Back in June, I had my half-yearly check-up at the hospital in Mendrisio.
Every 6 months, the cardiologist reads out the data from my Boston Scientific ICD, checks my medication and does a general check-up.
The check-up: nothing abnormal, everything OK.
That‘s good news, right? Yes, but until my SCA happened, everything was also OK… and then my heart suddenly gave up. So, what does it really mean? Forgive me for being skeptical about good medical results…
Medication: after my SCA, I was put on 3 different drugs. One to relax my heart, one to lower my heart frequency and the last one (against my will) was a Statin. I was positively surprised with the suggestion from my cardiologist to stop the Statin for 2 months, then do a blood exam and if the bloodwork was good, to stop the Statins altogether. I never understood the need for Statins as an SCA is an electrical thing and not a plumbing thing. Statins affect the plumbing. The other two drugs affect the electrics… So, very happy to eliminate the statins and fingers crossed for the results. After only 2 weeks now, I suffer much less cramps in my legs (side-effect of the statins)…
The ICD read-out: No „episodes“ were detected of irregular heart beats or excessively high rhythms. The impedance of the cable/lead that runs around my heart was all good, so the lead is still OK. But remember that the serial number of my cable is part of a „recall“ ( https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/medical-device-recalls/boston-scientific-recalls-emblem-s-icd-subcutaneous-electrode-model-3501-due-risk-fractures ) and the fact that the lead is OK today, doesn‘t mean it won‘t break tomorrow…
Finally, the battery level of my ICD was measured and turns out to be at 70%, which is normal, as every 6 months it is expected to go down by 5%. It means that a replacement with corresponding surgery is still 4 to 5 years away. Not 7 years because at any given time, there needs to be enough battery power left to give at least 5 chocks, meaning that I cannot let the battery go below a minimum level.
