"When Ciji Graham visited a cardiologist on Nov. 14, 2023, her heart was pounding at 192 beats per minute, a rate healthy people her age usually reach during the peak of a sprint. She was having another episode of atrial fibrillation, a rapid, irregular heartbeat. The 34-year-old Greensboro, North Carolina, police officer was at risk of a stroke or heart failure."
"In the past, doctors had always been able to shock Graham's heart back into rhythm with a procedure called a cardioversion. But this time, the treatment was just out of reach. After a pregnancy test came back positive, the cardiologist didn't offer to shock her. Graham texted her friend from the appointment: "Said she can't cardiovert being pregnant." The doctor told Graham to consult three other specialists and her primary care provider before returning in a week, according to medical records."
"Like hundreds of thousands of women each year who enter pregnancy with chronic conditions, Graham was left to navigate care in a country where medical options have significantly narrowed. As ProPublica has reported, doctors in states that ban abortion have repeatedly denied standard care to high-risk pregnant patients. The expert consensus is that cardioversion is safe during pregnancy, and ProPublica spoke with more than a dozen specialists who said they would have immediately admitted Graham to a hospital to get her heart rhythm under control."
During late 2023, a 34-year-old pregnant woman with atrial fibrillation experienced heart rates near 192 bpm and required cardioversion to restore normal rhythm. Doctors declined immediate cardioversion after a positive pregnancy test and advised consulting multiple specialists and a primary care provider, then sent her home as her heart continued pounding. Many pregnant patients with chronic conditions face narrowed medical options in states that ban abortion, leading clinicians to withhold standard emergency care. Medical experts state that cardioversion is safe during pregnancy and would normally prompt hospital admission to promptly stabilize heart rhythm.
Read at Truthout
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