Arterial defibulation

Don said:

My dad had bypass surgery this weekend. He may get to come
home this Tuesday (3 days after surgery). Two times while
I was not there his alarms started going off. He was
talking out of his head a little. The nurses said he had
arterial defribulation that had something to do with an
abnormal heart rhythem.

You probably mean "atrial fibrillation."

Quoted message said:

The first time they corrected it somehow. The second time
they called the doctor and before he got there my dad
coughed and that somehow fixed it. I heard that he will be
prone to having these after the surgery he had.

I am now scared with him coming home. What should I do if
it happens?

Contact his cardiologist.

Quoted message said:

He will be alone for 3 days out of the week with my mom
working. I can go check on him at lunch. Will the
liklihood of these decrease as time passes?

Yes.

Quoted message said:

By the way he is also diabetic and overweight. He is
only 57.

Thanks for all your help and God Bless You!

You are welcome, Don.

Servant to the humblest person in the universe,

Andrew

--
Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Board-Certified Cardiologist
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**
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What is all this about?
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Tell your dad he may not like it now. But that he's going
to feel better than he has in a long time come a month or
two from now.

That's much, much better !!!

Maybe that'll cheer him up ;-)

Without actually seeing the specific diagnosis, and whether
his heart rate was slow or rapid, it sounds more like PSVT:
paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia(rapid heart rate,
originating from the atria). I say that only because he was
able to resolve it himself when he coughed. In my years
working emergency, one of the first interventions was to
have the patient bear down, as if trying to have a bowel
movement. This results in eliciting a vagal reflex,
resulting in a lowering of heart rate. Next non-med
intervention was drinking very cold ice water or applying
pressure to the eyes, same rational. Then medicines such as
Adenocard, then cardioversion.

JM RN, BSN

"Don" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

My dad had bypass surgery this weekend. He may get to come
home this Tuesday (3 days after surgery). Two times while
I was not there his alarms started going off. He was
talking out of his head a little. The nurses said he had
arterial defribulation that had something to do with an
abnormal heart rhythem. The first time they corrected it
somehow. The second time they called the doctor and before
he got there my dad coughed and that somehow fixed it. I
heard that he will be prone to having these after the
surgery he had.

I am now scared with him coming home. What should I do if
it happens? He will be alone for 3 days out of the week
with my mom working. I can go check on him at lunch. Will
the liklihood of these decrease as time passes? By the way
he is also diabetic and overweight. He is only 57.

Thanks for all your help and God Bless You!