Man shares his heart’s story, raises awareness for AFIB
Houston - A young man shares his journey with atrial fibrillation during this awareness month. Franklin Aribeana tried everything from medications to shocking his heart back into normal rhythm, but finally, a surgical procedure got him back in sync.
Now, he’s sharing important information for the twelve million people expected to be diagnosed with it by the decade’s end.
Franklin is a bodybuilder who knows all too well how to pump it up in the gym, but he has spent years trying to get his heart to pump just right. His first heart scare happened at a golf course when he was only 18 years old.
"I took a sip of cold water, and the next thing you know, literally palpitations out of my chest. They took off my shirt, and you could see my heart literally pounding out of my chest, and then I passed out. I didn’t know what was happening; that was the last thing I remembered. When I came to, I was in the hospital with a bunch of wires hooked up to me for heart monitoring. My parents were there obviously mortified, but I had no idea what was going on," explains Franklin.
Several days later, in the hospital, Franklin was diagnosed with the most common heart arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation.
"It’s a glitch in the heart’s electrical system when our natural pulse generator does not function well. Other spots in the top chamber fire irregular and non-synchronized electrical signals. So, the top chamber starts to quiver," explains Dr. Khashayar Hematpour.
Franklin was relieved to find Dr. Hematpour with UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann. Before that, though, he was living out of state and playing soccer in college earlier in life, dealing with major medical drama and 15 hospitalizations. Under anesthesia, He relied on four medications and cardioversions to keep his AFib under control.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX 26 NEWS APP
"They shock you, which essentially it’s the if you remember the shows with the paddles, it’s a little bit more advanced. So, it goes through these two nodes, shocks it back into sinus rhythm," explains Franklin.
Franklin has had his heart shocked more than 25 times but refused to let it slow him down, still competing in bodybuilding championships. Doctors figured out what sparked it all in the first place.
Franklin and his sister inherited a mutated gene from their dad that causes AFib.
"He has this condition called RBM20 genetic mutation, which may sound new to our viewers. This genetic mutation happens in one in 2,500 people and leads to dilated cardiomyopathy," says Dr. Hematpour.
Many people have mild symptoms of AFib or don’t even realize they have it, but that genetic mutation led Frankin to suffer a more aggressive form with severe symptoms.
SUGGESTED: Humble teacher, cancer fighter touts new state law to help patients
Exhausted with other treatments, he underwent an ablation at Memorial Hermann in the Texas Medical Center last year to surgically repair the problem.
"We deliver electromagnetic energy or freeze those little pathways that are causing the erratic and irregular signals," explains Dr. Hematpour.
It worked! The procedure was almost a year ago, and Franklin hasn’t had to endure another episode.
SUGGESTED: Young college grad trapped in her body with Guillain-Barré syndrome
His doctor is more than impressed with his patient.
"Franklin is a phenomenal individual! He’s got a lot of drive! He was very much on top of his treatment," says Dr. Hematpour.
Franklin wants to ensure everyone knows about the symptoms and seeks treatment quickly.
"I would say that in a case where you see something and somebody feels off, definitely get it looked into because it could save your life," encourages Franklin.
Now that he’s feeling better and not going to the hospital so often, he can concentrate more on his career and other matters of his heart, like his fiancé, Nina.
SUGGESTED: Houston boy learning to thrive with SMA after major surgery
When they discuss their possible future family, they certainly keep this genetic mutation in mind. "It’s an expensive process if you have a child where you don’t want to pass on a congenital heart defect. I know they have IVF, which I think they told me the last time I checked, is $15,000 for every potential pregnancy. So, for me, it would be very expensive to find out if they had the gene mutation, but it is something that I’m very much willing to do because I know that I’m strong, and I got through this, but as they say, mutations tend to intensify as it goes down the family tree. So ideally, I’d like to prevent that if I can," explains Franklin.
Dr. Hematpour says the majority of AFIB patients are over the age of 65, but it obviously can happen earlier in life.
Former Houston Texans great JJ Watt was diagnosed with AFib last year. When not caused by genetics, everything from high blood pressure to sleep apnea, certain medications, alcohol, drugs, and smoking can cause it.