Fixing an irregular heartbeat

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in this country, but there's another heart problem that's affecting many here in the Wabash Valley.

Heart arrhythmia, or an irregular heart beat, can occur in people who do not have underlying heart disease, like Matt Ames, of Clay City.

Ames is only 38 years old. He is young, fit and has no history of heart problems.

"It felt like my heart was ready to jump out of my chest is what it felt like," Ames said.

Ames suffered from an irregular heartbeat. Dr. Alfonso Estrado at AP&S Clinic in Terre Haute was able to fix the short circuit in Ames' heart patient procedure, using local anesthesia.

"We will introduce a catheter the tip of which we can heat. Using radio frequency current. And at the point of short circuit we literally burn an area inside the heat. So then that short circuit is not able to complete itself," Estrado said.