(Bismarck, ND) — A North Dakota woman is the first to receive a surgically installed defibrillator. Doctor Colby Halsey at Sanford Bismarck trained for months out of state to perform the surgery on Carolyn Freer. Doctors diagnosed her with Brugada Syndrome, which causes her sodium channels to behave abnormally and can lead to sudden cardiac events. Until Freer was diagnosed, no one knew a woman could have the disease. Until the surgery, Freer had to wear a vest with an external defibrillator.
