The Italian Job

So we finally get down to the winner of the famous "A Country's Race to Diagnose."

Dr. Fusco diagnosed me with Atrial Fibrillation in just about 30 seconds. Still, of course, he is a specialist in AFib. He cheated a bit as he knew already out of his experience that the Apple Watch is quite an accurate tool.

I met Dr. Fusco 2 weeks prior to my diagnosis thanks to my lucky star that never sleeps, and my little sister Elisa.

I was in Italy to run a privately booked Holter ECG while waiting for the Swedish public healthcare system to wake up and do its job (useless waiting time).

In Italy, I could book a private Holter within two days. It was available the same afternoon that I called in, but I had to catch a plane to get there. Hence the two days delay.

Without any public healthcare convention, I had to pay for the procedure with my pocket money: only 69€!

I spent more on the flight and the car rental.
👉 In Sweden, an average dinner costs more than that.

Anyway, that night my little sister took my mom ad me to a health-related event that she organized with her pharmacy.

That night, Dr. Fusco gave an inspirational speech about long-term health, body inflammation, and prevention with nutrition. He also presented the blood work we can do to assess our risk level for heart and inflammatory diseases.

The gist is that we slowly kill ourselves by eating industrial products and refined sugar. We’ll talk plenty about this subject in this blog.

Thanks to my sister's introduction, I got to talk with the man, and he friendly invited me to stop by his office next time I am in Italy. Luckily again, I had my next flight already scheduled in 2 weeks.

🍀 Yes, I'm a lucky, lucky guy.

Fast forward two weeks, and I was sitting in Dr. Fusco's office. He explained Atrial Fibrillation in straightforward terms, going through its anatomy, the possible medication, and the surgical procedure I will probably need.

He diagnosed me using the Apple Watch records and reassured me that I could handle it and maybe even postpone surgery indefinitely. I just have to get used to a completely different lifestyle and dietary habits.

Thanks, Dr. Fusco ❤️!