Hannah’s cardiologist called on Friday with the Holter Monitor results. Her heart rate was tachycardic four times for a total of 53 minutes. The highest her heart rate climbed was 218 — a lot better than 280, but still too high for comfort. He has increased her dosage of Propranolol (a beta-blocker that lowers your heart rate and helps regulate arrhythmic issues), and he wants to repeat the test on Tuesday. He said that if she didn’t have the underlying issue of Dilated Cardiomyopathy, he wouldn’t have an issue with these results; but he doesn’t want anything to stand in the way of her ventricular function improving, and an extremely high heart rate could do just that.
There’s a very fine balance that he’s trying to achieve with her medications — he wants to keep the heart rate under control and at a normal speed, but doesn’t want it to be TOO low. Please continue to pray for Hannah’s doctors and nurses, that He would give them the wisdom they need to treat her in the best way possible.
Also, please keep Brian and Kimen Hess in your prayers. Brian has been in a coma for several months after a very bad car accident. Pray that God would give them strength and grace to deal with every situation they face, and that He would touch Brian and completely restore him.
Brea Wusterbarth is still in Little Rock waiting a heart transplant (she also has Dilated Cardiomyopathy). She had the Berlin Heart put in this week and is doing very well. (The Berlin Heart is a ventricular assist device (VAD) that assists the heart in pumping blood throughout the body). She will remain on the Berlin Heart until a heart becomes available for transplantation. Please keep them in your prayers — pray that no infection would come upon little Brea while she’s on the Berlin Heart. Pray that God would either touch her heart and completely heal it, or that she would receive the perfect heart for transplantation.