Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Healthiness by Dean Edell M.D

Author:Dean Edell, M.D. [Dean Edell, M.D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780061748455
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2003-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

Q: Last month my wife, who is seventy-eight, went to the doctor for a monthly blood test. After the nurse and doctor both checked her pulse, they sent her straight to the hospital emergency room. It seems she was on the verge of having a stroke. She feels very lucky, and she now realizes that the shortness of breath she experienced the day before the hospitalization was a warning sign. Is there something more she could have done to keep this from happening?

A: The most likely possibility here is that your wife was experiencing atrial fibrillation. As the atria wiggles at a high frequency, the blood can clot. Then the ventricle pumps out that clot, which can go to the brain and block the blood flow. A risk of stroke is more likely in people who have this type of arrhythmia.

And an irregular pulse is always something you should check with your doctor. The pulse should have a regular beat to it. It’s hard to say that shortness of breath is a warning sign for stroke, but it is definitely a serious symptom. Any shortness of breath has to be investigated immediately, because it implies there is something wrong with the breathing mechanism or the heart.

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