cielotech posted: " As Neal Diamond would say, "Some days are diamond and some days are stone". Well, someone was throwing rocks at me last Wednesday morning at 6:10. I was working on a drawing for a client when all of the sudden, and I do mean all of the sudden"
As Neal Diamond would say, "Some days are diamond and some days are stone". Well, someone was throwing rocks at me last Wednesday morning at 6:10. I was working on a drawing for a client when all of the sudden, and I do mean all of the sudden, I felt a tremendous weakness in my right side, leg first and then right arm. No pain, just weakness. I folded like a cheap card table. Down to one knee with the room spinning. I have had issues with bulging disks so I considered that might be the problem but the more I thought about it the more I came to realize it might be another stroke. Yes, I said another. The first was in 2005 so I know the symptoms and I was having them all. I was very unstable and tried not to walk so I scooted down the stairs and hobbled into the bedroom to inform my wife that I was having a problem. I regained, to some degree, my mobility so she got me in the car for our ride to Memorial Hospital ER. Over a two-day period, I had nine (9) different tests; MRI, CAT scan, PET scan, X-ray, and several I cannot remember the names of. The MRI was the definitive test and did show a stroke had occurred. It was a process of elimination that finally led to a possible diagnosis of Atrial fibrillation or Afib.
Thursday after noon the doctors applied an Insertable Cardiac Monitor or ICM made by Medtronic. The system is shown as follows:
The actual implant is a cylindrical device as shown.
If you have read my posts before you know that I have written about "wearable technology". Well, this is one of the latest things in medical wearable tech and I'm very happy to be the beneficiary because it just may save my life. Small implantable cardiac monitors have been released by St. Jude Medical, BIOTRONIK, and Transoma before, but Medtronic has developed the smallest one yet and just announced FDA clearance and CE Mark for the device. Additionally, the first U.S. implant of the monitor has also been announced. The Reveal LINQ Insertable Cardiac Monitor (ICM) is about 1 cubic centimeter in volume, making it a third smaller than a AAA battery, and implantable using the provided incision and insertion tools within minutes. The preparation for the insertion took approximately forty (40) minutes and the insertion itself took approximately fifteen (15).
The device monitors the heart, and wirelessly sends the recorded data to the MyCareLink patient monitor that in turn uploads the readings via the cellular system to Medtronic's servers for physician review. Adverse and unusual readings can be preset to send alarms to the overseeing physician, allowing for quick and properly defined treatment. The battery is meant to last for three years of continuous monitoring and the internal storage has been increased over the company's previous older implantable heart monitor, the Reveal XT. After three years of wear, the battery dies so the patient can leave the monitor in or have it removed. The device does not degrade and there is absolutely no leakage of the lithium-ion battery.
Here is the sequence of events that tell cardiologists the status of any patient:
Data from the patient's heart is recorded with the Reveal LINQ, ICM sensor. This is accomplished on a 24/7-365 basis.
The monitor needs to be positioned within six (6) feet of the patient's bed. The data for the day is downloaded at night as you sleep.
You can send data at any time during the day by following a very simple procedure given in the manual, but all readings are downloaded at night.
If there is a problem, you are called by your doctor to schedule a visit or come immediately to the ER.
I'm hoping for the best but at least I know the medical profession is continuously working on my particular case and trying to find a possible solution—quicker the better.
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