I have 17,000 pvcs.

[arlene3402]

The cardiologist told me that 20,000 pvcs is the magic number.  That is when the insurance company will pay for an ablation.  He did say that pvcs could cause heart damage.

[2210485]

The magic number should,be a percentage of total heartbeats, not a gross count of PVC's

Unfortunately I can't offer too much here. I am not sure how insurance works for you.

The burden can be brought down with medicine, but at 17,000 ablation would be most effective.

Damage to the heart occurs over a long period of time fortunately. Medicines can be attempted in the meanwhile and there should be plenty of time to do so, depending on the results of your other tests.

I wouldn't go off making your last will and testament just yet! This isn't a cancer diagnosis or anything, there are alot of ways to manage this!

If you heart actually starts showing signs of damage your insurance will pay and if they still refuse most practices have alternative means of ensuring patients get the care they need regardless of the funds! So don't sweat it! They won't just let you die because you don't have money, we don't do that in this field.

I've personally seen cardiologists get together and pitch in out of pocket to ensure a patient gets the most effective treatment. They told the hospital to either accept their terms or have fun functioning without a heart care team for a few months. The doctors won.

Still; I'm sorry your insurance system is crummy! I would trust your electrophysiologist and let him try what he needs to try. At the end of the day there are some underhanded ways to get the insurance to pay for things, it just takes some time. Proving other treatments are insufficient or that the alternative would be more expensive (lifetime of expensive meds) may just be the ammunition needed.