Freig experienced a Code Blue – cardiac arrest more than 15 years ago. St. Boniface Hospital saved his life then. He has struggled more recently with atrial fibrillation (AFib), the most common form of abnormal heart rhythm. Through it all, Freig has never lost faith in the level of cardiac care that Manitoba’s Cardiac Centre of Excellence at St. B provides. Quite the opposite, in fact.
“Every time I’ve had a procedure at St. Boniface Hospital, I’ve never had any fear or worries about the clinical environment, or my treatment by staff or doctors. I’ve been treated with 100 per cent regard, care, and attention,” said Freig.
“With donor support, new and innovative procedures will soon be possible at St. B.”
That’s not to suggest he hasn’t faced any serious health issues. “I was driving home from the squash club in 2007 when I had a cardiac arrest in my car,” he remembered. “I swerved, struck a tree, and came to a stop. Thankfully, passers-by called 911 and I was rushed to St. B, where I would stay for two months. I was in a coma for quite some time.”
Freig’s cardiac arrest was caused by a rare congenital heart defect called ALCAPA. He had bypass surgery to correct the ALCAPA, and had a pacemaker installed.
Visits to EP Lab gave mixed results
A few years ago, Freig started to suspect that his heart was not beating properly, as it should. “I went to St. B, had it checked, and my physician diagnosed me with AFib, characterized by periods of rapid and irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia,” he said. He wasn’t alone – AFib affects about a quarter of the population in their lifetimes.
Then, Freig went to the Electrophysiology (EP) Lab in the Bergen Cardiac Care Centre at the Hospital for his first of two ablations. An ablation treats AFib surgically by using energy (either burning or freezing) to destroy small areas of heart tissue responsible for the abnormal rhythm.
Earlier this year, he noticed his heartbeat had gone back to arrhythmia. He went this spring to St. Boniface Hospital’s Emergency Department for another cardioversion shock treatment. “Only a few hours later, that same evening, I went from a normal sinus rhythm back to an atrial flutter.”
“It sounds like I will have another ablation in my future – my third and hopefully final one. The redevelopment of the EP Lab, where it will be performed, can’t happen soon enough if you ask me.”
As a former member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, Freig has seen the lab with his own eyes, and was briefed on the expansion project. “With donor support, new and innovative procedures will soon be possible,” he added. “For example, leading-edge technology doctors have told me about called pulse field ablation. When introduced at St. B as part of the EP Lab redevelopment, pulse field will make ablations much quicker and even more precise than what physicians can do there today.”
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