February 16, 2022
Vickie Otten will never forget the late-night trip to the emergency room that set her life on a different course.
“I remember that visit all too well,” she says. “After almost a year of uncontrolled heart problems, I was admitted to the hospital. I felt hopeless and tired – something had to change.”
Vickie consulted her internist, neurologist and cardiologist after leaving the hospital. Referred to Olathe Hospital, she began a journey to treat her nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AFib), eventually making her dreams of international travel and visits to the gym a reality.
Early days
Vickie’s road to recovery began 20 years ago, when she was diagnosed with nonvalvular AFib. The condition occurs when abnormal electrical signals in the upper chamber of the heart cause the upper and lower chambers to beat out of sync. Although the condition can cause palpitations (fluttering, fast beating heart) and arrhythmia (irregular beating heart), and lead to fatigue, shortness of breath and/or blood clots, many people go years without experiencing complications.
Vickie managed her Afib through medication, diet and exercise, but she began to experience more symptoms as she got older.
“What began as short periods of arrhythmia lasted increasingly longer. It got so bad I couldn’t sleep on my left side,” Vickie recalls. “My day-to-day activity was limited, and I just felt sick all the time.”
Vickie’s health worsened when she suffered a hemorrhagic stroke (a brain bleed) in 2019. Fully recovered from the stroke but unable to tolerate blood thinners due to her Afib, Vickie’s cardiologist referred her to Ravi Yarlagadda, MD, an electrophysiologist at Olathe Hospital.
Medical intervention
Vickie first met with Dr. Yarlagadda to evaluate her treatment options in 2020.
“Preventing stroke in Afib patients is always a top priority,” Dr. Yarlagadda says. “Some patients cannot tolerate blood thinners used to prevent strokes, making catheter-based intervention their best means of prevention. Vickie’s previous stroke increased her risk for another stroke.”
Dr. Yarlagadda scheduled Vickie for cryoablation, a minimally invasive interventional procedure that uses extremely cold temperatures to restore a normal heartbeat by destroying the abnormal electrical impulses that cause the arrhythmia. Once recovered, Vickie would have a procedure to close her left atrial appendage (LAA), an area where stroke-related blood clots typically form.
“Vickie’s treatment plan was 2-pronged because we had to address her symptoms related to AFib and eliminate the need for blood thinners that were otherwise used to mitigate her risk for stoke-related blood clots after cryoablation,” Dr. Yarlagadda explains. “While it’s unusual to perform cryoablation and LAA closure (LAAC) surgery on the same patient, both treatments were necessary.”
Dr. Yarlagadda performed Vickie’s cryoablation in October 2020 and her LAAC in December 2020. Both procedures were successful.
A new lease on life
After about 5 months of recovery, Vickie felt like herself again. Her heart was beating normally, she didn’t feel sick and she finally had the energy to enjoy the activities she had put off before surgery. After 2 months of retirement from the Lawrence-based restorative dental practice she owned with her husband, Vickie spent 2 weeks adventuring in the Caribbean. Her new normal consists of morning walks with her husband and dog, weightlifting with her friend at the gym and serving on the boards of Lawrence nonprofits. Most important, Vickie feels like she can do what she wants again.
“It’s been a year and a half since Dr. Yarlagadda changed my life,” she says. “It is such a comfort to know my heart can support the things I love.”
Making the most of her new chapter, Vickie plans to visit her granddaughter in California, who is heading off to college to study aerospace engineering next fall. Dr. Yarlagadda will continue to monitor Vickie’s heart health through annual checkups.
Get care
The cardiology team at The University of Kansas Health System is here to help. Contact us at 913-588-1227.
Medically reviewed by: Ravi Yarlagadda, MD