Keep the Beat: This Year, Resolve to Manage Your Atrial Fibrillation

Photo caption: Jeff Dailey with his children.

Keep the Beat: This Year, Resolve to Manage Your Atrial Fibrillation

By Aseem Desai, MD, FACC, FHRS, Co-Director, Heart Rhythm Center, Mission Heritage Heart Rhythm Specialists

The beginning of the year is a good time to take stock of your wellbeing and set new health targets. As an electrophysiologist cardiologist (a doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of heart rhythm disorders), I ask my patients to make heart health a priority. Oftentimes, that means setting heart healthy goals about managing heart conditions such as atrial fibrillation (Afib), the most common heart rhythm disorder in the United States.

One of my patients, Coto de Caza’s Jeff Dailey, was diagnosed with Afib at age 48. Afib occurs when the electrical signals in the heart become disorganized and the heart’s two upper chambers contract very fast and irregularly. As a result, blood is not pumped into the two lower chambers (the ventricles) completely, hence the upper and lower parts of the heart are not working together. Individuals with Afib have an increased risk of stroke (about five times) as well as risk for chest pain and heart failure, and it can really impact their quality of life.

Jeff is one of the over three million Americans living with Afib. Prior to his diagnosis, Jeff was incredibly active, spending much of his free time hiking in the hills behind his home and running around with his two children, ages 8 and 11. Over a period of time, however, Jeff began to feel more lethargic and out-of-breath during these activities. Jeff initially attributed his exhaustion to the emotional stress of losing his wife of 20 years to cancer, but an appointment with his general practitioner revealed an irregular heartbeat. He was then directed to see me for further evaluation.

Jeff was initially treated with medication to manage his Afib; however, his condition worsened which is very common with drug therapy. This is why I recommended a catheter ablation procedure where a small device is used to ablate or destroy the electrical short circuits which cause Afib. A special type of ablation was done using an FDA-approved robotic and magnetically controlled ablation catheter made by Biosense Webster, part of the Johnson and Johnson Family of Companies (Diamond Bar, CA). This type of technology provides a minimally-invasive procedure option that can help to eliminate Afib symptoms permanently.

There have been significant advances in catheter ablation technologies over the years and most recently, contact force technology has emerged as another therapeutic option that is showing great promise for patients with Afib. For Jeff, ablation therapy converted his rhythm to normal and has maintained it as such when medications did not work. We are fortunate in today’s modern technology age that there are safe and effective procedures like catheter ablation that help physicians and their patients manage Afib better than ever before.

Today, Jeff is incredibly relieved to be back to his active lifestyle, which includes spending time with his family and friends. His children have especially noticed that they have “their father back.”

Healthy Heart Tips:

- Watch for Afib symptoms, like palpitations (or feeling that your heart is skipping a beat or beating irregularly), shortness of breath, weakness or problems exercising, chest pain, dizziness or fainting, fatigue (tiredness) and/or confusion.

- Symptoms of Afib may just be fatigue and lack of energy, without palpitations.

- Follow a heart healthy diet that’s low in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol.

- Do not smoke and reduce intake of alcohol.

- Maintain a healthy weight and be physically active. After a heavy meal, walk it off!