Patrick's Atrial Fibrillation Treatment
At age 47, Patrick has proudly served as a police officer in Ohio for over 24 years. He's been fortunate to enjoy good health for most of those years but in the spring of 2005, after just wrapping up duty on the midnight shift, he experienced piercing chest pains. "Some of the worst pain I've felt in my life," says Patrick.
The pain soon passed but he quickly scheduled an appointment with his family care doctor to find out if something was wrong. All the tests came back clear, though soon afterward Patrick had a routine pre-op EKG before surgery to remove a lymph node. This EKG revealed that his heart was out of normal sinus rhythm. An atrial fibrillation diagnosis soon followed.
Medication, Catheter Ablation
I've felt almost no discomfort or fluttering since my procedure with Dr. Sirak.
Like most people first diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, Patrick was started on antiarrhythmic and anticoagulant medications. These worked for a time to control his atrial fibrillation, but as Patrick says, "I didn't really want to be on these meds for the rest of my life." He saw an electrophysiologist, who recommended catheter ablation, which worked to keep his heart rate in check for 3 to 4 months, but then his symptoms started to resurface. He stuck with his medications but was concerned about the long-term effectiveness of drug treatment and wanted to find a treatment that worked.
The Procedure
Patrick learned about a new atrial fibrillation treatment option from a friend at his son's soccer practice. "I was having some discomfort after running the field with the kids and I got to talking with him about my afib episodes," says Patrick. "He told me, 'You should go see the guy my mom works for.'" That "guy" turned out to be Dr. Sirak. Patrick called Dr. Sirak on a Monday and was in his office that Thursday.
During the consultation, Patrick says, "Dr. Sirak had such confidence when he talked about the five-box thoracoscopic maze procedure. He laid it all out - the success rates, the risks, the surgical process - and then he said to me 'So, what do you think?' He made everything very easy for me to understand and talked with me in a very honest, direct way." Patrick's most vivid memory from the consult? "Dr. Sirak looked me in the eye and said, 'I can help you more than anyone else can.' When he said that, I knew he wasn't blowing smoke. He was serious and sincere." Patrick decided to schedule surgery before he even left the consultation.
Surgery & Recovery
Dr. Sirak performed Patrick's procedure at the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital at The Ohio State University Medical Center. The surgery took about 3.5 hours to complete and Patrick stayed overnight in one of the modern, private rooms at the Ross Heart Hospital. He had a straightforward course after the operation, and went home less than 24 hours after his procedure with a prescription for oral medication. "I've never been a big fan of pain meds, and I only took them for a few days," adds Patrick. "After that, even without the meds there was almost no pain at all."
A Successful Atrial Fibrillation Treatment
Patrick continued on an antiarrhythmic (amiodarone) for about a month after surgery and within 2 months, he was off all medications. He recently had a 6 month follow-up and was required to wear a heart monitor for a week to check for any reoccurrence of atrial fibrillation. "All the readouts came back fine," says Patrick, "and I've felt almost no discomfort or fluttering since my procedure with Dr. Sirak. After I eat a big meal, I might have a few flutters now and then, but they're very minor and probably just due to my heart working harder during digestion. Dr. Sirak says it is not something to be worried about."
So how does Patrick feel now that it's been almost 9 months since his treatment? "I'm extremely satisfied," he says. "When I was first diagnosed, I thought I had a long road of medication and hit-or-miss procedures ahead of me. But I feel confident that the maze procedure Dr. Sirak performed has helped me get a handle on afib."
For more details or to find out if you may be a candidate for the five-box thoracoscopic maze procedure in Ohio, request a phone consultation with Dr. Sirak online or call his appointment phone at (614) 366-7414.
