Kathy Haxton, Surprise, AZ, USA

A-Fib Patient Story #75

Helped by “Beat Your A-Fib”, CryoBalloon Ablation by Dr. Wilber Su, Phoenix, AZ

by Kathleen Haxton, Surprise, Arizona, August 2014

Dear Dr. Steve Ryan,

I feel compelled to share my story with you since I have been A-Fib free now for a whole year, and I credit you for it. I can’t thank you enough for what you have done to help me and others like me to attack their a-fibs head-on and do something about it so as to free themselves from taking life-long medication(s) and blood thinners. You truly do not receive enough credit for what you have done for so many people, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Husband has a seizure, then by-pass surgery—the stress produces A-Fib

My Name is Kathy. I was 72 years old and live in Surprise, Arizona when I started with a-fibs. I believe my a-fibs came about through stress. One morning (very early) my husband experienced a seizure. I guess that wouldn’t have been so unusual except that it was the first seizure he ever encountered in his life at the age of 71. I always felt it was a heart-related seizure, because one month after his seizure he had a quadruple by-pass surgery.

That was so terribly stressful for me. And I believe it was the cause of my a-fibs, because I started with them shortly after that.

Researching A-Fib, magnesium helps, drugs don’t work

Of course, at the beginning, I wasn’t sure what I was experiencing. So, I went to a doctor who diagnosed me as having paroxysmal (occasional) atrial fibrillation. He put me on Multaq along with warfarin to keep me from having a stroke.

Well, needless to say, I started reading everything I could get my hands on about a-fibs plus getting on the internet. At first I was able to control the a-fibs by increasing my magnesium and potassium intake. Low sodium V-8 juice was very helpful.  However, after a while that wasn’t quite good enough. I was on several different medications such as Cardizem, Multaq, flecainide, but none of them worked.

After my second visit to the emergency room, they put me on Sotalol and Xarelto (blood thinner). That drug worked pretty well, but I knew I had to do something and do it quickly. Because I did not want these a-fibs to control my life any longer, and I wanted to be free of all meds and blood thinners.

“Beat Your A-Fib”

Well, fortunately for me, I came across your book on the internet, “Beat Your A-Fib“.  So I ordered it, read it, and the information you put in it led me to where I am today, a-fib free.

Dr. Wilber Su and CryoBalloon ablation

As luck would have it, or you might call it divine intervention, I knew I wanted to do an ablation. However, I didn’t know whom to turn to.  It was very important for me to find an expert who was experienced.  So I decided to look at the credits that were in your book. And, would you believe, Dr. Wilber Su, MD, FACC, FHRS Electrophysiology was one of the people listed in your book, and he was from Phoenix, Arizona. He is now with the Cavanagh Heart Clinic, Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in downtown Phoenix.

I was so excited when I saw his name and that he was located in Phoenix, Arizona besides. So I made an appointment with my heart doctor and asked him to give me a referral to see Dr. Su, because in all the research I did as well as visiting Dr. Su’s website, I knew I wanted to have a Cryo-Balloon Ablation. And Dr. Su is the champion of cryo-balloon ablations.  He has now successfully completed over a thousand of those procedures and teaches other doctors on how to perform the procedure.  Since there were no electrophysiologists presently with my heart doctor’s group who did cryo-balloon ablations, I was granted a referral.

So, the very next day I was on the phone to Dr. Su’s office. Dr. Su, a very attentive and caring doctor, spent a lot of time with me explaining and answering all of my questions, and believe me I had a lot of them. He made me very comfortable and relaxed.

The rest is history–I am now one full year of being a-fib free!

Attack A-Fib head on, read “Beat Your A-Fib”

So, Dr. Ryan, as you suggested in your book, I connected with a very good doctor and attacked my a-fibs head-on.  Before my cryo-balloon ablation I was taking Sotalol and was on Xarelto (blood thinner).  Sotalol was working pretty well for me, but I knew I didn’t want to be on it forever.

Thank you again Dr. Ryan for all you did for me.  Your book is the best. Everyone with a-fibs and family members who have a loved one dealing with this awful debilitating disease should definitely read this book. It is an absolute blessing. God bless your work Dr. Ryan in wanting to help others with this horrific disease.

Sincerely,
Kathleen Haxton
haxie (at) cox.net
623-544-0255

Editor’s Comments:

It’s wonderful to read Kathy’s story and how she was helped by our book “Beat Your A-Fib.” It may seem self-serving to publish Kathy’s story, but sometimes I feel like I’m the ‘A-Fib ‘John the Baptist’―a voice crying out in the wilderness.

No one else is telling people—you don’t have to live the rest of your life on meds and anticoagulants―that you can be A-Fib free!

Instead, the media talks about “Living with A-Fib” and how to “Manage your A-Fib,” or “Just take XYZ [one of the new anticoagulants] for the rest of your life and you’ll be fine.” That’s so bogus!

What about treating the often debilitating symptoms? What about stopping the remodeling and destructive effects of leaving someone in A-Fib? What about the bad side effects and the risks of long-term anticoagulant use?

Instead, how come we don’t hear from the media that A-Fib can be cured? That of all heart diseases―it’s the most easily cured!

As someone who’s been cured of A-Fib for 16 years, it’s wonderful to be A-Fib free!  I’m a passionate promoter of the message: “You don’t have to live your life on meds. Seek your A-Fib cure”.

I’ve been on numerous radio and cable shows talking about A-Fib and my book, “Beat Your A-Fib: The Essential Guide to Finding Your Cure.” It’s the only book that gives you the straight facts about A-Fib and its treatments, and tells you how to become A-Fib free. That’s what I wish for everyone with A-Fib―to be free of the burden of Atrial Fibrillation.

P.S. As readers of A-Fib.com, you can get up to 50% off the price of my book, Beat Your A-Fib. Just sign-up for my A-Fib Alerts newsletter and we’ll email the discount codes for 50% off the eBook, and 25% off the softcover book.