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No wonder he was complaining of a racing heart. His urine drug screen showed cocaine and methamphetamine. He complained that we "weren't doing anything for him" and he wanted to leave so he could go smoke a cigarette. So good for the ailing heart, that.

He was on a Cardizem drip for awhile and his rate did stabilize. The docs changed it to oral Cardizem, but his heart sped up again. The case manager suggested that we get another urine specimen, and it showed methamphetamine. Either his friends had brought him more or it was simply still in his system. It can take two to four days for meth to drop from a tox screen. The cocaine was gone though, so my guess it that he did crystal... while in the hospital for rapid atrial fibrillation.

That's how smart a guy he is.

"You don't even know why my heart does this," he'd say, challenging us to fix him, and I'd tell him that lifestyle seemed to have something to do with it.

There's no effective medical treatment for a bad life.

Some people just give up. I never do.