Atrial Fibrillation

The best description of atrial fibrillation is found on the Mayo Clinic site. Thus, the so called “quasi-SVT event” is actually an atrial fibrillation (AFib) episode. The events detailed in Notes indicate that the current symptoms are classified as paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. In all likelihood, the symptoms are likely to escalate to classifications of higher persistence (with greater health risks).

On Friday, the day after Saturnalia, heart palpitations commenced at about 10:20am while waiting at the Ala Moana Center bus stop. Once in town, an EKG was taken with the Watch Series 9 device. The reading revealed that the heart palpitations were not of the usual notched T-wave variety. Rather, a short heartbeat was followed by a series of regular heartbeats. The pattern repeated every few minutes. The Watch also revealed that heart rate rose to 133bpm for about a minute or so, which was imperceptible at the time. Of note, sleep quality the evening prior was poor as usual with frequent wakings.

The usual quasi-SVT event (read: AFib) did not commence until 2:30pm, and not during the gym workout. Nothing worked as a countermeasure. Heart rate peaked at 157bpm. The ordeal continued until finally laying down to sleep at 11pm. AFib ceased within a couple of minutes. Heart rate returned to normal with no anomalies. No AFib event occurred on Saturday.

On Sunday, the heart palpitations appeared early on, even before leaving the mausoleum in the “old folks home” in Waikiki. No EKG was recorded. AFib commenced just at the beginning of the cardio workout at 12:20pm. Peak heart rate was 157bpm. Again, nothing worked a countermeasure. The ordeal continued until 9pm. Heart rate remained slightly high, about 80bpm until 10:30pm. Then, it stabilized at 69bpm. Again, sleep quality the night prior was poor. No AFib event occurred on Monday. However, heart palpitations were detected in the late afternoon.

The appointment with the cardiologist on Monday was cancelled. The appointment will be rescheduled after the appointment for the annual physical examination at the Ohua Clinic is completed next week. A hard copy of the latest blood test will be requested and submitted to the cardiologist. Hypertension, poor sleep, and stress/anxiety will be discussed.

Pharmacological interventions are highly probable for AFib. Anticoagulant and beta-blocker medications are likely to be prescribed. The real problem, of course, is that the latter medications are lifelong. And, there are numerous side-effects (contraindications) associated with both.

Thus, the imperative is to remove all probable causes first, mainly poor quality of sleep. Diet is actively monitored for sodium and saturated fat content. Stress and anxiety, unfortunately, may require a pharmacological intervention.

As far as gym workouts are currently concerned, the need to maintain rigorous training is moot for senior citizens. There’s no one to impress, especially the young hotties. The 71-year-old body is signaling that it is tired and worn out. The body wants to ready itself for death. On a personal level, that’s been the hardest truth to accept.

Addendum: The irregular heart rate notifications on the Watch Series 9 has been disabled. Unbelievable as this may seem, there has never been any of the latter notifications during the myriad cardiac events detailed in Notes. Instead, AFib History has been enabled.

Saturnalia 2025

Io Saturnalia!

The annual Saturnalia trek to Kahala Mall was mummified, most likely a permanent decision. There was nothing to donate to the Goodwill kiosk. None of the food establishments would have been patronized. Then, there’s no reason to loiter in the mall. So, the entirety of Saturnalia was spent in Waikiki. And, all of the remaining annual cleaning tasks for the mausoleum in the “old folks home” were cancelled.

With nothing else to do, an early outing was put on the agenda. A bowl of oatmeal was ordered at Starbucks®, most likely the last purchase at the establishment before the account and “app” are mummified. The place was packed with idiotic tourists, which made the experience unbearable. The small breakfast was transported to the International Marketplace for a slightly better ambiance.

The only shower taken in the mausoleum in a year was unceremoniously performed at 2pm. Then, a quick trip was made to the ABC Store to procure a $12 salad (with expiry discount) for dinner. No other outing was planned for the day, so remaining sequestered in the mausoleum was the capstone. Another Saturnalia holiday has come and gone.

On Monday, a chance encounter with neighbor, Ignacio, transpired about two blocks from the “old folks home.” He was sporting his new “ride,” a blue motorized chair. “I can’t walk far anymore,” he explained. Ignacio was on his way to Walmart, but he didn’t want ride the bus with the motorized chair. The access is cramped, and he has no experience navigating the latter in that circumstance.

Ignacio also detailed more of his medical problems. He needs some kind of surgical procedure, but no opening is available until July of next year. So, he is contemplating a trip to Thailand, where he still has medical access.

