Hi. I’m new to this forum so please bear with me if I’m not doing this right.
My wife currently has a consultant for her AF and I’ve read quite a lot on here about getting the right EP especially for ablation. Does anybody know how best to arrange that through the NHS at all and is this a common thing to ask for?
Thanks a lot.
Hi,You can ask your GP to refer you- waiting lists are quite long in some areas just now. You can also ask the consultant cardiologist to refer and also ask if an ablation is likely to be successful as this varies depending on medical history.
Your wife would be much better served by being under the care of an EP - Electrophysiologist and the finer one the better as their specialism alongside cardiology is with the electrics of the heart ie Afib and other arrhythmias.
Your GP can refer you or your current cardiologist can. Have a look on line for EPs in your area, outside of it too if you are willing to travel to see the best in their field. With waiting lists being so long perhaps you might consider seeing one privately initially and then go further on the nhs therafter. Good luck.
You are doing fine Ian 😉. In addition to the good advice already offered, you will also find some “related posts” to the right of this page which should be helpful. If you decide to go down the private route, it would probably be better to do that via your wife’s cardiologist, particularly if you are happy with the support provided so far and want to keep him/her onside. If she has already had tests such as an echocardiogram, it would help if you had copies as these will be expensive if done as part of a private consultation. As mentioned, it is important to make it clear to both the cardiologist and the EP that you want any further treatment to be done via the NHS. In my case, my cardiologist was kind enough to include this in his referral letter. Private consultations cost around £200/£300......
I saw a cardiologist private then transferred to NHS I trusted the cardiologist who then referred me to EP for me that worked well
Thanks very much for this information, really helpful. It sounds as if this is quite a common request to make to the cardiologist, we’re a bit worried about causing offence but maybe that’s not a problem? Also would the EP be the person that would be best to carry out the ablation and if so, could that be done on the nhs even after an initial private consultation does anyone know?
Yes - I found the best EP I could, saw him privately for about £200 in my first consultation (to avoid lengthy waiting times) and then he transferred me to his NHS list. I could have had an ablation on the NHS had I chosen to go down that route instead of having drug therapy.
I echo the other comments I did exactly that ,went from cardiologist to EP. First appointment was private saw him in four days not months and then he transferred me to NHS.
I'm still with him,and also still have appointments with cardiologist for another natter ( wonky valve)
There were no professional dummies thrown🙂
Yes, that’s why we suggested that you made your position clear at the appointment.....l
Great idea in practice though it all depends on the theatre list as to who actually does your ablation,at least at Coventry and Warwick University Hospital,even though you are on a specific EPs list.Sorry to be negative. Think the only way to guarantee the EP of your choice is private practice.
Some on here get to see the person they chose, for several proceedures. Seems to vary from place to place.
EPs are the best people to assist your wife though,they are the experts in arrthymia.
Some one on here said she thought it might be that straight forward care might be done by less experienced EPs and the more tricky ones by the ones with the high reputation,almost a training session.
Best wishes
Several comments! Don’t assume that the NHS list is long. It may be, it may not be. Some areas are 7 days a week flat out catching up post last Covid wave. Secondly, in my experience you certainly can ask for your EP to do the op and no one else (NHS). It seems to be standard that the cardiologist refers to an EP if they think an ablation likely to help or that they would like that opinion. In my case the EP immediately put me on the list for two scans, slight delays for both but not long. If I had gone privately to him I would have had to pay a great deal for those or also had the minor delays. I was referred at the beginning of September, scans in October, offered ablation end of October, I panicked! Had it in November. In addition in our local teaching hospital my EP is considered to be the best, and he doesn’t work privately! Good luck to your wife! And to you as her supporter.
It was A&E actually made my first referral to cardiology and then they automatically put me with an EP rather than my having to ask. That's at UHCW but I guess that probably varies from area to area. My GP has had very little to do with my AF as I've always dealt directly with the hospital where possible.
I think in the US there is far more interest in the differences between a cardiologist and an "EP" and the suggestion is that there is even sometimes competition between them. I feel sure that in the UK that isn't so and that if you are seeing a cardiologist who is not also an EP and he or she feels you need an ablation, you will be recommended one if that is the next useful step.
As far as finding an EP who is sufficiently practised at their art, I suspect that all major UK centres carry out sufficient volume of cases to trust the doctors who do it. I hope so, anyway!
Steve
I would never leave it to your GP or conventional Cardiologist to determine whether an ablation is likely to work for you or not. That's just plain ridiculous.
Neither of them have the breadth of experience and knowledge that an EP does regarding your particular arrhythmia. That's the conundrum isn't it . . .
It's better if a referral isn't required so you can go directly to an EP and see what they say. However, if a referral is required .... take with a grain of salt anything the referring doctor states about your arrhythmia. They are not the 'expert' in arrhythmia that the EP is. If the EP is competent ... then what they tell you will be the gold standard.
Thanks again to all of you that have commented. Does anyone have have any recommendations for the South East area? I live in East Sussex but can travel to London and around the south east.
I’ve not been seen in the cardiology department yet, but I have appointments in three weeks time,I did have a Holter monitor for five days, and got a letter from one cardiology consultant, mentioning that he was passing me for review to a second one, who I believe is an EP.
So now I have a telephone appointment with the first consultant, then an in-person appointment in the same week for the clinic - with the second consultant named.
So it seems that I am seeing both.
I’m really looking forward to getting a bit more information about possible ways forward!
Choosing an EP or consultant
Letter from EP
Change from Bisoprolol to Diltiazam. 
