Heart has been rebooted successfully

[dreamshark]

Today I had a procedure called cardioversion for my persistent atrial fibrillation. It's a simple and non-invasive procedure. They knock you out briefly (like, for 5 minutes, something I didn't know was possible) and apply electrical stimulation to reset the heart rhythm to a normal sinus rhythm.

It worked, at least so far. I can't really tell the difference, frankly, except that my Apple Watch has stopped sending me Afib alerts. Presumably Watch will let me know if the Afib comes back, which it may well do. But so far, so good.

Anesthesia is so freaky. You're just lying there comfortably and you notice that you're feeling a little dizzy. Then zero time passes but it's 10 minutes later and you missed the whole thing. It's not like sleeping at all. 

Comments

[pameladean]

That is quite wild. I'm glad it seems to have worked and hope it will be a long time, if ever, before your faithful watch notifies you that the fibrillation is back.

P.

[davidwilford]

Glad to hear it all went well and that you're not being annoyed by your Apple Watch so much.

[bibliofile]

Huh, of course you can knock someone out for a few minutes. Chemically, I presume (as opposed to a fist to the jaw or some other old-fashioned method).

Glad it went ok, and that your wearable device agrees!

[dreamshark]

"Huh, of course you can knock someone out for a few minutes. Chemically, I presume (as opposed to a fist to the jaw or some other old-fashioned method)."

Well, in my very limited previous experience with general anesthesia it was a more gradual process. Count backwards from 100, drift away, drift back in confusion, slowly wake up in a different room. This was just Ready? Done! Want to see the trick again?

The only time I ever experienced the whack-on-the-head version it lasted no longer than a second or two, but that was weird too. Skating, losing my balance and going over backwards, and then I was lying on the ice without actually hitting it.

Yay!

[eileenlufkin]

Congratulations on a successful reboot! May the benefit be long lasting.

[laramie]

Anesthesia can be freaky. I've been under a couple times for wisdom tooth extraction. Disconcerting as it is, it certainly beats my experience with being awake for tooth extraction.