Kevin

Atrial fibrillation

Cardiac arrest

High blood pressure

From living with atrial fibrillation to cardiac arrest in surgery

A keen sports and car enthusiast, Kevin experienced his first atrial fibrillation (AF) episode in the 1990s. Initially dismissed as nothing more than stress and an unbalanced lifestyle, it would be decades before he experienced more episodes – followed by a cardiac arrest and other complications in 2023. He credits lifestyle changes and a thirst for information for his recovery and renewed health.

Growing up healthy and family history

A rural boy from the Waikato, Kevin played a lot of sport growing up including rugby, squash and tennis. He spent most of his early working life with Fonterra in various operations roles that kept him active. 

Heart health was never on his radar.

“I never really thought about the heart side of things as a young person,” he says. “But obviously as I’ve aged and got rounder that becomes more of a prevalent conversation.”

Kevin was adopted early in life and wasn’t initially aware of his family’s health history. Curious, he later discovered both his birth father and sister had heart issues.

“I don’t really know a lot about my family history. But when I did, I found out I had a father who had a quadruple bypass in his 50s and passed away from complications in his late 60s. My sister potentially had some atrial fibrillation events, but unfortunately we lost her quite early to bowel cancer.”

First atrial fibrillation (AF) event

One day in the 1990s, Kevin first experienced an irregular and rapid heart rate. Concerned, he visited a doctor.

“I had no idea what it was. Came from out of the blue, I went and saw a clinic GP. 

“He said it’s stress, it’s diet, it's lifestyle. Sort yourself out. By the time I got to see him it had reset and that was pretty much it.”

His concerns vanished and Kevin continued to live as normal – playing sport, working on his feet and enjoying life to his fullest.

Second minor scare

Other than a couple of occurrences in 2015 where he suffered paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat that starts and stops suddenly with episodes lasting from seconds to a few hours, Kevin hadn’t had any heart issues for over a decade. 

However, those episodes, combined with the stress of work and relocating to a new home in Hamilton, prompted him to visit a GP again.

Much like the first time, the new GP attributed the symptoms to lifestyle factors.

“He told me it’s your stress, your work. It’s nothing more than a rapid pulse and high blood pressure. They medicated me as a result.”

Then in 2017, it all changed.

Third event: being officially diagnosed with atrial fibrillation

After moving again to rural Waikato with his family, Kevin settled back into the small country community and reconnected with the local GP. 

During a routine follow-up appointment, he experienced a third heart event. He knew something wasn’t right.

“My heart skipped into this really weird racing rhythm. It used to do it periodically in the past for a matter of seconds, but this time it was noticeable. 

“Straight away the GP said, ‘You’ve got atrial fibrillation’. He sent me to Waikato hospital where they put me on the ECG and confirmed it.

“Atrial fibrillation was not something I really understood.”

Doctors started Kevin on heart rate control medication – the first stage of treatment he explained. That allowed the heart to reset back into normal sinus rhythm.

“I did an echocardiogram, a stress test, and got educated around atrial fibrillation. Unfortunately, I bounced back into it [AF], and with the specialist advice we went private and did a controlled cardioversion electronically to reset me back into normal sinus rhythm.

“At the time, I was sort of bouncing in and out of atrial fibrillation. Because if you’re in atrial fibrillation for longer than 12 hours, it’s an issue with regards to potential clot formation. I had a couple of occasions where I got into ED and then my heart rhythm would reset itself on its own before we had to go through any procedures.”

Cardiac arrest and CPR on the operating table

Following another few atrial fibrillation events and a session of atrial flutter, Kevin and his doctors decided in November 2022 that an ablation would now be the best course of action. An ablation targets cells in the heart that are contributing to the chaotic electrical signals that are causing the AF.

While the procedure was partially successful for the flutter, they had to abandon the ablation for atrial fibrillation due to challenges with his heart chamber shape (a birth variation).

Kevin was told to recover and return for another ablation attempt under general anaesthetic accompanied by a transoesophageal echocardiogram to assist with visualisation of the heart chambers.

In May 2023, he returned for the procedure. Again, surgeons faced difficulty mapping the heart chambers, and this time the outcome was more severe.

The transseptal puncture  had unfortunately triggered a cardiac tamponade, a life-threatening condition where fluid builds up in the sac around the heart (the pericardium), putting pressure on the heart and preventing it from filling and pumping blood normally.

Unfortunately, the tamponade worsened, leading to a pericardial effusion (a build-up of fluid around the heart).

On the operating table, back in the cath lab, he suffered a cardiac arrest.

“They had to do a couple of rounds of CPR, and they had to do pericardiocentesis (the removal of fluid from the pericardium with a needle or catheter), which they were successful at.  

“Thank Crickey they did. They got me back in spontaneous rhythm, which was really good.

“One of the nurses came out and told my wife he’s extremely unwell and there’s a real chance he won’t come out of theatre at all.”

As a result, Kevin also had a mild hypoxic brain injury (a lack of oxygen to the brain) due to the cardiac arrest.

Kevin spent three days in ICU, and a total of nine days later he was discharged and spent six weeks recovering before returning to work.

Open heart surgery

Unfortunately, the procedure to address the atrial fibrillation still hadn’t been undertaken and Kevin was still experiencing paroxysmal AF events. 

Kevin’s complex journey had another chapter to be written. In February 2024 he was admitted for open-heart surgery that included the Cox Maze procedure, and closure of the left atrial appendage (a pouch of muscular tissue connected to the left atrium of the heart) to reduce stroke risk, as well as a single vessel bypass.

Although he had full confidence in the medical team and had mentally prepared himself for the surgery, unfortunately after getting prepped for the procedure it was postponed due to other patients needing more urgent care. The delays in having the surgery made the mental and emotional toll even harder.

“That was a really difficult mental week, especially after taking a fair bit of coaxing by my doctor and my family to go across and have another go at surgery, I was very gun-shy about the surgical approach. 

“I was really worried about the mental impact, memory loss and focus and that sort of thing. I work in a business where I need a sharp mind.”

However, a week later the procedure took place and went “like clockwork”, surgeons told Kevin. He had a normal heart rhythm almost immediately and six days later he was sent home to recover.
 

Recovery, lifestyle changes and advice

Kevin returned to work around six weeks after the procedure. Now, more than 18 months later, he has not had a significant recurrence of atrial fibrillation.

The car enthusiast is busier than ever but has made several lifestyle changes.

“I’m doing regular blood pressure checks. I’m in the gym three to four days a week. I’ve lost a good amount of weight because I needed to, but I’ve still got a long way to go.”

Kevin says he is basically alcohol-free (except for a glass or two of red wine periodically) and actively manages his stress.

His advice for others living with atrial fibrillation is clear: become informed, advocate for your health, and make lifestyle changes that could prevent serious complications.

“Do the study. Get your GP to get you to a specialist and have those conversations. Have conversations around what the triggers are. 

“Back in the late 90s when it first happened, if that GP at the time had actually had any understanding of atrial fibrillation and what it possibly could have been, I could have made significant lifestyle changes. At that stage I was pretty hard working and very hard living!

“Listen to what your medical advice you’ve been given. The opportunities, you do the blood tests, talk openly with a GP you can trust, and you educate yourself if you can with trusted information.”