EP appointment

[Maisiemay13]

I have my first EP appt in Monday and if I am honest have no idea what questions to ask!

I was diagnosed with PAF in June at A&E and went for a private cardiologist appt in October as my nhs was next month and now March next year.

From the two week ecg monitor it would appear I do not always have an idea when my heart goes into AF but was advised it was going in and out frequently and needed an urgent EP appointment which my GP arranged.

Any advice would be greatly welcomed

[BobD Volunteer]

I think it is important to understand that AF is not life threatening so any and all treatment is only for quality of life.(QOL) It is therefore vital that you discuss what YOU consider to be your realistic goals from this meeting. Yes it would be nice to never have AF again but that may be not going to happen.

I remember a comment years ago that if you go to see a carpet salesman he will sell you a carpet so going to see an EP will likely mean he will suggest ablation. Whilst I am a great fan of this treatment one does need to understand that it is part of ongoing treament and may need to be repeated in the future. Your personal AF burden may well be vastly different to everybody elses on here so only you can decide how much is is impinging on your QOL and what risks you wish to take to reduce that burden.

In my view this depends on age, general health and willingness to take some pretty strong drugs for the rest of your life which ablation may reduce the need of.

Since stroke prevention should be the first goal of any AF treatement a frank discussion about your risk is also important if this has not already taken place. Remember also that there is currently no strong evidence to suggest that ablation removes that stoke risk.

[Maisiemay13]

Thank you that has helped as I am 64 and have a good BMi and always felt I was pretty fit,the drugs have definitely slowed me down,I will go in on what I want for my future QOL