Frederik Pohl
89-year-old legendary science fiction author and editor Frederik Pohl has had a pacemaker installed following the discovery that he had a low pulse rate.
Pohl revealed the move on his blog, The Way the Future Blogs, this week, saying a nurse had checked his pulse when he attempted to re-enrol in the cardiovascular exercise group he had been attending three times a week since 2001, but excluding this year. His measured pulse rate was 41; a normal heart rate ranges from 60-100 beats per minute.
“This is not a pulse that is compatible with staying alive for very long,” wrote Pohl. “So [the nurse] Rose called Adrian Deme, my new primary-care doctor. He told her to get me to an ER for evaluation. And next thing you know, I was in a hospital bed getting ready for a pacemaker.”
