An outpatient was scheduled to have an MRI and this patient also has a history of an AICD (implantable defibrillator). Radiology reached out to our department to see if Denise could come down, turn off the ICD and monitor the patient during the MRI. The ICD had to be shut down in order to have the MRI. She finished her case in the Cath lab and went down to MRI. Prior to shutting off the ICD, Denise interrogated the device and she noted that he had a significant history of runs of A-fib for anywhere from 2-7 hours.

When she questioned the patient if he was ever told he had A-fib he said yes once for a few minutes. She asked him if he was on anticoagulation therapy, and he said that he takes an aspirin a day. She became very concerned and reached out to the electrophysiologist at a nearby facility where he went to the pacer clinic to discuss. She also contacted the patient's daughter to let her know of her findings. The patient actually left Mercy after his MRI and his ICD was re-activated, prior to Denise concluding her investigation.

She let the daughter know that her father was on his way home. The daughter indicated to Denise that she was going to take her dad to the ER for further evaluation. Denise also gave the electrophysiologist the daughter's number so that he could discuss it as well. Patients who have A-fib are placed on additional anticoagulation therapy besides just an aspirin to reduce the chance of a clot development. By identifying that this patient had significant history, and acting upon it, she saved this patient from potential bad outcomes.