The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dolores Catania shared positive health news after recently undergoing a heart procedure.
The Traitors alum, 54, first revealed in May that she’d been diagnosed with the heart condition Atrial Fibrillation (a.k.a. Afib) and would need a cardiac ablation procedure. According to the Mayo Clinic, Afib is caused by “an irregular and often very rapid heart rhythm” that can be treated with an ablation surgery that blocks the mixed signals caused by the condition.
On Friday (June 20), Dolores posted a vlog via Instagram where she walked viewers through her recent surgery and recovery. She also enlisted her cardiologist, Dr. Robert Altman, to encourage her followers to take heart health seriously.
Dolores explained that her symptoms began “about six months ago” and, while she initially tried ignoring them, they soon became more frequent.
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“I was driving when I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my chest that radiated down my arm,” she remembered. “As women, we tend to ignore aches and pains, brushing them off as part of everyday life- but this felt different.”
The RHONJ star continued, “After that, I started experiencing frequent flutters in my chest, sometimes waking me up at night. Eventually, I got scared enough to call my cardiologist. He gave me a heart monitor to wear, and within hours, he called to tell me I had AFib (atrial fibrillation). He referred me to an electrophysiologist, who confirmed the diagnosis.”
Dolores was actually familiar with the ablation procedure because her boyfriend, Paul “Paulie” Connell, had one when he was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome. (The Mayo Clinic defines WPW syndrome as a “congenital heart defect” that “causes a fast heartbeat” and can lead to “serious heart problems.”)
“I’m sharing this because I want you to listen to your body,” Dolores encouraged her followers. “That racing or fluttering in your chest you feel doing simple tasks during the day- that’s your body trying to tell you something. DON’T IGNORE THIS. AFib increases your risk of stroke or heart attack.”
She concluded, “I’m not 6 weeks out and back to myself! I’ll be off all medication soon, and I haven’t had any episodes since the procedure. Please don’t wait. Your heart health is not something to take lightly. If you need recommendations for doctors, I was truly in the best of hands. Take care of yourself you deserve it!”
Earlier this month, Dolores opened up about her weight loss journey during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live. The Real Housewives of New Jersey cast member explained that she’d been struggling even while taking weight loss medication Mounjaro.
“I’m having a really hard time right now. My Mounjaro stopped working, I gained 20 pounds,” she explained “I’ve been looking for therapy for all my friends. I’m really having a bad time with this.”
Dolores confirmed she had to stop taking Mounjaro while getting ready for her heart surgery and, thus, hoped that she’d have more success now that the ablation was behind her.
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Meanwhile, Us Weekly exclusively reported that Dolores could appear on Bravo’s upcoming Real Housewives of Rhode Island while the network is reworking RHONJ. Bravo announced its latest Real Housewives franchise earlier this year, with Andy Cohen even hinting that the franchise could recapture the spirit of early RHONJ.
“Dolores may be appearing on The Real Housewives of Rhode Island, but not necessarily in a friend or full-time capacity,” the insider revealed to Us. “She has authentic roots there, and the idea is she would set a tone but not as an official cast member.”
Cohen was noncommittal about Dolores appearing on RHORI when Us chatted with him at Hoda Kotb’s Joy 101 red carpet in May.
“You know what, we haven’t even started shooting yet,” Cohen, 56, told Us.
All previous seasons of The Real Housewives of New Jersey are available to stream on Peacock.
