Advanced heart treatment from Beacon care team helps patient feel like himself again

Dolan Maraouche

When Dolan Maraouche was told during a routine colonoscopy that he had an irregular heart rhythm, he was skeptical. After all, he had never noticed any symptoms.

He even joked with his gastroenterologist, saying, “Stick to what you know!”

Still, Dolan followed up with his primary care provider, who referred him to Beacon Medical Group Advanced Cardiovascular Specialists RiverPointe. There, he learned that he had been in Afib — where your heart is beating irregularly — for quite a while.

Finding his rhythm

At first, Dolan underwent cardioversions to treat his heart. Cardiologist Dr. Vijay Mehta performed the procedures, during which an electric shock returns the heart to its normal rhythm. Although each cardioversion procedure helped, Dolan’s Afib would return weeks later.

The experience helped Dolan get a better feel for his heart’s rhythms. “After we started treating it, I would realize when I was in Afib,” he says. He believes now that his heart problem may have started as long as three years before he sought treatment.

Dr. Vijay Mehta

Looking back, it’s clear he was burning the candle at both ends. “I was going 100% at work and 100% at home,” he explains. “I didn’t take Afib too seriously at first. I thought my first cardioversion was a one and done.” He even went straight from the hospital to a New Year’s party after his first procedure.

Along with cardioversions, Dolan tried medications, but most either didn’t agree with him or slowed him down—and as a truck driver, he needed plenty of energy.

A team solution

His care team also included cardiologist and electrophysiologist Dr. Gurudutt Kulkarni, who explains that Beacon has a dedicated team of technicians, nurses and an anesthesiologist who work with the physicians to make procedures successful. “We have an excellent team to take care of complex heart rhythm problems,” he says.

Dr. Kulkarni suggested pulsed field ablation as the next step. “Pulsed field ablation is the most recent technology available to perform ablation for atrial fibrillation,” he says. The procedure has been available at Beacon since the summer of 2024. “Any patient with symptoms of Afib is a good candidate.”

Dr. Gurudutt Kulkarni

A more permanent approach than cardioversion, ablation involves using heat or cold to create tiny scars in the heart. These scars block faulty heart signals, restoring a natural heart rhythm.

He performed two pulsed ablation procedures for Dolan, the second of which was in December 2024.

“So far we’re doing good,” Dolan says. Confident in his Beacon doctors, he appreciated their explanation of his procedures, as well as the excellent pre-and post-procedure care he received from other members of the care team. “They were all knowledgeable and pleasant … I have nothing but praise,” he adds.

That level of personalized care is exactly what Beacon’s cardiac team aims to deliver to patients.

“Recognizing a cardiac condition and providing standard-of-care treatment can help our patients achieve the best possible outcome and quality of life,” Dr. Mehta says.

Dolan’s only concession to his heart trouble is that he has adjusted his work hours and lifestyle a bit. Without Afib symptoms or heart medications, his energy is back. And at his most recent visit with Dr. Kulkarni, his heart was still in rhythm.

“It’s like I’m my old self again.”

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Beacon Heart, Vascular and Stroke care leads the way in local cardiovascular care. Cardiologists, electrophysiologists, heart surgeons, vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, stroke specialists, heart failure and rehabilitation team – they are all here at Beacon, delivering the quality care you have come to expect from us.