Latu

Arrhythmia

Atrial fibrillation

Ready to take on the world again after an ablation

Latu, a proud Samoan living in Porirua, Wellington, has always led an active life, playing sports and helping others on their fitness journeys. In his 50s, heart problems were the last thing he expected, but a sudden onset of heart fluttering and dizzy spells led to a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF). Latu received an ablation and, since then, has been back doing what he loves.

Growing up, family history

Growing up in Porirua, Latu was always active. From swimming and consistently going to the gym, the secondary school teacher ensured that keeping fit was always on his radar.

While at the gym, he said he was approached by an instructor and invited to the Les Mills programme in Wellington to become an instructor.

“I started to exercise at the gym, learn the instructions, and because I'm a teacher I was easy to instruct,” he says. “I fell in love with exercise, and I really love to serve. It was my way of giving back to the community.”

Heart health was never really a concern, he said.

“I’m known as the fitness person, not only in Porirua, but in my family. They all thought nothing would happen to him; he's the fittest and the slimmest of all of us.”

“My father had angina and he passed away from a stroke when he was only 63 years old. It didn’t occur to me that it could also affect us in the future.”

First atrial event

Three years ago, it was during his aerobic classes that Latu had his first episode.

“I started to have these palpitations, and I remember clearly in my CrossFit class that afterwards I collapsed to the ground, thinking, gosh, that was hard.

“I got up, and the rapid heart rate was still there, and I got into the car, thinking, it’ll go soon. It was still there, and I found myself sweating.”

Latu then drove home and called his daughter to see if she could pick him up if necessary. He said it didn’t cross his mind to call an ambulance.

“I just feel wheezy, and I haven't stopped. I feel like I'm still running in class. I got home, and it died down, and I thought nothing of it.”

Another AF event in the classroom

Latu had his next event while teaching at school, a couple of weeks after his previous episode.

“I was telling off one of the boys, and I walked to him and said, ‘Now listen here, you say sorry to the teacher’.

“And then I said, ‘Oh my goodness’. My heart rate increased rapidly from calm to feeling like I was losing breath.

“The student said, ‘Are you alright, Latu?’. I went, ‘No, I'm actually not alright’.”

Again, calling an ambulance didn’t occur to Latu, but he was concerned enough to book a doctor’s appointment for later that day.

Latu had an ECG during this appointment, and an ambulance was called “just to be safe”. He was then taken to Wellington Hospital.

“I rang the kids, and they were in shock. They met me at the hospital that first time, and I was in shock too, because I wasn't sure what was going on.”

During this visit, Latu said everything calmed down, and all the tests returned relatively normal.

“They never labelled it as atrial fibrillation. I think they were waiting for other episodes to happen, which they did."

Latu says from then on something would happen every few weeks, progressively worsening. “I had about six episodes from that point.”

Getting a diagnosis

Latu’s sixth event occurred at work, in the presence of a doctor, and he said this led to getting a diagnosis.

He was walking up the stairs with a doctor and realised something wasn’t right again. They went into her office, did a quick ECG, and made the call for an ambulance.

“So, they called the ambulance, and at that point, I was in the state. I was still dizzy, I couldn't go to the toilet, and talking to people was a headache when I heard voices, even the voices were vibrating."

After waiting for over an hour, a youth worker, noticing his state, offered to take Latu to Wellington Hospital as she was on her way already. He then went straight into an A&E bed and was wired up.

“They came in and said, ‘We’re going to do a procedure. What happens is that if this doesn't work, we're going to take you into operating, but we'll try this’.”

Latu was then instructed to do the modified Valsalva manoeuvre, lifting his legs and lowering them slowly while simultaneously blowing into a tube. This resulted in Latu’s heart returning to sinus rhythm.

“I calmed right down after that to normal, but my resting heart rate was at 40, and it was going lower into their 30s. That was concerning them, too. From that, they did make the decision to look at atrial fibrillation.”

Over the following week, Latu spoke to a cardiologist and was recommended an electrical cardioversion to return his heart to a normal rhythm.

Life after ablation

An electrical cardioversion is a procedure where a defibrillator shocks the heart back to its normal rhythm.

“They said it's irregular and we will do a cardioversion that will shock you, and hopefully it'll come right.”

“So come to that date of the cardioversion, I was all nervous, and then I went in, and then they said, ‘Oh we just did an ECG, and you're looking really good. We've decided to do an ablation instead, and that will be a date set for the future’.”

Latu then had an ablation, which was successful, and hasn’t had any more instances of atrial fibrillation since. Latu says he has since increased his exercise and is the fittest he has been in a long time.

“I do a bit of swimming, CrossFit and I play indoor netball and basketball.”

“It's almost like my cup is full again, even overflowing. I'm ready to take on the world."

Latu’s advice for others

“I think the message is have regular checks, I try to have regular checks with the doctors around aches and pains.”

“The only barrier for checking in with the doctors, and I think for Pacific people, is the cost of the fear of going to a doctor. I think that is universal for men.”

Latu also says opening up to family members and being unafraid to have these health discussions is essential.

“I'd encourage men to talk more in men's groups, or talk to their wives about their conditions, no matter how small or big. When things happen and you feel it, but you don't think you should go to the ambulance – that’s something I missed in my episodes. I had about three or four times I wouldn't ring the ambulance. I'd go, oh, maybe I'll wait till later. If in doubt, call the ambulance.”

Atrial fibrillation can come and go, so it’s sometimes missed on an ECG. Calling an ambulance right away makes it more likely the irregular heartbeat will be recorded and diagnosed, so treatment can start sooner.

“Time is short. You'd never think things like that would happen to you, especially when you're eating well and exercising. You look at your neighbours or even your siblings and think you guys need to look after yourself. And then they turn around and go, ‘What’s happened to you? We're the unhealthy ones’.”

“You just have to take each day and moment as it comes and try not to get yourself to a point of stress. Some solutions are exercising, doing something for yourself, and being with your friends who love you. Love people. Make things right with people. Those are essential things that I like to share.”