My Heart Event

By Diane Spero

After coming home one day from volunteering at the thrift store, I felt warm but thought it was from working. I also felt my heart racing. I hydrated like I always do and relaxed for the evening. But my heart kept racing. I was healthy with no past heart issues, however when the racing got so bad, I called 911. The paramedics gave me medicine and rushed me to the hospital.

The next morning I woke up in a hospital room not knowing what had happened to me. I felt normal, but a doctor walked in and told me that I had been dead and needed to be revived. He also said I had ventricular fibrillation and needed a defibrillator. I was nervous and didn’t understand what the issue really was. The doctor, an electrophysiologist, was very nice and explained everything, including the procedure. He was really comforting.

Shortly after I had the defibrillator implanted. A defibrillator is like getting a backup battery for your heart. It sends out shocks when it can't restore normal heart rhythm. At the same time medication stabilizes arrhythmias. I was hospitalized two more times after receiving shocks and needing medication adjustments.

It took a while to get the meds right. (I am small with low to normal blood pressure.) I also developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and it’s taken months to get over the anxiety attacks. I am in a Facebook support group for implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) patients. I have a therapist. I am working out again.

Now I want to start a website to offer support for heart patients and families. I want to include lists of places for support since it seems there’s not a lot available. Because I went home alone not understanding anything or having any support, I want to make information easily available to other patients when they leave the hospital.

I would like to speak out and to share my story. So here I am, hoping to help others.