CryoAblation successfully treated this pilot's tachycardia, enabling him to fly again

Although Michael Curtin came to accept that he wasn't as aerobically fit as he once was, his heartbeat always returned to normal if it began racing. Then, in May 2003, he was awakened from a sound sleep in the middle of the night - his heart pounding. It felt as though, he says, he was "running a marathon." His heart rate had shot up to 200 beats per minute - almost three times his normal heart rate - and wouldn't come back down. The tachycardia lasted three and a half hours, and his heart was brought back to normal rhythm only with adenosine in the ER.

In the ER, an ECG of the arrhythmia was taken, and the physician recommended that Mike get in touch with a cardiologist.

This episode of sustained tachycardia compelled Mike, a pilot by profession, to stop flying until such time as he received treatment for the arrhythmia. In the six weeks between this episode and his appointment with the cardiologist, Mike searched the web for information on arrhythmias and took part in chat groups on the subject. He did so much research online that he made his own diagnosis (AVNRT) and also selected the treatment for it (an ablation).

The cardiologist confirmed that he had an AVNRT. The treatment options considered were medication and an RF ablation. Mike did not want a lifetime of taking medication to keep his arrhythmia under control. What's more, medication produces undesirable side effects and tends to lose its effectiveness over time. As a pilot, Mike wanted a permanent solution to his problem, which is what an RF ablation offered. He made an appointment for an RF ablation in a hospital in his home state of California.

During the three-month wait for his operation, Mike went back to the web for more research. This is when he found out about CryoAblation. He liked what he read about its risk profile as compared with RF. Since he didn't want to run even the slightest risk of heart block (which happens in a tiny percentage of RF ablation cases), requiring the implantation of a pacemaker, Mike opted for CryoAblation. "A pacemaker would've meant the end of my career as a pilot," he explains.

Mike got on the phone with CryoCath Technologies, who in turn referred him to Dr José Nazari at Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Illinois. Two weeks later, Mike got his CryoAblation. It was a three-hour operation during which he felt no discomfort or pain, and which got rid of his tachycardia. "I'm 47 years old, but I feel like 19 again," Mike says. "I can take part in sports without my heart racing and without getting winded. It's great."

Thanks to CryoAblation, Mike Curtin's mood and career as a pilot are soaring once again.