Sandra Johnston remembers her first episode like it was yesterday. She felt she couldn’t breathe, experiencing a shortness of breath as though she had just run a marathon. Worried, her husband took her to the emergency room, where doctors had to restart her heart to get it back into rhythm. The diagnosis was atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm disorder that causes the heart to beat quickly and chaotically.
Atrial fibrillation – also known as “AFib” or “AF” – is the most common heart rhythm disorder, affecting more than 2.3 million people in the nation. AFib occurs when the heart’s electrical rhythm is disrupted, which prevents blood from being pumped efficiently to the body. Left untreated, AFib can lead to stroke, weakness, breathlessness, fainting and a decreased quality of life.
For 15 years, Johnston’s condition was mostly controlled through medication. When she once again experienced shortness of breath and an irregular heart rhythm, she was referred to Jason Rodriguez, MD, a cardiac electrophysiologist at Lutheran Hospital.
“They did a number of tests and talked to me a lot about my options,” says Johnston. “That’s when Dr. Rodriguez said I was a really good candidate for cardiac ablation.”
Shortly after Johnston’s consultation with Dr. Rodriguez, she experienced an AFib incident lasting 44 hours, forcing doctors to stop and restart her heart to get it back into rhythm. “We decided to go ahead with it (the procedure) at that point because I couldn’t live like that,” explains Johnston.
The procedure – called pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) – is a new cardiac ablation treatment option for AFib patients. PVI creates scar tissue around the pulmonary veins to block the electrical signals that cause arrhythmia. While older treatments rely on X-ray or mapping support for guidance, this procedure uses a miniature video camera and “headlight” to deliver a live-action view of the inside of the heart. The amount of laser energy used during the procedure can be customized based on a patient’s needs and the device’s unique balloon design adapts to the heart’s specific anatomy. Lutheran Hospital is the first and only site in Indiana currently offering PVI.
“This new technology has been designed to perform with unparalleled accuracy and precision,” explains Rodriguez. “We are committed to innovation and offering our patients early access to many of the latest cardiac treatments.”
“As the first and only site in Indiana to perform this next-level procedure, we continue to advance heart care for residents throughout the region,” adds Brady Dubois, CEO, Lutheran Hospital. “The work of Dr. Rodriguez and the entire team is truly remarkable. Patients have reported feeling better just hours after the procedure.”
Following her procedure, Johnston says she is doing well. “If somebody has atrial fibrillation that’s as bad or worse than mine, I would highly recommend it,” she states. “It’s a wonderful way to treat people.”
Jason Rodriguez, MD, is a member of the Lutheran Health Physicians cardiac electrophysiology team. Dr. Rodriguez specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the heart’s electrical system, which can cause the heart to beat too slow, too fast or irregularly.
