My ICD can be shocking!
On Thursday, March 30, I was trying to get a few boxes moved and organized in my basement. I wanted to locate some important materials and belongings that were still hidden away in boxes from our move. I didn't feel overworked or taxed--although I was expending more energy than usual--and I was feeling OK. While I was simply standing and looking over some materials I had on a bookshelf I got a strong shock from my ICD unit. It felt like someone had taken a fist and slammed it into my chest about mid-sternum, only it felt more like it was coming from the inside out, rather than from the outside in. It was scary, disorienting, and unexpected.
The Arrythmia Center had told me to call them if this happened, so I did. They said if it were to happen again I was to come into their center right away. I took the rest of the day off of work and kept myself relaxed and calm. Luckily I have not had another shock since that day (cross my fingers). On my next echocardiogram on April 3, the pacemaker technician interrogated the chip in my ICD and discovered that I did get a 5 Joule shock that day, and that my atria (not my ventricles) were in a very fast rate, making my ventricles speed up to the point that the ICD tried to pace the ventricles to a slower rate, could not, and then administered a shock. The good news is that it was not the ventricles that generated the need for the shock, but the mediocre news was that the atria could suddenly get into a fast pace and push the ventricles into a higher pace. Dr. Smith felt the ICD was fine as is, and still is playing a protective role regarding my ventricles and their rhythm. Good information from my April 3rd echocardiogram: my echo "looks good," and my heart's pumping function is still good (ejection fraction is still at 55%).
In the last couple weeks I have also noticed I am more prone to water retention, especially if I get additional salt in my diet. My weight can fluctuate by a few pounds of water a day if I am not careful with my salt and fluid consumption. I have had an episode of pitting edema in my legs one weekend when I sat for too long and fluid accumulated in my lower legs. It took sodium and fluid restriction over the weekend to get my weight back down. Pitting edema is when enough fluid accumulated in my legs that if I press into the skin and then remove my thumb there's a small depression (pit) remaining where the fluid was pushed out. The pit gradually refills as fluid comes back into the tissue from surrounding tissue. (This is why I am following a "heart failure" diet with restricted fluids, low sodium, etc. My dad and I have more in common now with our diet than I thought would occur...
The Arrythmia Center had told me to call them if this happened, so I did. They said if it were to happen again I was to come into their center right away. I took the rest of the day off of work and kept myself relaxed and calm. Luckily I have not had another shock since that day (cross my fingers). On my next echocardiogram on April 3, the pacemaker technician interrogated the chip in my ICD and discovered that I did get a 5 Joule shock that day, and that my atria (not my ventricles) were in a very fast rate, making my ventricles speed up to the point that the ICD tried to pace the ventricles to a slower rate, could not, and then administered a shock. The good news is that it was not the ventricles that generated the need for the shock, but the mediocre news was that the atria could suddenly get into a fast pace and push the ventricles into a higher pace. Dr. Smith felt the ICD was fine as is, and still is playing a protective role regarding my ventricles and their rhythm. Good information from my April 3rd echocardiogram: my echo "looks good," and my heart's pumping function is still good (ejection fraction is still at 55%).
In the last couple weeks I have also noticed I am more prone to water retention, especially if I get additional salt in my diet. My weight can fluctuate by a few pounds of water a day if I am not careful with my salt and fluid consumption. I have had an episode of pitting edema in my legs one weekend when I sat for too long and fluid accumulated in my lower legs. It took sodium and fluid restriction over the weekend to get my weight back down. Pitting edema is when enough fluid accumulated in my legs that if I press into the skin and then remove my thumb there's a small depression (pit) remaining where the fluid was pushed out. The pit gradually refills as fluid comes back into the tissue from surrounding tissue. (This is why I am following a "heart failure" diet with restricted fluids, low sodium, etc. My dad and I have more in common now with our diet than I thought would occur...
posted by JayVS | 7:37 PM
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