Ab Freig, of Winnipeg, has a long history with Manitoba’s Cardiac Centre of Excellence at St. Boniface Hospital.
October 27, 2025
Life has given Ab Freig, of Winnipeg, several reasons to be discouraged. But that’s just not who he is.
Freig experienced a Code Blue – cardiac arrest more than 15 years ago. St. Boniface Hospital saved his life then. He has struggled more recently with atrial fibrillation (AFib), the most common form of abnormal heart rhythm. Through it all, Freig has never lost faith in the level of cardiac care that Manitoba’s Cardiac Centre of Excellence at St. B provides. Quite the opposite, in fact.
“Every time I’ve had a procedure at St. Boniface Hospital, I’ve never had any fear or worries about the clinical environment, or my treatment by staff or doctors. I’ve been treated with 100 per cent regard, care, and attention,” said Freig.
“With donor support, new and innovative procedures will soon be possible at St. B.”
That’s not to suggest he hasn’t faced any serious health issues. “I was driving home from the squash club in 2007 when I had a cardiac arrest in my car,” he remembered. “I swerved, struck a tree, and came to a stop. Thankfully, passers-by called 911 and I was rushed to St. B, where I would stay for two months. I was in a coma for quite some time.”
Freig’s cardiac arrest was caused by a rare congenital heart defect called ALCAPA, or anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery. He had bypass surgery to correct the ALCAPA, and had a pacemaker installed.
Visits to EP Lab gave mixed results
A few years ago, Freig started to suspect that his heart was not beating properly, as it should. “I went to St. B, had it checked, and my physician diagnosed me with AFib, characterized by periods of rapid and irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia,” he said. He wasn’t alone – AFib affects about a quarter of the population in their lifetimes.
“My cardiologist at the time and I tried a few antiarrhythmic medications, but they didn’t work for me. Then, I had a cardioversion, which is a shock treatment, given under sedation, to restore a regular heart rhythm. It worked but didn’t last for long.”
Then, Freig went to the Electrophysiology (EP) Lab in the Bergen Cardiac Care Centre at the Hospital for his first of two ablations. An ablation treats AFib surgically by using energy (either burning or freezing) to destroy small areas of heart tissue responsible for the abnormal rhythm.
Ever the optimist, he characterized his condition simply as a problem to be solved. “I was confident in the physician who would perform my ablation. I had no fear, even considering the risks of the procedure. With my confidence in the Hospital, I had no issues. I didn’t have much of a worry,” he said.
Earlier this year, he noticed his heartbeat had gone back to arrhythmia. He went this spring to St. Boniface Hospital’s Emergency Department for another cardioversion shock treatment. “Only a few hours later, that same evening, I went from a normal sinus rhythm back to an atrial flutter.”
“It sounds like I will have another ablation in my future – my third and hopefully final one. The redevelopment of the EP Lab, where it will be performed, can’t happen soon enough if you ask me.”
As a former member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, Freig has seen the lab with his own eyes, and was briefed on the expansion project. “The space is too tight. There’s no place for the physicians, nurses, or anybody to move around in there. Kudos to them, working in such a tight space for as long as they have, seeing almost 2,000 patient visits annually,” he noted.
“With donor support, new and innovative procedures will soon be possible,” he added. “For example, leading-edge technology doctors have told me about called pulse field ablation. When introduced at St. B as part of the EP Lab redevelopment, pulse field will make ablations much quicker and even more precise than what physicians can do there today.”