The ICD is a little larger than the pacemaker so rather than put it over the muscle the way they did with the pacemaker, they will put it under. The scar will be a little bit longer than the one I have now but it will be in the same place (so there won't appear to be a second scar) and there will not be a bulge under my skin at all (I HOPE!).
The reason for the "upgrade" is that when they have done the "interrogations" on my heart since getting the pacemaker they are seeing that I am having some arrhythmias like Atrial Fibrillation and Ventricular Tachycardia. When I had one done on July 21 they saw that I had four episodes of Ventricular Tachycardia since the beginning of July alone. This can be dangerous.
Although the ICD is not a cure for the arrhythmias (it will not stop them from happening) it does act as a safety-net and will kick-in and shock the heart back to a normal rhythm if I experience any life-threatening rhythms. I've heard that the shock is not the best feeling in the world. The dr. described it as being kicked in the chest by a horse! BTW, you might be surprised at how many people actually have been kicked in the chest by a horse at some time in their lives! I have been shocked by how many people I've been talking to about this that have given me that smile and said, "oh yeah, been there done that...." followed by some crazy horse story! LOL! But hey I'll take the kick in the chest over the alternative. What a great invention!
We are also doing genetic testing with Dr. Gelb at Mt. Sinai for the nkx2.5 (aka tinman gene) mutation which according to the doctor our family history "mirrors."
Some articles about nkx2.5:
http://www.theheart.org/viewArticle.do?primaryKey=152641
http://www.unh.edu/journalism/stories/winslowtinman.htm
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/health/04_29_Chien.asp
Article about Genetic testing and ASD and Heart Block
We are expecting this time around to go a little more smoothly since it is planned and not such a shock and scare as the last time in March! Although I have to admit I'm not sure which is better because now I'm a nervous wreck counting down the minutes and doing a bit too much research on everything that's going on (ignorance IS bliss!), last time I didn't know what hit me! But I do know that I am very fortunate to have such a great support system and I know everything will be fine. I'm also very excited that August is Mystery Month on the Hallmark Channel and I have that to look forward to during my recovery! What a great excuse to watch! : )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2 comments:
Thinking good thoughts for you, my friend, Please update as soon as you can - or at least drop me an email so I know all went ok.
Been checking in to see if you'd update - I am anxious to see that you are ok and feeling well... do write when you can!
Post a Comment