Mercy Cardiologist Dr. Tomas Ayala Addresses Atrial Fibrillation - "AFIB" - In Women

In 2004, Susie Milburn from Hurlock said she noticed something felt off after back surgery.

"I felt my heart pounding, racing. I could hear it. I couldn’t get comfortable. I could hear this throbbing in my head," Milburn said.

That’s when Milburn started seeing Tomas H. Ayala, M.D., FACC, a general cardiologist who sees patients at The Heart Center at Reisterstown, a satellite location of The Heart Center at Mercy.

She was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation or “AFIB.”

"I like to think of it as an electrical storm. There’s a chaotic electrical activity in the top chambers of the heart that makes the heart go fast and beat irregularly," Dr. Ayala said.

AFIB can lead to bigger problems.

"AFIB is more deadly for women, unfortunately. The biggest risk with AFIB is that it presents an increased risk of stroke, and that is particularly true for women," Dr. Ayala said.

Melburn was prescribed medication, but even following doctor’s orders, the AFIB kept coming back and causing more symptoms.

"I’d just wake up and I’d be short of breath, and my heart would be racing. I’d be dizzy, you know, what is it?" Milburn said.

Ayala recommended an ablation, which is a procedure that targets trigger spots and destroys them to restore a normal heart rhythm. Milburn had that done at the end of 2019.

She said the condition has improved and she’s optimistic about her future, but she’s glad she was in tune with her body.

"I’m a nurse, so from a nurse’s point of view, I really encourage people to have regular checkups because that’s when he found it," Milburn said.

According to Dr. Ayala, the biggest risk factor for AFIB is age, along with high blood pressure and diabetes. Other triggers include alcohol, thyroid abnormalities and respiratory diseases.

View Mercy cardiologist Dr. Tomas Ayala’s interview about atrial fibrillation, or AFIB, click here.