Dolores Catania Reveals Scary Surgery That She Was ‘Too Young’ To Have

In an emotional Instagram submit over the weekend, the 54-year-old actuality star revealed she was just lately recognized with atrial fibrillation (AFib), a sort of irregular heartbeat that may considerably enhance the danger of stroke or coronary heart assault.

Dolores Catania, who has saved the situation personal till now, shared video footage of her boyfriend, Paulie Connell, driving her to the hospital final month for a cardiac ablation, a process that destroys small areas of coronary heart tissue accountable for the irregular rhythm.

“We’re going to get my process performed,” she advised followers within the clip, including with a smile, “It’s a cardiac ablation for my AFib. I do know, I’m too younger to have this.”

As they approached the hospital entrance, Connell requested if she had any final phrases. “Love you,” she sweetly replied.

The “Actual Housewives of New Jersey” star additionally shared post-op pictures from her hospital mattress, together with a snap together with her electrophysiologist, whom she jokingly dubbed her “different electrician.”

However behind the lighthearted moments was a really actual and really critical well being journey.

“About six months in the past, I used to be driving after I abruptly felt a pointy ache in my chest that radiated down my arm,” she wrote in her caption. “As ladies, we are likely to ignore aches and pains, brushing them off as a part of on a regular basis life, however this felt completely different.”

She started experiencing chest flutters that will even wake her up at evening. After lastly in search of medical assist, she was given a coronary heart monitor, and simply hours later, her heart specialist confirmed the AFib analysis and referred her to a specialist.

“He advised me, ‘You’re not the identical lady I met two years in the past if you got here right here with Paul,’” Catania shared, referencing Connell’s personal cardiac situation, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which additionally required ablation.

Catania’s message was loud and clear. Don’t ignore your signs.

“That racing or fluttering in your chest you are feeling doing easy duties in the course of the day, that’s your physique making an attempt to let you know one thing,” she emphasised. “AFib will increase your danger of stroke or coronary heart assault.”

Now, six weeks post-surgery, Catania says she’s feeling like herself once more. “I’ll be off all treatment quickly, and I haven’t had any episodes for the reason that process,” she stated. “Please don’t wait. Your coronary heart well being shouldn’t be one thing to take calmly.”

She ended her submit with a passionate reminder. “Care for your self. You deserve it!!” she stated, including a pink coronary heart emoji.

Cardiac ablation is a broadly used therapy for sufferers affected by arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats.

In keeping with the Mayo Clinic, the process works by concentrating on the areas of the center accountable for sending defective electrical alerts and both burning or freezing them to create tiny scars. These scars disrupt the problematic pathways, serving to to revive a traditional coronary heart rhythm.