Finding out you have afib the hard way in the worst place

I've been following this person on youtube for a while because she's a hardcore hiker who does all the long trails in the US and she makes very interesting and informative videos if you're into hiking. She's 37 and extremely fit and does many hikes at altitude, so I'm surprised she has sleep apnea and actually has started bringing a CPAP machine on her hikes.

Anyway, I think it's an interesting perspective on the experience of learning you have afib that many of us have experienced, but hers was with a major twist. She was alone in the mountains 18 miles from the nearest help.

The whole video is 30 minutes but the part you'll want to watch is only about 15 minutes long. The link I provided skips the first 8 minutes and gets to the point you care about.

https://youtu.be/WuCMCNFH36I?si=WW1AGsYc1za6-_aA&t=486

Thanks Carey—that really put calling 911 in perspective! Did you figure out how they converted her? I wonder what that rescue cost as her insurance hadn’t yet kicked in?

No, I don't think they said how she was converted. Since her HR wasn't that high, I would guess they just put her on a diltiazem drip and let her convert on her own.

As for the bills, I think she's probably going to get walloped. I don't know if that county charges for wilderness rescue, but most do and I noticed that the helicopter was Life Flight, a commercial company. You know they're not going to work for free. I would guess she's going to get hit with a charge well over $10K from them and several thousand more from the ER. She's a smart gal, but what 37-year old who probably makes decent money from her channel doesn't have medical insurance? Especially when she makes that living hiking in the wilderness.

I agree, I don't think they mentioned how they converted her. She kind of emphasized how long it took for her rescue and my perspective is it happened really quickly. I spend a lot of time away from civilization and we live where rescues are fairly common. Having a satellite communicator was an excellent idea, especially since she was by herself!

Once I had an afib plan in place, I've not worried about having afib in the sticks. Had an episode at 11:30 PM in a three person snow cave (provoked by being the one who broke trail on snow shoes with a heavy pack and then constructing the cave without much help from the other two occupants. Chewed my flec and washed it down with ice in my water bottle. Had another episode at the base of a 14er the evening before I'd planned to summit the next day. Again, I just chewed my flec and converted. I did modify my plans and did a much shorter hike the next day. Since I've had afib, I did a 14 day paddle raft trip through the Grand Canyon. I didn't have afib, but an evac would have been via helo. We did have a sat phone if necessary. Hopefully she will get an appointment with an EP and a plan for using PIP. Carey, perhaps, you ought to invite her to our group?

On the cpap, as I've posted, mouth taping at night eliminates apnea patterns in my heart rate (may not work for all). Elevation does impact my sleep. I have a recording SpO2 ring and can see a big difference between sea level, 5500' (where I live) and various elevations up to 10,500' (I generally don't spend the night at higher elevations).

I agree the rescue was fast. I was impressed; much quicker than I would have expected.

Maybe you should try to contact her and talk to her about the mouth taping. Lugging a CPAP and spare batteries on the hikes she does is a pretty big limitation. What would she do for a through-hike of long trails like the PCT or Appalachian? She'd have to find a way to recharge them and that means a solar charger (more gear to carry), and what's she going to do about prolonged cloudy periods and heavy tree cover?

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Carey
Maybe you should try to contact her and talk to her about the mouth taping.

I tried a comment on her IG channel, but it wouldn't let me post. I posted this on the YT video. As there are a jillion comments, if you know a way to DM her, let me know.

Hi, an admin in my afib group linked this YT video. I've had afib for 19 years and chronic endurance fitness was my path. A few thoughts for you. I learned that the product of intensity times duration was my exercise afib trigger. I also learned empirically that using Zone 2 (as defined by Iñigo San Millán in his Peter Aitta interviews) as a limit made long duration exercise not a trigger (short HIIT is OK for me). Getting a script from an electrophysiologist doc for a rhythm drug to be used on demand to convert to NSR has worked wonderfully. The original paper on this approach is here: [pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov] Electrolytes in the form of 2 tsp of potassium citrate powder in a liter of water consumed over the day, magnesium to bowel tolerance & keeping calcium intake to 400-500 mg/day make a big difference. So does consuming a couple of grams of taurine powder (a conditional amino acid). Lastly, for many cases of sleep apnea, mouth taping at night will keep the apnea at bay (see author James Nestor's writing on the topic). Here is a post showing beat to beat heart rate without and with mouth tape during sleep. [www.afibbers.org] More questions, PM me.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/2023 09:40PM by GeorgeN.

No, don't know a way to DM her. She has 425K subscribers so I'm sure she gets buried with DMs and messages all over the place. She probably doesn't even read them.

The way to get to her is to subscribe, enable notices, and then get right on her comments first thing when a new video pops up. Almost all of them check before long to see what the general tenor is of the latest comments. If you craft yours carefully, especially with effusive praise, every one of her devotees will gush and give you the thumbs ups, ensuring your comment stays high.

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gloaming
The way to get to her is to subscribe, enable notices, and then get right on her comments first thing when a new video pops up. Almost all of them check before long to see what the general tenor is of the latest comments. If you craft yours carefully, especially with effusive praise, every one of her devotees will gush and give you the thumbs ups, ensuring your comment stays high.

Thanks for the suggestion!. I decided the most efficient thing to do is write her a snail mail letter, which I did.

Oh, I had understood that the snail mail option was not available to you. Yes, by all means. My offering was somewhat mercenary, and maybe sounded like a tongue-in-cheek approach, but it would almost certainly have worked. Utilitarian, but you might have wanted to wash your mouth out with soap afterwards.

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gloaming
Oh, I had understood that the snail mail option was not available to you.

Well after I read your suggestion, I decided to try my hand at locating her mailing address through public records.

Thank you Carey for sharing her youtube channel. I just subscribed. I was interested in her satellite alert device. Does it only work in the states?

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susan.d
I was interested in her satellite alert device. Does it only work in the states?

I've never gotten one, but have considered it as we spend a lot of time in areas with no cell coverage.

The generic product category is satellite communicator. Most work with your phone but your phone is not required. Your phone can provide a much easier to use keyboard than the devices way to create messages. These devices do need subscriptions. The cheap subscriptions don't provide you with many prepaid messages, so you pay by the message if you go over. Obviously, if you are in a true emergency situation, these costs/message will seem cheap, but will seem expensive if you are just sending random texts.

On one product (not hers), they state, "Note: Service plans are currently only being offered to customers with credit card billing addresses in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe."

Hers is a Garmin InReach. Garmin's list of countries where it likely won't work is here.

The List Below Provides our Best Understanding of Countries that May Regulate or Prohibit the Use of a Satellite Communicator or are on a List of U.S. Embargoed Countries:

Afghanistan
Crimea region of Ukraine
Cuba
Georgia (SMS)
India
Iran
North Korea
Myanmar
Sudan
Syria
Thailand
Vietnam
China
Russia

Also

NOTE: SMS messages to Telecom Personal Argentina or Georgia (country) subscribers cannot be delivered as there is currently no route available to this carrier through our international SMS delivery partner. Ghana does not currently have SMS messaging. Currently, there is also an issue with inReach messages being received by SMS phone numbers in Mexico, Romania and Saudi Arabia due to in country restrictions. Email is available. For more details, see - inReach Messages Not Received by SMS Phone Numbers in Mexico and inReach Messages Not Received by SMS Phone Numbers in Romania.

See this review.

Also this from Garmin.

Apple iPhone 14's have their version.

Wow, thanks for the info, I have a habit of going off trail and exploring out of cell range all by myself. It's looks like the main cost is the device itself. They show a plan for only $15/month, but looks like their are setup fees, and extra charges added on depending on usage.