May 29, 2012 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
Mardy Fish has undergone a medical procedure called cardiac catheter ablation to deal with a heart condition. The procedure was to deal with misfiring electrical pulses in his heart, he told USA Today. He is now recovering at his home in Los Angeles. This is the first time Fish has spoken about the medical condition that has kept him away from the ATP World Tour. The condition started affecting Fish in February, as Fish has not played since late March, citing "fatigue" as his reasoning from withdrawing from the French Open and other tournaments. He kept the condition quiet until he could better understand it himself.
"It has been so scary," Fish said. "During days, I’m totally fine. I can track it and work out fine. But every time I would go to bed, my mind would start racing. Is this going to happen tonight? Is this going to be another night like that? It was super hard to go to sleep."
The misfiring of electrical pulses would cause Fish to awake in the middle of the night with extreme palpitations. Doctors described it as a form of arrhythmia. Fish does not have to wait long to resume light training. He can start this week and he hopes to play at Wimbledon in late June.
