Heart surgeon has strong liver

A strong liver and bladder could be what gives Dr Razeen Gopal the edge when he touches people's hearts - literally.

Gopal is among the country's foremost cardiologists, credited with being the first in Africa to use the latest version of cryoballoon ablation technology to treat atrial fibrillation.

Though a common heart-rhythm defect, atrial fibrillation is potentially lethal. It involves "chaotic heartbeats" of 150 to 200 beats per minute instead of the normal 60 to 90.

Eighteen months after performing the first successful procedure at Mediclinic in Panorama, Cape Town, Gopal has saved the lives of dozens of people.

"They say electrophysiologists normally have strong livers and strong bladders. Strong livers because we don't sometimes eat for eight to nine hours during a procedure and strong bladders because we stand on one spot for nine hours without taking a piddle," joked Gopal.

The procedure involves inserting a tiny balloon in the left heart chamber to "obliterate just the right amount of heart tissue to block defective electrical sparks".

Sarah Sallie, 16, said her heart had raced uncontrollably. At times she would lie down for hours waiting for it to return to normal. When she was 11, she was rushed to hospital close to cardiac arrest. Diagnosed with a heart rhythm defect called ventricular tachycardia, she was told to stop sports.

"I was shocked that people were so worried [by my condition] because I was used to it," she said.

It took three procedures, lots of medication and great care, but today she is a busy teenager. Her touch rugby team recently finished second in a national competition.