Last Friday I was working at my desk, kicked back, feet up, eating a homemade smoothie bowl. Standard procedure. Then I noticed something wasn’t right. As I was eating, I felt a lump in my throat. It was a bit hard to swallow. But that wasn’t going to stop me from inhaling this delicious strawberry banana goodness. I continued to feel a little off and once I was done eating, I paused. What is this feeling? I closed my eyes and put my hand on my heart. It was beating all wild and very fast! This isn’t right. I know my heart. So I opened the ECG app on my Apple Watch. Let’s just see what’s going on here, I thought to myself, trying to stay calm. The watch flashed brightly: Atrial Fibrillation.
“Fuck! Why is this happening to me? I’m just sitting here, what’s wrong with me?!?” were my first thoughts. Next, I calmly called Chuck. “Hello hon, I don’t want to alarm you but I’m not feeling well. My watch says my heart is in A-fib. Can you please come home and take me to the doctor?”
He was home within minutes and we rolled 2 blocks down the road to the emergency room. (I love living this close to the hospital, by the way!) Growing up poor and always being worried if there would be enough money had me thinking for a split second that maybe I didn’t need to go to the ER. That fleeting and outdated thought was swept away quickly and I remembered that I know my body and this is not right. I need help! There weren’t any other folks waiting and so I was taken back to a room right away. And let me tell, these people at the Niles Corewell hospital were AMAZING at their jobs and at being good humans! They were so caring and kind and helped me stay calm during what was a very scary episode. I’ve never experienced this before. They confirmed that I was in atrial fibrillation with all their fancy hospital tools.
After a lot of questions and poking and sticking things all over me, a doctor came in and looked at my wrist, “That’s a nice watch” he said. Do you have the data from it on your phone? To which I replied, “Of course!” For those of you who don’t know, I’m a bit of a data nerd and I’m kind of obsessed with my heart health. The doc looked through days of my heart data and said, “This is great! This gives us options.” To which I replied, “Great! I love options. What are they?” He proceeded to give me a very thorough explanation of how the heart normally operates and what it means exactly to be in A-fib. One of the main concerns with A-fib is the potential to release blood clots into the body once the heart rhythm is restored. Initially they were going to give me medicine to reduce my elevated heart rate and then blood thinners to address any potential clots. Then I would need to come back in a couple weeks and get my heart shocked (electrical cardioversion).
But, because we had days worth of data that could show that I was not in A-fib until 10 minutes before coming to the hospital, and because my blood pressure was okay, we could, with a high level of confidence, do the ol’ heart shocking right then and there. I opted for that. Let’s get this done! He explained that it does not feel good to get shocked and so they would give me some Versed to help me not remember it or feel it so much. It was all very scary. Chuck held my hand, which helped me be brave. Here’s another thing I found out about my awesome body: Versed doesn't do shit for me. I got a little sleepy, but I felt that shock and remember it all. I don’t mind though. Totally worth it to get back to normal. Which is what happened. They monitored me for while and pumped me full of fluids and started me on blood thinners, as a precaution. Then they sent me on my way.
I am so very grateful to be sitting here in this moment sharing my story with you, dear friends. I’m grateful for the folks at Corewell hospital. I’m grateful for my partner to help me be strong through the fear. I’m grateful for my Apple Watch and all that heart data. I’m grateful for the open and honest conversation I had with my kids when I was feeling better. Openly allowing them space to talk about how they felt about the whole thing. This Thanksgiving, I have so very much to be grateful for. As I wait to get in to see a cardiologist (apparently they are in high demand because I can’t get in to see one until January!) to find out why this happened and if it might happen again, I remind myself to take it slow, be patient, and always be grateful. It’s good to be alive!
Love you! xoxo, Jess