Bangham Undergoes Heart Procedure

Editor's Note: Bill Bangham was a staff member of the Brotherhood Commission from 1981-89. He is now employed as director of photography at the International Mission Board, Richmond, Va.

“Thirteen days ago my heart went into an unnatural rhythm called ventricular tachycardia. This is a life threatening condition, if it persists. As a result, a pacemaker / defibrillator was implanted in my chest. The purpose for this device is to deliver an electric shock which restores natural rhythm to the heart in the event v-tach (as its called) happens again. Six days ago it did and the device responded. It was not all that pleasant an experience. Stunning is an inadequate description. It certainly gets one’s attention. The first reaction is the thought, 'What just happened?' followed by standing with a dazed expression, looking for the big, strong, ugly thing that just kicked you in the chest, getting ready to duck and cover if it rears back to do it again. The good news is the device did what it is designed to do; the bad news is that it had to. The simplest explanation for this condition is that I have a short in the electrical pathways of my heart. Rather than deliver a pulse that coordinates the contraction of the lower chambers with the upper chambers, my conduction gets stuck in loop that causes the lower chambers to contract over and over again, racing at 200 beats per minute. This doesn’t give time for the lower chambers to fill adequately and circulate the blood through the body. The hope was this would be a one-time event, inexplicable but easily shrugged off. The reoccurrence a week ago makes it quite possible that this is a new constellation on my horizon, something I will have to deal with again and again, if something more isn't done. I have started a medication designed to control this condition. It seems to be working and I am tolerating the drug. In the near future there will be physio-electrical studies at Medical College of Virginia where my cardiologist says, 'They have better toys.' There is a possibility of catheterization later to ablate the conduits causing the problem. We’ll see. Thanks for your concern and prayers, Bill.”

Contact Bill at wbangham@mac.com