Fern Bouchard

“Something magical happened”

The BMC Electrophysiology Lab treats patients with a wide variety of arrhythmias, including supraventricular tachycardia, atrial flutter and fibrillation, and ventricular tachycardia. One of those patients is Fern Bouchard, who suffered for years with heart palpitations that led to frequent trips to the Emergency Department. “It felt like a heart attack,” she said. “The palpitations just couldn’t be controlled.”

Her cardiologist, Georgianne Valli-Harwood, MD, referred Mrs. Bouchard to a BMC electrophysiologist. “The doctor told me he could fix this,” she said.

Mrs. Bouchard underwent catheter ablation while sedated, but awake enough to be aware of what was happening. “The doctor talked with me throughout the entire procedure, and I was very impressed with everyone who was there,” she said. “I felt very safe. Once he had found what he was looking for, something magical happened, I guess, because I haven’t had any episodes since!”