I would have Died in my Sleep

I went to see Dr. Medeiros for a small rash on my finger. The rash wasn't worthy of a doctor's visit by itself, but I wanted to get to know him better since he had just become my doctor - this was the first visit. He did the usual things... listened to my lungs, took my blood pressure, and listened to my heart rate. Then he asked to do an EKG. After the EKG he went down the hall to consult with a cardiologist and came back to tell me that my wife would have to drive and to take me to the emergency room - immediately. What he saw was that my heart was skipping beats and the heart rate was down to about 32 - when I was resting. If it had dropped a bit lower, like when asleep, I'd have gone into shock and died. Now I have a pacemaker and no more problems in that department. Dr. Medeiros continues to impress me with his bull-dog like pursuit of a medical problem, and his never-ending studying... he really loves medical science. He has made himself available and helpful in a way I've never experienced before.