Sit on the fence? It’s a shocker
Doctors condemn bizarre DIY heart fix.
AHamilton man has taken Kiwi ingenuity to a whole new level — using his neighbour’s 8000 volt electric fence to jump-start his heart.
John Griffin suffers from atrial fibrillation (AF), an irregular heartbeat which could lead to a stroke.
One of the treatments is electric shock by defibrillator.
But when Griffin got frustrated with the hospital emergency department during an episode, he went home and used his neighbour’s fence to get a shock instead.
It gave him a “decent belt”, he said, and his heart started beating regularly again. “It was right as rain. It worked like a treat.”
But medical experts have warned against Griffin’s DIY method, labelling it “dangerous”. The 69-year-old retiree has had AF for 19 years.
He says he knows when it comes on, knows when to take his medication and when to seek medical attention.
Griffin said on April 2, after putting up with the irregular heartbeat for about 20 hours, he admitted himself to Waikato Hospital’s emergency department (ED). From 48 hours onward, a patient becomes susceptible to a stroke.
During the first two hours, he had scans and tests, before being told he faced another six-hour wait.
“I asked the nurse if I could go home [and get my medication] and come back in, say, three hours but was refused as she said I would be wiped off the list and would have to
start again.” After further discussion, Griffin swore and angrily left the hospital.
He went home, took his medicine and, daunted by a trip to a hospital in Auckland, kicked off his boots and put the back of his hand on his neighbour’s fence to give himself an electric shock. He claims it worked “straight away”.
“It gave me a decent belt and [my heart] came right.”
Emergency Department doctor John Bonning said the use of an electric fence that way was “dangerous and ill-advised”.
An investigation was under way into what had happened at the hospital after Griffin laid a complaint.
“Unfortunately incidents of verbal and physical aggression is an increasing problem confronting healthcare workers every day. We have adopted a zero tolerance policy that refers to specific actions or behaviours that will not be tolerated.”
Bonning said prioritising patients in ED was a fluid situation that varied “from minute to minute”.
“It is not practical or safe for a busy ED to let patients go home and come back into the queue. If they are well enough to go home then they could seek treatment elsewhere.”
Counties Manukau Health stroke specialist Dr Geoff Green said an electric shock could have the reverse effect than Griffin had intended and bring on AF.
“So I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody.”