A new senior citizen gym member, Ken, has become a pleasant acquaintance. He’s in his late seventies. Ken suffered from a heart attack a few years ago and suspects the mRNA bioweapon as a possible cause. He also went through an ordeal of severe side-effects with high cholesterol medication. “Stay away from statins,” he warned.

Sleep quality continues to be an issue. On Sunday night, the evening “music jam” (aka One-Man House Party) with the Beats® Studio Pro actually produced drowsiness at about 9pm. Foolishly, the decision was made to stay awake until 10:30pm for no particular reason. FOMO, you think? Well, unfortunately, that resulted in a “second wind” and the drowsiness dissipated. Attempting to sleep subsequently was fruitless. So, between 1am and 4am, time was spent sitting in the beloved chair. Another attempt to fall asleep was fruitless. So, laying still for four hours was the result. Surprisingly, there were no heart palpitations or quasi-SVT events on Monday.

Monday evening, drowsiness developed around 9:30pm during the “music jam.” So, sleep was attempted within 30 minutes. Sleep quality was much better with only three wakings. There were no heart palpitations or quasi-SVT events on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, a quasi-SVT event occurred at 12:15pm just at the end of the cardio workout at the gym. There were no heart palpitations prior. The duration was 5.5 hours with a peak heart rate of 148bpm (as recorded by the Watch Series 9). Sleep quality the evening prior was extremely poor with multiple wakings. The quasi-SVT event occurred just two days short of the two-week cycle. That’s the Saturnalia gift for the old codger.

On a side note, one of the senior citizen residents in the building asked if there was a “keel over” event on the 7th floor. An ambulance was observed entering the parking lot at 10pm a few nights ago. The “old folks home” never disappoints regarding melancholy news.

Addendum: The Starbucks® account was mummified and the “app” removed from the iPhone 16 Pro device in the late afternoon of Saturnalia.

Mundtadar al-Zaidi Day 2025 Belated

A Memorable Moment in Time

On December 14th in the 2008 year, the heroic journalist, Mundtadar al-Zaidi, threw his shoes at Bush Jr. (aka “Shrub”) to protest the illegal invasion of Iraq. Praise Molech!

The referral to the cardiologist came through last week. A text message was received to set up an appointment. So, on Monday, an appointment was scheduled for the morning of December 29th. However, the formal annual physical examination at the Ohua Clinic is scheduled for the morning of January 6th. Thus, the cardiologist appointment will probably be rescheduled. The annual physical examination may provide more contextual medical data prior to seeing the cardiologist.

The referral for stress management counseling was resubmitted by request since no contact was made. An appointment with a psychologist is set for the afternoon of March 11th, a bit far off. Apparently the mental health staff is in demand. In the meantime, personal research on stress management will continue.

The situation with the heart palpitations has been aggressively monitored. From, all indications, poor quality of sleep is the main culprit. The Sleep “app” algorithm on the Watch Series 9 appears to have been modified to display a more accurate Sleep Score. Of course, the determined quality of sleep does not require the device. The symptoms of poor sleep quality are self-evident.

Stress obviously figures into the equation. However, stress (and anxiety) could be amplified by poor quality of sleep. Conversely, stress could be operating vigorously at the subconscious level and affect sleep. In any case, some kind of sedative or tranquilizer is needed. No OTC countermeasure has displayed any efficacy.

Listening to music in the evening at a lower volume level appears to have a calming affect. Any lingering heart palpitations occurring during the sessions are attenuated. Of course, “testing” the Vienna Sausage probably has the same effect. Baha! Ha! Ha! Haaa!

As far as diet is concerned, the reduction of sodium intake has proven to be a nearly impossible task. So much of what is consumed is saturated with sodium. The daily limit of 1,500mg is almost a ludicrous objective. As an example, one Thomas’® bagel has 330mg of sodium. However, hypertension may be the result of poor quality of sleep and stress.

On a side note, the Beats® Studio Pro was finally formally compared with the AirPods Pro 2 earbuds in an extended listening test under equal conditions (Personal Spatial Audio and Headphone Accommodations disabled). The Studio Pro headphones definitely sound much better.

An eight-pack of Guinness® Stout was procured at Target® for $15 (not on sale) at Target for no particular reason. Well, at least it takes up space in the refrigerator. The freezer is full, by the way. Maybe one cawill be “dropped back” on New Year’s Day.

Well, “Orange Bad Man” has gone unhinged. Commenting on his behavior and policies is nearly impossible since the atrocities are increasing exponentially. The latest foray into insanity is the upcoming Venezuela incursion. The clown finally unmasked himself to reveal a puppet of the Zionist oligarch class. No surprise, eh? Of course, the “Orange Bad Man” has been quite transparent with no attempt to hide the blatant hypocrisy, graft, and brazen corruption within. Just know that flying shoes (amongst other things) await him.

