cardiac ablation for PVC`s

[jorgo1984]

hi

i am 31 old male who has been suffering of PVC`s for several years...maybe even before that, but i am counting from the first time that became very disturbing. on first holter monitoring, i had around 1500, with taking no medications (that was in 2012). but pvc continued to disturb my chest, affecting my sport activities, etc etc. in 2013. on second monitoring i had 2500 irregular beats, and doctor prescribed me beta blockers and referred to specialist for arrhythmia. last year i had had firstly 40 000 ir.beats, and after including some anti-arithmics, using them for 10 months, i had 30 000. so, few days ago, three doctors examined me and suggested RF ablation.

this is just one side of my story. since i am living in small, developing country in Europe, i am always cautious with doctor`s diagnosis, and i told them several times that i have anxiety disorders (GAD, SAD) and maybe it is the root of my problems. for anxiety, i am taking zooloft and clonazepan, and sometimes i have very mild sensations, but sometimes my anxiety goes out of roof, it`s very severe- then my heart starts beating iregularly etc etc. or, maybe is other way around, pvc`s cause arrhythmia...and it lasts and lasts and lasts, and then my brain goes "crazy". nevertheless, doctors are pretty much sure and positive that anxiety couldn`t cause that much ir. beats. of course, i feel pvc not just during anxiety sensations (i dont have panic attacks), but also during or after some physical activities, which indicates that my problem is not ONLY in my head...

i would like to hear your cases, i believe i am not the only one who suffers from some mental disorder and pvc? have you done rf ablation? what was your experience? did you feel better after procedure, did that calm your anixety? and definitely-should i do rf ablation if everything will be the same after procedure (i mean, if my crazy brain again triggers ir.heart beats).

ty guys  

[jorgo1984]

This procedure is supposed to be done by expert from Belgrade, allegedly he is very much familiar with procedure and has respective experience. Even though he is still "young" (he is in mid-40's), looks very self confident and he told me very frankly that i have 80 procents chance to be reliefed. Those are very good numbers.My insurance wouldnt cover that trip to Romania, and unfortunatelly, I cant afford it. So, you think that despite anxiety, after procedure (if everything goes well and medical team burns that "twiching" spot), regardless anxiety, i'll be relief? Despite meds for anxiety,i think the best cure for it is some kind of sport's activities, but my condition  does not allow me to be active at the moment. And could anxiety be the trigger for this amount of pvc's or it's other way around?

[researcher09]

The success rate is about right for someone who is skilled and experienced.  Would the EP be Dr. Kojic?  I would do it too if I were in your situation.  The alternatives, drugs and watchful waiting is not going to stop progression towards heart failure and ICD implant.  Ablation has a chance of relief and stopping progression towards heart failure completely.

[researcher09]

PVC ablations are done at centers that have expertise in VT ablation and they supposedly offer great relief to the patient as well as the cardiologists that provide care for high burden patients.  Unfortunately, there are only around 3 dozen or so centers in the US that do sufficient volume to be considered expert centers.  I am not sure what is available in your country.  The closest one I know of is in Romania where Radu Vatasescu is located.  He does complex VT cases and has over 3000 ablations under his belt.  3000 includes all types of ablations.  He now only handles the most complex cases and simpler cases are handled by the younger EPs in his group.