My Heart Stopped

Annmarie Throckmorton, M.A.
2 days ago
2 min read

My Patient Portal Message To My Medical Care Provider

I do not feel up to coming in for an appointment, I am resting today. However, for the medical record I am reporting that while I was sleeping last night my heart stopped. Not felt funny, not a different kind of AFib from my usual persisting AFib, but my heart stopped. This has happened maybe three times over the past several decades of my life. There was no pain and no mental panic. I woke up knowing exactly what to do: I willed my heart to start, I compressed my chest with my arms in-and-out, and by folding and unfolding my body. When that did not work to start my heart, I moved my entire body vigorously, as if dancing it back to life. It took minute(s) of this effort for my heart to start again and when it did it was AFibbing at two or three times its usual AFib cadence, which was very uncomfortable and took my breath. Somehow my mind got my heart to calm down to its usual AFib cadence. I thanked the mental and physical training that I have had over the past seventy-seven years of my life, and I put myself back to sleep.

My mood this morning is calm and grateful. My body is exhausted and clumsy. I have a "thick" headache, 4 on a scale of 10. No sign of stroke, thank you God.

I knew you would want to know that this had happened. If my heart acts up today I will call an ambulance and come in to MaineGeneral. That being said I expect to have a quiet day, mostly in bed recovering. The thought of going anywhere is overwhelming.

I will call your office to check with you (I did and they had received my portal message.)

Thank you for being my medical care provider. (When I called a confused nursing assistant listened to me read my text, then she said my medical care provider would see it in my patient portal, and that was the last I heard of it.)

My Heart Stopped