Miscellany: A chat with Hari, one of the gym staff, about the sad state of the public transit system was amusing. Frustration over cancelled or delayed buses was mutual. “But, you’re a man of leisure now,” he added, which served as a reminder that stressing out over the latter is pointless for a retiree with too much time on his hands.

12 Ajaw 18 Mak

On Saturday, another quasi-SVT event occurred at 4:45pm just after completing the laundry chores at the “old folks home” in Waikiki and about two weeks subsequent to the last one. The frequency is confirmed to be every two weeks. Peak heart rate was 144bpm (clocked by the Watch Series 9) and the duration was two hours.

What’s interesting is that caution was exercised to prevent the near daily skipped/delayed heartbeats that occur during the shower at the gym. Sleep quality was bad, so the gym workout was reduced proportionately. All seemed fine. No heart palpitations were detected at the usual time of occurrence.

However, the return to Waikiki from town was delayed by an hour because of the usual cancellations of scheduled buses. Then, the washer in the laundry room (on the floor where the mausoleum is located) did not complete the final spin cycle. So, the clothes were still fairly wet. The malfunction occurs when fucktards overload the washer. Unfortunately, there’s no way to know beforehand because the washer only returns an error code on its display when it actually malfunctions.

Clearly, sleep deprivation and extreme stress are the triggers for the heart palpitations and quasi-SVT events, and probably the cause of hypertension. Overexercise may be an issue because of fatigue, not old age. The diet is probably not implicated either.

Another interesting point is that the pattern of quasi-SVT events was similar to what transpired last year. The frequency increased as Ol’ Lavahead Day 2024 approached and tapered off subsequently. The same happened this year. The fear of growing old is now operating destructively at the subconscious level.

Anyway, a small salad bowl was procured at Target® for 50 cents earlier this week. It’s “microwave safe,” so it can be used to cook the new addition to the diet … frozen vegetables (corn, peas, and green beans). Salads from the ABC Store are still the main course when the latter can be obtained at the 20% expiry discount. Target® has “salad kits” available, but they are overpriced and rather spartan.

Incidentally, four pints of Häagen-Dazs® strawberry ice cream were procured (on sale, buy one and get one at 50% off) from Target®. A pint now takes five days to consume. Moderation is being exercised vigorously.

The referral to the cardiologist has finally been processed. A text message was received from the cardiologist’s office. An appointment will be scheduled soon.

On a side note, the annual thorough cleaning of the mausoleum has commenced. This year, the chores have been spread out throughout the month instead of doing everything on Saturnalia. And, there may not be an excursion to Kahala Mall on that day. There’s no reason to go there.

Addendum: The extremely stressful week actually commenced with the announcement of another short-term interest rate cut by the central bank of empire. ZIRP is coming.

Unexciting Stories - 3

Unexciting stories … sporadic news and commentary of no interest to anyone. Mundanity is always the primary focus. Let the unexcitement begin …

On Monday, December 1st, the refrigerator in the mausoleum in the “old folks home” in Waikiki was powered on for the first time since initial occupancy over five years ago. Surprisingly, the appliance works fine. The $90 rent increase commences at the beginning of the new year, so energy conservation is not an issue anymore.

The late afternoon outings to the International Marketplace are now primarily to shop at Target® for food products (mostly frozen items) to stock the refrigerator. Food products that are currently on sale have first priority. The goal is to reduce the daily food expenditure as much as possible.

So, now, there’s absolutely no reason for breakfast being held in the Makai Market food court in Ala Moana Center, that is, aside from decreasing the time spent in the mausoleum. Dinner has been moved up in time to 6pm or so. Previously, dinner time was between 3pm and 4pm. The problem with an early dinner is that hunger sets in around 9pm.

As far as the diet is concerned, controlling sodium and sugar intake is the focus. Saturated fat intake is also being rigorously monitored. The goal is to eliminate hypertension, although the latter is probably beyond hope. Returning to any of the previously patronized food establishments is now highly unlikely.

The gym workouts have stabilized. The weight workout has only been slightly reduced, using discretion as a protocol. The cardio workout, however, has not returned to the previous level and “breaking a sweat” is now a distant memory. Oh well.

The Beats® Studio Pro headphones are deployed daily for evening One-Man House Party sessions. The headphones will also be used to channel the audio for Judging Freedom streams when Colonel Doug Macgregor and independent journalist Max Blumenthal appear as guests.

The iPhone 16 Pro has about one month left with its warranty. However, the decision has been made to keep the device to at least the end of the year. The $620 Apple® gift card (from the iPad Pro M4 trade-in) is still in possession. So, the next iPhone upgrade will require no expenditure.