Quit Started Again, Quit Again

This has nothing to do with my hysterectomy, unless the medical communities findings that women who've had a hyst, are more likely to develope heart problems, is true.

I work the evening shift at a casino. Sunday night when I got home from work I did my usual, I had a sandwich, and a donut with a glass of milk. I then smoked two cigarettes and went to bed. It was about 2 am. I woke at 2:30 with chest pain and my heart pounding a mile a minute. I thought perhaps something had startled me in my sleep. I tried to take a deep breath but couldn't, my heart wouldn't slow down, and the pain was getting worse. I woke up my daughter and said "you need to take me to the emergency room".

In the emergency room they connected me to monitors and all sorts of things. My heart was in afib with a heart rate of 167. The nurse asked "Do you smoke?" I said Yes. He said you don't anymore, this is your wakeup call, I think you're having a heart attack. The doctor came in, they drew blood, they gave mecation to slow my heart down. They gave baby asprin, and nitro, (anyone who has taken nitro before knows what I'm talking about here, a nitro headache will put a migraine to shame.) The blood tests showed that I wasn't having a heart attack, but my heart was still in afib and still racing.

The whole thing reminded me of the night before my husband died. He was in the U of Minnesota hospital dieing of cancer, when his heart went crazy like mine was doing, they gave him drugs and it didn't work they finally had to shock his heart back to sinus rhythm. Five hrs later he died. I was reliving that night and scared half to death.

The doctor at the emergency room decided that they were calling the ambulance and transporting me to a major medical center that's 35 miles away from where I live. On the way there in the ambulance I was praying and trying to keep myself from going cazy, when the ambulance blew a tire. It was a huge bang and then what sounded like machine gun fire, (The passenger side inside dual had blown it's tread, Which still leaves three good tires on the back, so we continued on, just a little slower) but the really freaky thing about this is that when the tire blew my heart spontaneously converted to normal sinus rhythm.

I spent 12 hrs under observation, I did a treadmill test, they gave me a drug that brought my heart rate back up 158, ( Which believe me, was terrifying,) and did a cardiac echo, with all the tests and monitors and all, they still couldn't tell me why it happened.

I'll be following up on this with my DR and pray that it never happens again. But one thing for certain I never want another cigarette again.

Wow! What a wake up call! Okay, I'm going in and put the patch back on. I've been struggling with the smoking ever since my surgery. I've already got heart problems. Thanks for giving me the push!
Kathy

My husbnd who hasnt smoked in years has had the same problem for at least 20 years. Last time they gave him meds to slow his heart way down. It made him sit stright up...said it felt like getting kicked in the chest by a mule. It turns out that he is in no danger. I am sorry bit I dont remember what it is called. But his heart rate will go way up. Sometimes he can stop it himself...he says by talking it down. I truly hope that this is the case with you. Keep us posted.

The really wierd thing about this, is that I had a really slow heart rate before about 35-40. Now it's normal 70-75.