Easter was far from normal….

The day began unalarmingly. I rose early, fed the cats, made coffee, ate a yogurt, and gathered the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies. As I blended the dry ingredients with the butter/egg/sugar/vanilla mixture, I felt a pain in my chest. A bout of reflux? I stopped the blender and waited for the feeling to pass. It didn’t. At least not right away. I felt a head-rush–as if I’d stood up too fast. I was already standing, so I laid my head on the counter. The pain and head-rush abated somewhat. Dave entered the kitchen, carrying his laundry, ready to start his day. I greeted him then told him I didn’t feel well, that I needed to sit down. I moved to the bench by the window. I couldn’t catch my breath, slow my respirations–are those the opposite of each other? I asked Dave for an aspirin–thinking I was having a heart attack? He brought the medicine and a pulse oximeter. My oxygen level was in the 90s–good–but my heart rate was in the 200s–not good. He put his ear to my heart: “it sounds like birds’ wings fluttering.” I said I thought I might sit in the recliner instead. I moved to the living room, lay back in the chair, and begin to feel less pain in my chest. But then I felt a wave of nausea, without the cold sweats, and thought I might pass out. Or die. Something about this feeling was not the same. I sensed I might not wake up if I fainted this time. I asked Dave to get help.

911, ride to the hospital, blood tests, chest Xray, EKG monitoring – all normal.

Supra-ventricular tachycardia (SVT)

more later…