Hi,
Medical and Literary Updates:
When this posts I’ll be getting ready to leave for an appointment with my cardiologist. I have been seeing him since May 2021 because of my A-Fib, which we were treating primarily with Eliquis (to guard against stroke).
Periodically, he would check to see if the A-Fib had settled into a normal rhythm, but it still was beating irregularly as of last November. He asked me if I wanted to try to shock the heart back into a normal rhythm, and I agreed. It worked, but only for a few days.
To continue taking the Eliquis and just let my heart beat irregularly was one option (and perfectly safe), but the Eliquis is very expensive (even with good insurance). Three months ago, we decided to try one more medication called Amiodarone. It supposedly works directly on the heart, forcing it to keep an average rhythm. I’ve been testing my pulse rate (heartbeats per minute — BPM) a few times each day with a smartwatch. Instead of popping up and down between as low as 40 BPM and way over 100 BPM during A-Fib, I’ve been seeing readings mostly in the range of 80s to mid-90s). Average for most people is usually somewhere between 60 and 100. The hope is that the smoothed out rhythm will continue without the medication. We’ll see.
If it doesn’t work, our last option is to perform an ablation of the heart. Basically they would burn away the part of the heart that’s causing the A-Fib. Sounds drastic, I know, but it’s supposed to be a very safe procedure. I’m just not sure I’m ready to go that far yet.
Also, I have been working on the novella. I’m deep into the Great Fire scenes now, so I’m getting closer, but still have a ways to go.]
Next post in a couple of weeks,
Michael
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