Why Long John Silvers Will Kill You

It should be noted that this is shared with permission*

 

I saw an elderly gentleman for a recheck the other day.   He had a blood pressure of 190/110.  He denied any chest pain or shortness of breath and insisted that he felt fine.   I insisted that he get an EKG with his blood work.

About five minutes after he left I received his EKG in my inbox and gasped deeply when it became apparent that he was “tombstoning”.  As one might imagine, tombstoning is not a good sign.  It is a finding on an EKG that looks like a tiny little tombstone in multiple leads and leads to the patient acquiring a real tombstone of their very own.

I proceeded to call the patient in a panic, informing him that he needed to go immediately to the emergency room.

After a moment of hostile silence, he replied, “I am in the drive thru at Long John Silvers, and I am going to get my *&^%#@ fish!”

I calmly explained to him that if he stays to eat the fish, it will likely be his last meal.

He reluctantly agreed to go to the emergency room.

When I saw him back after his hospitalization and heart catheterization I joked with him about it, “Are you going to Long John Silvers today?”

He replied with a twinkle, “I went before I came this time.”