He’s got the beat

Junior+Trey+DePriest+is+back+to+practicing+basketball+after+his+recent+heart+surgery.

Shyla Clayton

Junior Trey DePriest is back to practicing basketball after his recent heart surgery.

Shyla Clayton

After three years of heart problems and constant visits, doctors found out Trey Depriest had SVT, a heart condition that can result in heart rates in excess of 300 beats per minute. Although a fairly common problem, surgery is often necessary to prevent further complications.

Following his doctor’s recommendation, he underwent surgery recently. After surgery doctors now believe that Trey’s heart is healthy and it will beat normally. Trey can now enjoy normal activities he wasn’t able to enjoy before, like participating in sports and chugging his favorite energy drinks.

“I can finally drink energy drinks,” Trey DePriest said only days after having cardiac ablation heart surgery.

“I wasn’t scared, considering I was going to sleep the whole time. I was just excited that I was able to catch up on my sleep after the first week of school.” 

During the procedure the doctors went in through the groin to find the main veins that lead to the heart. They then blew up the veins and stuck catheters and wires in the veins. This was to graph his heart out to find all the electrical pulses.

“They had to trigger my electrical pulses and make my heart do what it’s not suppose to do to figure out how many there were and where they were at. The doctors originally thought I had one extra electrical pulse but when they triggered my electrical pulses they found out I had two extra electrical pulses.”

Then the doctors went in through Trey’s neck and found the extra electrical pulses and used heat to stop the cause of the extra pulses. After this surgery Trey’s heart should be normal with no more complications. Doctors will know more when the veins go back to normal size and the insertion points stop hurting. Their only main concern is how Trey’s heart will handle things now that is will beat regularly at all times.

“I never really processed what I truly had and how big of a deal it was until after surgery,” Trey said, ”Now we just have to hope and pray that more problems don’t arise since my heart is completely different to what was.”

I was just excited that I was able to catch up on my sleep after the first week of school.

— Trey DePriest