(Between his first infarction in 1955 and the April 1968 infarct, he had suffered two additional infarcts. Thus, the August 1968 event was his seventh myocardial infarction.)One of the most remarkable and fortunate things about all this is that although he was unconscious a number of times his intellectual functions, memory, and recall and interest in current events were not compromised. His energy reserve was low, however, so his activity was restricted to three periods of 45 minutes out of bed each day. His morale and spirits were magnificent considering all he had been through. 1 SEE BELOW
Date (1968) | Event |
---|---|
April 29 | Infarct #4 |
May 14 | Infarct #5, "probably of greater magnitude" than #4 |
Summer | Infarct #6 |
August 16 | Infarct #7 (maybe). Little evidence of myocardial damage. This was an episode of ventricular fibrillation followed by successful DC cardioversion. He had been monitored continuously on an EKG oscilloscope, with a specially qualified medical officer in attendance around the clock. |
August 16-24 | 14 episodes of ventricular fibrillation and electrical cardioversion. (3 episodes on August 17 alone.) "Efforts were made to prevent these episodes through the use of recognized drugs and one or two experimental drugs." |
Comment: Hughes mentions plans to incorporate the General's medical history into book form for the National Archives. |