After
apologizing for waking me, the caller explained that his companion couldn’t
sleep because she felt short of breath. Shortness of breath in an otherwise
healthy person is either anxiety or a serious matter. The caller added that she
was prone to respiratory infections. Maybe she has pneumonia, I thought. I can
cure pneumonia.
She
didn’t appear ill, but she was English, not a demonstrative people. She had no
fever. Her heart was racing. Listening to her lungs, I heard the crackle of
fluid which is audible in pneumonia but also in heart failure. I suspected
heart failure. When the heart beats weakly, blood backs up into the lungs waiting
to pass through, so victims have trouble breathing.
Calling
paramedics was risky because they might decide she wasn’t sick enough to
transport. Leaving after obtaining her promise to go to an ER was not an option
because I would worry. Long experience has convinced me that if guests need to
go to a hospital, I must make sure – with my own eyes – that they go. So I
drove the couple in my car. Watching them disappear through the emergency
entrance made it certain they were now another doctor’s responsibility.
When
I phoned later, the doctor explained that she was suffering rapid atrial
fibrillation, an irregular, inefficient cardiac rhythm. He had performed
cardioversion – delivering an electric shock to the heart – and she was now in
a regular rhythm and feeling better. They were scheduled to fly to Las Vegas
the day after my visit, and when I called they had checked out.
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