Arterial defibulation



D

Don

Guest
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!
 
Don wrote:

> 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."

> 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.

>
> 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.

> 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
http://www.heartmdphd.com/

**
Who is the humblest person in the universe?
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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 protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> 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!
 
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