Atrial Flutter Journey

Bockwinkel and the Atrial Flutter Caper

THIS IS A CHRONOLOGY.  CURRENT ON TOP.  TO START AT THE BEGINNING SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM AND READ UP.  I hope this is informative and entertaining.

TIMELINE:  OCTOBER 16, 2017

Busy day...Chemo Doc visit.  Blood Labs EXCELLENT.  Cancer CLEAR.  Next visit in 6 months.


Cardio Visit...Echocardiogram done as "mapping" for imminent Atrial Ablation (aFib Flutter) procedure.  All went well...

What Does Echocardiography Show?

Echocardiography (echo) shows the size, structure, and movement of various parts of your heart. These parts include the heart valves, the septum (the wall separating the right and left heart chambers), and the walls of the heart chambers. Doppler ultrasound shows the movement of blood through your heart.
Your doctor may use echo to:

• Diagnose heart problems
• Guide or determine next steps for treatment
• Monitor changes and improvement
• Determine the need for more tests

Echo can detect many heart problems. Some might be minor and pose no risk to you. Others can be signs of serious heart disease or other heart conditions. Your doctor may use echo to learn about:

• The size of your heart. An enlarged heart might be the result of high blood pressure, leaky heart valves, or heart failure. Echo also can detect increased thickness of the ventricles (the heart's lower chambers). Increased thickness may be due to high blood pressure, heart valve disease, or congenital heart defects.
• Heart muscles that are weak and aren't pumping well. Damage from a heart attack may cause weak areas of heart muscle. Weakening also might mean that the area isn't getting enough blood supply, a sign of coronary heart disease.
• Heart valve problems. Echo can show whether any of your heart valves don't open normally or close tightly.
• Problems with your heart's structure. Echo can detect congenital heart defects, such as holes in the heart. Congenital heart defects are structural problems present at birth. Infants and children may have echo to detect these heart defects.
• Blood clots or tumors. If you've had a stroke, you may have echo to check for blood clots or tumors that could have caused the stroke.

TIMELINE:  OCTOBER 13, 2017

The journey to Catheter Atrial Ablation begins...

Began the meds that will slow the heart rate and thin the blood in prep for the Radiofrequency Ablation that will occur Friday, November 3rd and have a one day recovery with dismissal from hospital on Saturday, November 4th...by 1PM.

This is going to break my Friday happy hour celebration at Houlihan's.  Wait, that was broken years ago!  Sure miss those days and am happy to still be in touch with some of those, now, OLD folks!

Monday, October 16th, an echocardiogram procedure will be done.

What is an echocardiogram?

The heart is a two-stage electrical pump that circulates blood throughout the body. The anatomy includes four chambers and four valves. For the heart to function normally these structures need to be intact and the heart muscle needs to beat in a coordinated fashion, so that blood flows in and out of each chamber in the proper direction.

An echocardiogram (echo=sound + card=heart + gram=drawing) is an ultrasound test that can evaluate the structures of the heart, as well as the direction of blood flow within it. Technicians specially trained in echocardiography produce the images and videos, often using a special probe or transducer that is placed in various places on the chest wall, to view the heart from different directions. Cardiologists, or heart specialists, are trained to evaluate these images to assess heart function and provide a report of the results.The echocardiogram is just one of the many tests that can be done to evaluate heart anatomy and function.

Then there's... Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a medical procedure in which part of the electrical conduction system of the heart, tumor or other dysfunctional tissue is ablated using the heat generated from medium frequency alternating current (in the range of 350–500 kHz). RFA is generally conducted in the outpatient setting, using either local anesthetics or conscious sedation anesthesia. When it is delivered via catheter, it is called radiofrequency catheter ablation.

Two important advantages of radio frequency current (over previously used low frequency AC or pulses of DC) are that it does not directly stimulate nerves or heart muscle and therefore can often be used without the need for general anesthetic, and that it is very specific for treating the desired tissue without significant collateral damage.

Documented benefits have led to RFA becoming widely used during the 21st century. RFA procedures are performed under image guidance (such as X-ray screening, CT scan or ultrasound) by an interventional pain specialist (such as an anesthesiologist), interventional radiologist, otolaryngologists, a gastrointestinal or surgical endoscopist, or a cardiac electrophysiologist, a subspecialty of cardiologists.

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TIMELINE:  OCTOBER 12, 2017

Another Journey begins...

Cancer battle...pretty much "won".  Now...the heart wants some attention...for its Atrial Flutter.  My flutter...280+ heart rate.  Whoa...that's smokin...but not good.

So...Atrial Flutter remedy is as follows...
1.  Begin drugs to slow heart rate, and thin blood to prevent blood clots.
2.  Three weeks later...surgery...two days in hospital
3.  One week of observation after procedure then green light for everything goes.
4.  Six months of monitoring...and drugs tweaked or eliminated.
5.  Life is good.

What is Atrial Flutter?  Well...I am here to learn and share...

The Basics of Atrial Flutter

• Under normal circumstances, these impulses are generated by the heart's "natural pacemaker," the sinoatrial (SA) or sinus node, which is located in the right atrium.

• The impulse travels across the atria, generating a contraction.

• It pauses very briefly at the atrioventricular (AV) node, which is located in the upper part of the muscular wall between the two ventricles. This delay gives the blood time to move from the atria to the ventricles.

• The impulse then moves down and through the ventricles, generating the second ventricular contraction that pumps the blood out of the ventricles.

• These rapid contractions are slowed when they reach the AV node, but are still too fast (typically about 150 beats per minute, or every other atrial beat getting through the AV node to the ventricles).

• This type of rhythm is called tachycardia. Because atrial flutter comes from the atria, it is called a supraventricular (above the ventricles) tachycardia.

• Vital organs such as the heart muscle and brain may not get enough blood.

• This can cause them to fail.

• Congestive heart failure, heart attack, and stroke all can result.

Atrial flutter is an abnormality in the beating of the heart. Such abnormalities, whether in the rhythm or speed of the heartbeat, are known as arrhythmias.

The heart is a muscle that pumps the blood through the body.

The beating of the heart is controlled by electrical impulses.

Atrial flutter occurs when an abnormal conduction circuit develops inside the right atrium, allowing the atria to beat excessively fast, about 250-300 beats per minute.

The main danger of atrial flutter is that the heart does not pump blood very well when it is beating too fast.

Atrial flutter can come and go; it is then known as paroxysmal atrial flutter. An episode of atrial flutter usually lasts hours or days. Less often, atrial flutter is more or less permanent and is known as persistent atrial flutter.

With proper treatment, atrial flutter is rarely life threatening. Complications of atrial flutter can be devastating, but they usually can be prevented with treatment.