Jennifer Cardenas was 27 and expecting her first child when her heart began beating out of control. It was atrial fibrillation – Afib – a condition where the heart’s natural rhythms spin wildly out of sync. It was a scary episode that returned during her second pregnancy and took over her life. The slightest thing could set off her irregular heart beat. A doorbell. A dropped dish. A barking dog.
They were a family living on pins and needles. Fortunately, the Heart and Vascular Institute team at University Health looked beyond the standard treatments and offered Jennifer hope. The team proposed a complex, hybrid procedure to bring Jennifer’s irregular heart beat back into normal rhythm. The Afib episodes stopped immediately, allowing Jennifer and her family the chance to build a normal, active - and noisy -life together. Today, thanks to the experience and expertise of the Heart and Vascular Institute team, this and other life saving treatments are available. A year ago, Jennifer’s life was a roller coaster. Today, she rides them.
