooges’ [I’m sure they are skilled and nice people. They just irritated Nancy.] could not get the heart lead inserted. I think the machine is the same as used for an echocardiogram but used differently or with additional chemical tracers and software (I missed all but the last minute – poor timing.) and falls under the category of ‘vascular ultrsonography’ – I think that’s what they said.
They wheeled the machine out. Nancy, the doctor, the nurse, and I visited off and on for an hour and the machine was brought back in – with a different operator (but one we knew) and he started to set up for an echocardiogram to be followed by lunch and then, who knows?
I went to fill the car with gas and came home. I’ll call later but don’t plan on going down again today. We have patches of dense fog and as darkness comes driving is difficult. Besides, I haven’t been to the grocery store in more than a week. It is now 3:30 – I’ll post this and go.