from the other side of the looking glass

When I started working at a computer company, I read everything, build my own computers, took extra computer classes, and did what I could to become an expert on the topic of computers. I wanted to make sure that I knew everything about computers and how they worked before getting too far along. When I started working on the ECG project, I did not think that it was possible to figure out everything about the technology, how the heart works, what different diseases are, and surgical processes to correct cardiac issues. I dove into accounting, starting a business, writing a business plan, interviewing techniques, and details about becoming a 501(c)(3) company. Little did I know that I would be looking at cardiac screening with the same zeal and interest as I did computers.

Two weeks ago I scheduled an annual cardiology exam because I was thinking of going to summer camp with the Boy Scouts like I have for the past ten years. Little did I know that something as simple as an ECG would show that I had an irregular heart beat, specifically atrial flutter. The phrase from the hair club for men immediately came to mind, "I'm not just the president, I am a member". For two years we have been traveling the state performing ECGs on students looking for the one in two thousand that would be at risk, talking of warning signs, lobbying on what should be done, and talking to Cardiologists around the state to schedule follow up limited Echos. Not wanting to be a hypochondriac, I dismissed the symptoms because I was talking about it so much. Dizziness while exercising. Tightness in the chest that could be mistaken for muscle fatigue. Shortness of breath. I attributed all of these to being overweight and out of shape. I was exercising to get back in shape and thought that it was just a little more difficult this time since I was getting older.

Good thing that I scheduled a checkup.

Phase two of screening after an abnormal ECG is an Echo. My condition would have been labeled as follow up but can continue to participate with a limited Echo. Given that I work with a Cardiologist and am not a teenager, the diagnosis was not a limited Echo but a stress Echo with a treadmill and all the fun associated with that. After four hours reading various web sites and publications on what a flutter actually is I think that I understand it as well as the potential causes for it at my age. I thought that I was ready for the treadmill and a stress echo. I had done one fifteen years ago and was not looking forward to running as fast as I can to drive my heart rate up to 170 beats per minute. Fifteen years ago I was a marathon runner and needed to run much faster than I wanted to for the heart rate target. This time I was at 170 and climbing within four minutes and I was just starting to walk fast.

Good thing that I schedule a checkup.

Having done miserably on the stress Echo I learned phrases like ventricular tachycardia and arrhythmia from a different perspective. They were no longer wiggles on a trace. They were no longer a diagnosis that a doctor wrote down and I translated this to a student at a school in another city. It was not something that I had to explain to a trainer and tell them look out for excessive sweating, dizziness, and fatigue. It was something that I had to explain to my wife and kids. I started thinking things like is my insurance up to date, can I take a few days off for doctor visits, when can I get surgery scheduled.

Good thing that I schedule a checkup.

For the next week I will get to experience an ablation from the patient side. I will understand what a catheterization means and what it takes to recover from one. I will see things from the other side of the looking glass. I would much rather deal with secondary exams, talking to doctors about procedures, and taking a few days off for a day surgery. Yes, I am a little scare that a doctor will be opening up a vein in my leg and inserting a medical device into my heart while it is beating and short circuit a signal that is causing an extra heart beat in the top half of my heart. Yes, I am nervous about recovery time and limitations placed on me while I recover. Yes, I realize how lucky I am that a simple ECG kept me from going into cardiac arrest and getting to experience an emergency room for the first time. This is something that I hope to avoid for another quarter century or more.

Yes, I understand the importance of cardiac screening.

Pat Shuff
Chief Operating Officer
Cypress ECG