From an interview with 
Dr. Prabal Guha
McLeod Cardiology Associates  Florence
And heart patient Brenda Suggs

Since she is a heart attack survivor, Brenda Suggs’ husband encouraged her to see her cardiologist when she began to experience signs of atrial fibrillation. It was the right decision.

Here are key points on Atrial Fibrillation from McLeod Electrophysiologist Dr. Prabal Guha:

Atrial fibrillation (Afib) is an irregular rhythm from the top part of the heart. And there are several areas on the heart where they start firing irregularly and make the top chamber beat to attempt to keep the rhythm more regular and stable. However, they are not foolproof. Sometimes they can work for a long time. Sometimes they don’t.

The other option is to perform an ablation, a technique where we go inside the heart and try to correct the source of the irregular heart rhythm.

We thread small wires from the groin of leg to inside the heart, where we study the electrical system. We take a small needle and go across the wall onto the left side of the top chamber of the heart. Once we go across, we can map the area and slowly freeze or burn sites to isolate the electrical activity from those veins, decreasing the chance of a patient going into atrial fibrillation.

FINAL THOUGHT
“After the ablation, I felt much better,” said Brenda. “My heart wasn’t beating out of my chest. I’m not nearly as tired as I used to be. I have gone back to all my activities and I’m just thankful.”

See Brenda’s entire story.

Find a cardiologist near you.