My husband went in not too long ago for a check up on his ICD — thank God for getting us in there because he had been having some chest pains that have gone away now.
He’s had his ICD for over 2 years now, and they do various tests at the Cleveland Clinic Hospital to verify his health and well-being.
Merlin at Home Transmitter for defibrillator patients
I just took a peek at the instructions and I see that people can put it by their bedsides and it looks like it hooks into a phone line or something.
Anyway, it was cool at the hospital how the woman was able to tell him that on certain dates he had three “incidents” — none of which thank the Lord set off his ICD.
One of those dates was from Memorial Day 2011, so I was able to check the calendar and realize that was the day he played basketball with our nephews, so his heart rate got up to 180 beats per minute.
She adjusted his ICD settings somehow so it’s smart enough to realize when his heart rate is gradually increasing, like during exercise — as opposed to all of a sudden skyrocketing.
Plus, she added several other factors — I want to say a total of three factors have to be present before the ICD goes off.
It sounds safer and less likely to go off now.
Again, I can’t thank anybody but God and Jesus for this outcome. He’s doing really well with this ICD.
I wondered how much my heart-rate gets up to when I’m exercising, and I saw it was over 180 beats per minute one time or so. Mostly, I’m hovering below there, even when I’m working out hard on the elliptical or treadmill.
I tell my husband that he can still work out. It’s not like he has to completely stop.
Hopefully he’ll do a little working out as he wants to and sees fit. I don’t want to push him — nor do I want him thinking he can’t do anything.
He’s been able to enjoy a nice dip in the hot tub — thankfully the places we’ve gone haven’t been uncomfortably hot for him. And he seems to have enjoyed it and been able to relax.
So I pray everyone with heart failure can recover in Christ as He sees fit and get the option of getting in ICD when needed.
My husband’s batteries should be good at least another 7 years or more. Somewhere around there. Then I hope it’s pretty simple to go in and replace.
I’m pretty sure the docs told me that was an easy procedure.
Onward and upward!
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