Post by boomerbill on May 30, 2018 15:20:09 GMT
Just a personal experience with not hydrating enough in hot weather.
Monday evening after mowing the front, back and the greenbelt behind the house, I sat in the cool with a beer poured by my beloved.
After two gulps, I convulsed and passed out. She called 911.
The fire guys arrived first, then the paramedics. I was in and out of consciousness a couple of times, but I do remember them saying my pulse was 28.
At the hospital, it dropped to 20, and then zero. Later, I thought I imagined the nurse saying "Zero" but my spouse heard it, too. They had the crash cart there but my pulse picked up again and they didn't need to zap me.
They contacted the cardiac surgeon on call and started talking about getting a pacemaker, while my heart refused to fire properly.
As they pumped fluids into me, the heart rhythm steadied out and it looked more like heat exhaustion than heart failure.
After five hours, I was sent home.
From what I understand, this is likely what happened.
The body cools itself by taking more blood than usual from the core and pumping it to the surface for surface cooling. If the body is not properly hydrated, there is less liquid available for other nerve functions.
I've been taking a beta-blocker because of a now-repaired aneurysm discovered in 2002. The beta-blocker keeps my heart rate down, and the heart didn't have the capacity to send blood fast enough to both my skin and my brain.
The beer was a diuretic: a couple of slugs created a perfect storm of low heart rate, high demand for blood flow and water-starvation of the nervous system.
So, I'm on Day Two of recovery and it is no fun, thank you. Shaky, light-headed, and tiring easily. I'm up for a couple of hours and asleep for a couple of hours. Had to cancel a two-day contract job, drop a volunteer gig and scared the heck out of our kids (and my wife).
So, in hot weather: hydrate!!!!
Monday evening after mowing the front, back and the greenbelt behind the house, I sat in the cool with a beer poured by my beloved.
After two gulps, I convulsed and passed out. She called 911.
The fire guys arrived first, then the paramedics. I was in and out of consciousness a couple of times, but I do remember them saying my pulse was 28.
At the hospital, it dropped to 20, and then zero. Later, I thought I imagined the nurse saying "Zero" but my spouse heard it, too. They had the crash cart there but my pulse picked up again and they didn't need to zap me.
They contacted the cardiac surgeon on call and started talking about getting a pacemaker, while my heart refused to fire properly.
As they pumped fluids into me, the heart rhythm steadied out and it looked more like heat exhaustion than heart failure.
After five hours, I was sent home.
From what I understand, this is likely what happened.
The body cools itself by taking more blood than usual from the core and pumping it to the surface for surface cooling. If the body is not properly hydrated, there is less liquid available for other nerve functions.
I've been taking a beta-blocker because of a now-repaired aneurysm discovered in 2002. The beta-blocker keeps my heart rate down, and the heart didn't have the capacity to send blood fast enough to both my skin and my brain.
The beer was a diuretic: a couple of slugs created a perfect storm of low heart rate, high demand for blood flow and water-starvation of the nervous system.
So, I'm on Day Two of recovery and it is no fun, thank you. Shaky, light-headed, and tiring easily. I'm up for a couple of hours and asleep for a couple of hours. Had to cancel a two-day contract job, drop a volunteer gig and scared the heck out of our kids (and my wife).
So, in hot weather: hydrate!!!!