EP

[atrialfib]

Hi everyone,well my PAF is now more frequent,so i thought time to go back to my EP to review,just found out her looked at my referral or so they say?,and decided i can see the arrhthmia nurse,in london they work different,the EP do the serious stuff,i have no faith in the nurses i think they are fast tracked into this,half the time i feel they dont know the answer,dont want to make a fuss.what should i do?

[BobD Volunteer]

Sorry but I have to declare an interest here as I was on the committee at BHF which trialled the Arrhythmia Nurse Specialist system. They are trained to MA level and most EPs tend to use them like registrars rather than nurses. In my view you are being a little unfair in what you say. Many hospitals use ANSs as fast track one stop clinics to save the EP consultant time for "the serious stuff" once the ANS has made the initial assessment. Unless you want to wait months for an appointment with the EP then accept what has been offered and do believe that they mostly know what they are doing.

Bob

[atrialfib in reply to BobD]

oh ok i didnt expect that response,its refreshing,its just i an so worried,thankyou

[dedeottie]

While I am on the never ending waiting list for an ablation my E.P. has told me to ring the arrhythmia nurse if I have any problems. I have now seen her a few times and I must admit to being very impressed. If she doesn't know the answer to a question she asks the E.P. and rings me with the answer. While I know the ideal would be to see the E.P. himself, there are so few of them and I would rather they be concentrating on the serious stuff. X

[baba]

See the expert arrhythmia nurse! Mine prescribed my anticoagulant after seeing AF on my ECG, listening to my history, seeing result of echo (arranged by him), etc. I was referred to him by A&E (who recorded AF on ECG), not seen a cardiologist. I am very happy with outcome.

[rosyG]

Whilst I think all the answers above are valid, if you feel your AF is getting a lot worse I can understand you wanting to see an EP- This is "serious stuff" as far as you are concerned- at least until someone tells you otherwise.

I have found the nurses very good but when I was concerned about changes in ECG etc I asked if I could see the EP on my next appointment ( rang her secretary) and they let me do this.

If you decide to do this, make a point of explaining you think things have changed so you want the EPs's view on it. I don't know whether you have an AiveCor recorder but if you can capture any AF episodes to take with you it's helpful or the EP to evaluate what is happening.

best wishes