Dawn Brooks thought her condition was simply something she’d have to live with for the rest of her life. The 33-year-old Elmhurst woman was diagnosed with atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT), a type of rapid heart rate that happened when her heart’s electrical impulses went into an abnormal pattern. But as the years went on, her heart episodes became more frequent and longer in duration, lasting several minutes, sometimes even hours. Once, while pregnant with her first child, she drove herself to the emergency room so doctors could inject her with a medication to reset her heartbeat. A stay-at-home mom now with two young children, Brooks didn’t want to live like that.
Her husband, Michael, a family practice physician who treats patients at Adventist Hinsdale Hospital, heard about the hospital’s growing electrophysiology (EP) department and talked to Dr. Andrew Lawrence about Dawn’s case. She soon made an appointment to have an EP consultation and in June underwent a catheter ablation, a procedure in which a thin, flexible tube is inserted into the heart to deliver energy to tiny areas of the heart that cause the abnormal rhythm. The 2 ½ -hour procedure brought a permanent end to Brooks’ heart rate issues.
“I wish I could have done this 10 years ago,” Brooks said. “It was the most wonderful thing I’ve ever done. The procedure was a total success. I feel like I can live the rest of my life happy and worry free.”