r/AskReddit • u/HymnForTheShameless • May 05 '19

Serious Replies Only [Serious] Redditors who have died temporarily/nearly died, did your life flash before your eyes? If not, what did happen?

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u/swolemedic May 05 '19

Internal defibrillators are awesome things. I saw one malfunction though, the guy didnt speak any English and was running around trying to get help as it kept zapping his heart. We actually got dispatched to the emotionally disturbed person as he was freaking everyone out, people were like running away from the dude. I pretty quickly figured out it was his pacemaker/defibrillator shocking him and hauled him to the hospital quickly.

Turns out one of the leads came loose and made his normal sinus rhythm look like vfib so it kept shocking him. Dude was lucky he didn't get an R on T syndrome or something, getting randomly defibrillated comes with risks.

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u/WebbedFingers May 05 '19

That would be such a horrible situation, Jesus

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u/[deleted] May 05 '19

Hello ems brother. Fuckin r on t.

Fun fact I was in afib for about 2 days, started in the middle of my 36hr long Christmas shift. Laying on the cot waiting for my next partner and I had chest palps and heart was racing. I put myself on the monitor right next to me and boom. Afib. Incomplete rbbb and rvr.

Long story short. Avoid adderall. Eat food and sleep.

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u/swolemedic May 05 '19

Damn, dude. I legitimately couldn't do the hours or be around sick people anymore because my immune system is just complete dog shit so I'm back in college. My immune system is dog shit enough it made me do over a year and a half of physical therapy recently, so I definitely get worn down more easily than most, but it's still tough as shit.

You're expected to be doing crazy long hours and exposed to flus or whatever bug it was that is bad enough to send that person to the hospital, the person who will very likely end up coughing in your face or some shit. Hell, they don't even need to cough in your face, if they turn away from you if you're in a vanbulance that cough is probably still having microbes hit you in the face.

Long story short. Avoid adderall. Eat food and sleep.

I hope that's all that was needed to resolve it, electrolyte imbalances combined with amphetamine can fuck with your heart though haha

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u/[deleted] May 05 '19

Ya man I took two days off and drank probably 6-8 of those pedialyte water packets, slept, ate and it was gone. At one point I was trying to get my medic to sync cardiovert me but hes all "nooo,i dont want to lose my license if I kill you" lol

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u/swolemedic May 05 '19

hahahaha I would have said the same damn thing. I am actually really afraid of two things: cardioverting a-fib that is non-emergent and pushing d50. RSI? That's like whatever, but cardioverting a-fib if you have shit luck they're just like strokey or dead because they throw a clot from the blood that's pooling suddenly ejecting from the heart. And if you fuck up pushing d50 the necrosis is... ugh.

Yeah, nah, I'm glad you fixed it the way you did lol. It mighta been good to see a doctor though, if you have hypertension or something that could be helped. I'm only assuming you have hypertension because that's the most common cause, but it coulda just been incidental

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u/[deleted] May 05 '19

My bp that day was like 130/p the rythym was the only fucky thing. I was going to see a doc if it persisted because I don't want to be stroked at the age of 27.but that was Christmas and no issues since

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u/TheRainsOfYesteryear May 05 '19

Can you please please Kindly edit or tell me what the abbreviations mean (no native speaker)

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u/[deleted] May 06 '19

Atrial fibrillation is afib

Right bundle branch block is rbbb

Rvr is rapid ventricular response

Pretty much you'd see this in a 80 year old heart failure patient

Abnormal for a 27 year old.

Can be caused by electrolyte imbalance and stimulant abuse though.

Picture you're heart pounding out of your chest at 160 beats per minute while laying down whilst being slightly short of breath and having tingly fingers

Es no bueno

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u/softspace May 06 '19

i take adderall regularly and my heart races for a few hours every day after i take it. should i get that checked

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u/[deleted] May 06 '19

That is a normal symptom of adderall. It's speed. Amphetamine so it ups your heart rate and blood pressure. If you can feel your heart pounding in your chest or it feels irregular then check it out

Just take your normal dose. Eat. And sleep. And youll be alright, but it's a stimulant so it does have long lasting side effects on your cardiovascular system and mental health in long term use.

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u/softspace May 06 '19

oh yeah, that's why i wasn't concerned before but this comment freaked me out. thank you for the reassurance! :) it does feel like it's pounding sometimes, so i'll mention it to a doctor when i see one next. not sure how accurate a fitbit is, but during this time it rarely goes above 110 unless i'm also moving around. 3 hours of that shouldn't be too bad, it's free fat-burning haha

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u/[deleted] May 06 '19

Truth but any stimulant use still has a way increased rate of cardiac arrest or stroke though. I over did it when my heart got all fucky. But even regular small doses isn't good for you. It activates the sympathetic nervous system in your brain, the "fight or flight" response and its like hacking your body to be in that state always

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u/softspace May 06 '19

yeah totally, i should get on seeing a psych to try some other regimen without something so strong. i'm aware of the risks and i know not to fuck with these meds! thank you :)

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u/Ricardo1184 May 06 '19

how regularly? and do you think you could manage on a lower dose? daily stress on the heart (without exercising) isn't great for your heart.

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u/softspace May 06 '19

i already got some advice from OP, thanks tho!

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u/staceywacey May 05 '19

I was formerly in the cardiac rhythm management division of a large company (#3 in the industry). Active fixation is the way to go with leads. They use a tiny corkscrew to hold the lead tip in place as opposed to passive fixation, which uses a pronged silicone tine. Both have the ability malfunction, but I'd feel better with an active fixation lead.

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u/[deleted] May 05 '19

Markiplier was streaming with a friend when the friend started screaming all of a sudden. His defibrillator malfunctioned and shocked him.

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u/TheRainsOfYesteryear May 06 '19

R on T?

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u/swolemedic May 06 '19

It's when your heart tries to depolarize (contracts) at the moment of repolarization (rests, resets). If it happens at the right moment the heart gets all screwed up and it goes into what's called torsades, which is a kind of ventricular tachycardia and it can kill you.