From AFib to Fitness Buff: Building a Healthier Heart

Like many people stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, Huerta (44), a payroll manager from Maywood, California, started eating more. She started drinking more. She started moving less. She was stressed out, gaining weight and—before she knew it—experiencing heart palpitations and feeling breathless for no apparent reason.

“I was tired all of the time,” said Huerta. “But I assumed those symptoms were a result of my unhealthy lifestyle choices and increased stress.”

She began an exercise program at a neighborhood fitness studio, but her symptoms didn’t improve. Eventually, the heart palpitations caused such severe shortness of breath and overwhelming fatigue that Huerta’s primary care physician sent her to cardiologist Raj Khandwalla, MD, director of Digital Therapeutics at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai.

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After blood tests, a cardiac stress test and an echocardiogram to check the structure and function of her heart, Khandwalla diagnosed Huerta with atrial fibrillation (AFib), despite her being two decades younger than the average patient.

“Although atrial fibrillation is a very common condition, it’s rare that a patient in their 40s develops it,” said Khandwalla. “However, we learned that she had a family history of the condition, which explained her early onset.”

Huerta stepped up her commitment to lifestyle changes in an attempt to manage her new diagnosis. She stopped drinking alcohol altogether. She was eating better, exercising regularly and seeing the pounds drop off the more she picked up her weights.

I had an opportunity to continue the amazing transformation my body was on and undergo a one-time procedure that would keep me medication-free.

Despite this progress, Huerta still suffered from symptoms and remained at increased risk for stroke.

This left her with two choices: take blood thinner and powerful antiarrhythmic medications for the rest of her life, or undergo catheter ablation in an attempt to stop the AFib.

Laying the Groundwork for a Better Life

“With an ablation procedure, there’s no cutting into the body—it’s all minimally invasive,” said cardiac electrophysiologist Ashkan Ehdaie, MD, associate professor of Cardiology and associate director of the Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship Training Program at Cedars-Sinai. “Patients can usually go home the same day and may eventually stop their AFib medications. However, a healthy lifestyle is also important to prevent the condition in the long haul.”

After meeting, Huerta knew it was the route she wanted to take.

“I had an opportunity to continue the amazing transformation my body was on and undergo a one-time procedure that would keep me medication-free,” said Huerta. “The decision was easy.”

Known as “electricians of the heart,” electrophysiologists like Ehdaie perform catheter ablation procedures to restore the heart to normal rhythm. During the procedure, electrophysiologists use specialized tools to treat specific areas of the heart to eliminate abnormal electrical impulses. For AFib, these are areas that may trigger and promote AFib.

Huerta underwent the procedure in November 2021 with no complications.

Just one month after the procedure, she was back at work and the gym, but with a new goal in mind: competing in her first muscle- and bodybuilding competition, without supplements or muscle enhancers.

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Huerta walked away winning both a first and second place medal.  

“It was the most amazing moment,” said Huerta. “Everything I had worked so hard for came full circle.”  

For Khandwalla and Ehdaie, Huerta’s journey was an inspiration to watch firsthand.  

“My job was the easy part—her end of the bargain was much, much more challenging,” said Ehdaie. “Her eyes were set on transforming her life and competing as a fitness model, and she achieved it all.”