For Rhonda F., fitness was a way of life until her rapid heartbeat forced her to give up her gym and nearly her family before getting help. This aerobics instructor and mother of three lived with increasingly severe episodes of SVT, a type of rapid heartbeat, for more than ten years until a family friend directed her to an electrophysiologist who performed ablation and restored her to a normal life.

“At 29 I thought I was in great shape and asked my aerobics class to take their pulse but mine went up and up until I passed out and woke up looking at my class,” she recalls. Her first doctor dismissed the episode and advised her to stay away from coffee. Soon, the episodes continued and began having a major impact on her life. She sold her gym and sought treatment from six different cardiologists who incorrectly told her she was having panic attacks.

“I refused to go on medication and I just knew it was rapid heartbeat not panic attacks,” says Rhonda. Her episodes became more frequent and more dangerous. “I would have attacks at the mall with my children who were all under 5-years old, at dinner with my husband and once while driving! My daughter ended up steering the car to safety. I was afraid to leave the house. This went on for ten years.”

Rhonda was hesitant to visit an electrophysiologist because every cardiologist she had met with had told her she needed a pacemaker. She finally made an appointment with an EP. “Dr. Josepheson told me he could fix me. Two days later I had the ablation and I am here today because of it.” She says. Dr. Josepheson used Biosense Webster’s CARTO System to map Rhonda’s heart and identify the problem areas that he then treated with ablation.

The ablation was a complete success and Rhonda has not had another episode for many years now. She has since returned to her active life, no longer stalled by her condition. She teaches kick-boxing and enjoying physical activities with her teenagers. “Without Biosense Webster’s products, I didn’t have a life. You are the reason I’m here.”

Remember, as with any medical treatment, individual results may vary. Only a cardiologist or electrophysiologist can determine whether ablation is an appropriate course of treatment. There are potential risks, and recovery takes time. These need to be discussed with your doctor.