MOVE over ‘Dr Dreamy’ and ‘Dr McSteamy’ as we introduce Durban’s Dr Brian Vezi, KwaZulu-Natal’s only electrophysiologist, who is serious about treating heart palpitations rather than inducing them.
Extensive knowledge and expertise have earned Dr Vezi, who is also a leading cardiologist at the Ethekwini Hospital & Heart Centre, the prestigious title. He is the only doctor in KZN who can perform a procedure known as cyroablation (CA).
The charismatic doctor recently celebrated a milestone as he performed his 50th procedure. The relatively new and extensive procedure is used to treat atrial fibrillation (AF).
AF is an irregular heart rhythm that affects the upper chambers of the heart. According to Dr Vezi, AF is a relatively common condition that affects ten to 15 per cent of elderly people aged 80 and older.
The condition generally presents itself with a host of symptoms including fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations, chest discomfort, and fainting. “Unfortunately these are common symptoms that people experience every day, and often ignore. In many cases the condition is left undiagnosed and untreated. An electrocardiogram (ECG) test is the only way to diagnosed the condition,” he said.
The danger with the irregular heartbeats, explained Dr Vezi, is that it is similar to running the Comrades Marathon every day. “In many cases the heart continuously beats fast, while some experience sporadic heart palpitations. Eventually your heart is going to take strain and the patient can suffer heart failure,” he said.
What’s more, the erratic heartbeats also prevent blood from being pumped effectively. The blood in your veins is thus stagnant, and stagnant blood forms clots. “The clots are dangerous as they not only block the flow of blood, but can also become dislodged and move to the brain, causing a stroke,” said Vezi.
The CA procedure, which can be performed to cure the AF condition, requires the patients to be sedated with a general anaesthetic while the physician makes a small incision in the groin area to access the femoral artery. A specialised catheter is inserted into the incision and traced along the vein to the left atrium (or heart chamber) where ‘rogue’ cells, which cause the palpitations, are cauterised.
Doctors have identified three causes of the ‘rogue’ or ‘bad’ cells in the heart: excessive exercise, a genetic predisposition and being born with an abnormal heart.
According to Dr Vezi, it is extremely time-consuming to specialise in his field, but his passion to effectively cure patients serves as a motivation. “As a cardiologist I treat a lot of patients who will never truly be cured. “Their conditions can be managed with pills and additional treatment, but AF can be cured with a minimally invasive procedure. That is rewarding in itself,” he said.
