CHAPTER 773: HE STOOD UP ONLY TO FALL DOWN AGAIN

Magnetic resonance imaging was simply out of the question.

It required a very strong magnetic field environment, one that was uniformly directed. Garrett speculated that among the people he knew, perhaps only Sister Philby could conjure such a field by hand—

And even she might not manage it; it would require the Lord of Thunder himself to step in. For a legendary mage to occasionally conjure such fields for fun was one thing, but to assist him regularly in conducting MRI research for years on end…

Garrett decided that striving to become a legendary mage himself was a more reliable plan.

He stared intently at the old knight before him, quickly pondering. The old man’s current condition—pale face, profuse sweating, fatigue—was clinically a very dangerous sign. But what was the most dangerous, closest to death?

He took a deep breath and began the examination. Hmm, no jugular vein distension, clear breath sounds in both lungs, no dry or wet rales in the lower lungs—seems like the lungs are still fine. The cardiac silhouette is enlarged downwards to the left, hmm… There’s some issue with the heart, but the rhythm is regular, no murmurs heard…

No edema in the lower limbs, and no obvious abnormalities found in the rest of the abdomen or the nervous system.

I want to check creatinine. Complete blood count. Thyroid function, hypersensitive protein, liver function, lipids, blood sugar. Garrett muttered to himself. However, these tests were not available, nor could they be.

Centuries of effort by countless medical workers and basic medical researchers were not so easily replicated.

Might as well make do with what’s available. Garrett sighed softly, then conjured an electrocardiogram. The moment he saw the pattern, he shivered, feeling as if his hair stood on end:

What’s going on with this ECG!

Why is the voltage in lead I so high!

This is a very typical ECG of hypertensive heart disease causing severe ventricular hypertrophy!

“What medication does your father usually take?” Garrett suddenly turned, staring hard at the middle-aged knight who had brought his father:

“What medication?! Or, has he received any other treatments? Or, on the way here, did he use any treatment methods?”

Usually having high blood pressure and such thickened heart walls, but now with normal blood pressure—something’s definitely not right! If it’s because of some medications, like valsartan or benazepril, that’s fine, but if no medications were used…

One must be careful about where the blood vessels might have ruptured!

And indeed, the old man’s heart rate was a bit high… 92 beats per minute, not the fast type seen in hemorrhagic shock. But, as an emergency medicine physician, the old man’s condition was enough to keep him on high alert.

“My father sometimes says he feels dizzy, he would take some herbal medicines... I don’t really know them…”

The middle-aged knight shook his head repeatedly. Garrett felt a sense of foreboding:

What I feared has come to pass. You don’t know them, I don’t know them. The herbs of this world, I’m unfamiliar with their names and effects, even if I knew them, they wouldn’t match the framework of knowledge I had before.

But perhaps the old man had been trying to control his blood pressure?

“Anything else?” he kept his eyes glued to the ECG, already pulling out a magic crystal, preparing to check a chest x-ray. The middle-aged knight looked tense, trying hard to remember: ℝÄƝОＢĚS̩

“He used a divine scroll... Yes, a Calming Spell scroll. Father was very nervous and in pain before, after using the Calming Spell, he seemed much more relaxed…”

Garrett’s shoulders relaxed as well. The Calming Spell was also one of the spells he was extremely proficient in using, mainly for easing patient emotions and relieving tension, which had a certain effect on controlling blood pressure.

Garrett speculated that the mechanism of action of this spell might be to relax the nerves, alleviate vascular spasms, and perhaps even promote the body to secrete substances that could counteract angiotensin?

However, having received treatment to control blood pressure greatly reduced the likelihood of a ruptured vessel. Garrett breathed a sigh of relief, handing the magic crystal to the oak staff, letting it wrap around with a root, and moved to the back of the old knight.

“Sir, please sit up slowly.”

Garrett said gently. The old knight blinked, seeming to ponder the meaning of Garrett’s words. Garrett gestured, signaling his sons to come over, one on each side, to help their father sit up, and activated [Detect Magic]—

The image of the X-ray appeared in his meditative vision. Garrett only glanced once, and his recently calmed blood pressure surged up again, shooting through the roof.

The heart region, the right upper part prominently

bulging, forming a significant arc; the left side also prominently bulging, forming a significant arc. The ascending aorta was significantly distended, the aortic arch was obviously bulging!

Such an image could only mean one thing, the ascending aorta had dilated severely, under immense pressure. Based on Garrett’s past-life experience, if not operated on, dissection or rupture was imminent!

“Sir, I’ve seen enough, please lie down slowly. Move slowly, no rush…”

Garrett slowed his speech as much as possible, leaning forward, helping the old man down gently. His hands shimmered with white light, continuously casting Calming and Healing Spells, while keeping an eye on the magical blood pressure monitor:

The blood pressure must not rise!

Must not rise!

Must not rise!!!!

The ascending aorta had already dilated to such an extent, though there wasn’t a CT scan, it felt close to an aortic aneurysm—or even aortic dissection!

Although the old man didn’t have severe chest or back pain, based on his experience, about 10% of patients with aortic dissection did not experience severe pain. Compared to that, imaging was somewhat more reliable!

His heart pounded wildly, his face still maintaining a smile, his tone calm, yet light and slow. This demeanor was a compulsory course for every emergency medicine doctor—

Even if you’re dying inside, your face can’t show it at all. If you’re anxious, the patient is even more anxious, and once the patient gets anxious, blood pressure spikes, and snap, it’s over...

Catching his cue, the old knight’s two sons also quickly came over to help. One on each side, they helped their father lie down, the younger one busily straightening the old knight’s clothes, covering him with a blanket. The middle-aged knight stepped aside, his face filled with concern, and asked:

“Mage Nordmark, our father…”

Garrett waved his hand, creating a wind barrier to isolate the sound. Then, still focusing on the ECG cloud screen and the magic blood pressure monitor, he spoke softly:

“The situation is very bad. I need to conduct further examinations to ascertain the cause of the illness. Based on the current situation, his life could be at risk at any moment—don’t move!!!”

Beyond the wind barrier, the old knight waved his arms a couple of times, abruptly pushed his sons aside, and tried to get off the bed. Garrett’s forehead buzzed, and he didn’t even have time to disperse the wind barrier, just lunged forward—

With a soft click, the [Endless Ink Pen]’s mage armor naturally popped out, protecting him as he passed through the wind barrier, unscathed from any potential scrapes. Yet even so, what Garrett caught was only the slowly falling body of the old man.

The old knight had stood up only to fall down again!

* Please take a moment to rate this novel at Novelupdate.