Page 10 - Abacoa Community News - September '22

Page 10, Abacoa
Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center

Focus On Atrial Fibrillation

September is National Atrial The heart has groups of specialized cells that generate Patients with suspected or proven AFib need a full
Fibrillation (AFib) awareness electrical impulses which travel through natural pathways history and physical exam. An electrocardiogram should
month, which is an important from the top chambers to the bottom chambers of the be done to confirm the diagnosis. There are devices like
time to emphasize the importance heart (from the atria to the ventricles). These impulses Holter monitors and event recorders that are worn by the
of detecting and treating AFib. make the heart contract and pump blood efficiently. In patient and monitor the heart during days or weeks. All
AFib, is a type of arrhythmia AFib there are changes in the structure of the atria that patients with AFib should have an echocardiogram done
(irregular heartbeat) which result in abnormal electrical firing creating uncoordinated by a cardiologist to detect any underlying heart disease.
causes numerous debilitating and ineffective atrial contractions. Blood can pool in the Blood thinners are indicated if the risk for stroke is
symptoms. Symptoms of AFib range from fatigue, chest atria forming clots that if dislodged can travel to the brain significant.
palpitations or pounding, chest pain or pressure, difficulty causing a stroke. The heartbeat in AFib becomes irregular Treatment options depend on how long, often, and
breathing, dizziness, or fainting. Unfortunately, some and can result in very fast or slow heart rates due to this severe the AFib episodes occur. Treatments range from the
patients are found to have AFib only after having a abnormal electrical activation. use of medications, noninvasive procedures (cardioversion
stroke. Some people with AFib feel no symptoms at all. As an electrophysiologist on the medical staff of and catheter ablation), to hybrid procedures where cardiac
Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center offers a variety of Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, Dr. Matthew surgeons and electrophysiologists work together to get
minimally invasive treatment options for AFib, and is on Klein encourages patients to seek medical attention the patient back into a normal heart rhythm.
the forefront of procedure options for this potentially life- immediately if they are experiencing AFib symptoms, AFib treatment options offered at Palm Beach Gardens
threatening condition. Leaving persistent AFib untreated and says, “Knowing if a person has AFib is important. Medical Center include:
can lead to blood clots, stroke and heart failure, as well It is associated with a fivefold increased risk of having • Atrial fibrillation ablation
as other heart-related complications. a stroke, a threefold risk of developing heart failure and • Convergent procedure
a twofold risk of both dementia and mortality. AFib • Laproscopic atrial fibrillation surgery
strokes are likely to be more severe than non-AFib related
• Watchman
Why Some strokes.” opportunity to treat patients that have AFib. Treating AFib
Dr. Klein concludes, “We have a unique and great
Conditions that predispose patients to develop AFib

People Cannot include: Age over 60, coronary artery disease, heart successfully improves quality of life, reduces mortality,
and decreases the potential for developing strokes and
failure, high blood pressure, heart valve disease, prior
other cardiac conditions.”
heart surgery, sleep apnea, hyperthyroidism, diabetes,
See The Good In and alcohol abuse.

Their Lives

The 19th century Rabbi,
Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter,
offers an astonishing
insight into the mysteries
of the human psyche in his
commentary on the prelude to
the romantic meeting between
Jacob and Rachel. On his
escape from his brother, Esau,
Jacob stopped by the local
well, and to his dismay he sees
the local shepherds standing
idly instead of watering their flock. When he asked the
reason for their bizarre behavior, they pointed at a big
stone covering the well. They couldn’t move the stone
until more shepherds arrived, they told him. Despite their
claim, Jacob tried and ultimately succeeded in removing
the huge rock all by himself.
Rabbi Alter reads the story metaphorically. The
concept of a well, a source of life in the midst of
a barren field, exists in all aspects of the universe.
Everything and everyone contains a life-giving
element that sustains it. Even that which appears to be BUILDING LIFE’S CHAMPIONS
as deserted as a field has such a hidden place, a well,
within it.
As for humans, the well represents the source of imagine collaborative personalized insightful creative learning
what enables life and makes it worth living. The boulder
symbolizes what obscures our vision and obstructs our
access to the spring of life. Life is God’s most cherished
gift to which we must show eternal gratitude, but too often
the stone muddles our reality and instead of life, we feel
despair. While the shepherds succumbed to the boulder,
Jacob used his mental and physical strength to overcome
the obstacle.
So often we are like the shepherds. We stand at the
mouth of the well, knowing what’s inside and how much
we can benefit from it, but we perceive the stone to be
too heavy for us to lift and keep waiting for the right time
(that may never arrive).
The stone is the negative emotions we harbor. It is our
anger at life that didn’t unfold the way we envisioned it in
our youth; it is our disappointment with our children who
failed to provide us the future we always dreamed of; it is
our fury at friends who didn’t live up to our lofty standards
of loyalty and support or our envy of their success, and the
rock is blaming God for allowing the world to be so far LEARN MORE
removed from perfection.
The High Holy Days give us the opportunity to identify
the forces that pull the stone down and make it unmovable,
and when we muster the strength to begin to move the Scan to view
Website
stone, God, just like He did for Jacob, will push it with
us, until the lifegiving water of the well is fully exposed A Catholic College Preparatory High School
and we are able to quench our spiritual thirst. cardinalnewman.com
Rabbi Alon Levkovitz, West Palm Beach, FL
Temple Beth Am 561-683-6266