Ablation in Nottingham

[Speccymagoo]

Hi,

I've been on the waiting list for an ablation at Nottingham University Hospital (I guess City) since June so I'm hoping to have it done in the next 6 months or so and I was wondering if anyone here has experience of an ablation and treatment in general in Nottingham.

Who is your consultant? How has your experience been?

I am under Dr Vanezis, although I've only ever spoken to him on the phone and he isn't an AF / ablation specialist.

Initially I did see someone on his team who told me I was just unfit - but luckily Dr Vanezis reviewed my case and started tratement with Flecanaide.

Does anyone know who does the ablations in Nottingham and what their reputation / success rate is?

I am in fairly regular contact with an arrhythmia nurse specialist who tweaks my medication occasionally but I wonder if it would be worthwhile paying for an appointment with a consulatant who actually performs ablations.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers,

Magoo

[Bell50]

I had my ablation last November at the spire Nottingham hospital my EP was a Dr Somani i went private through my husbands medical insurance he was very good

[FindingCaradoc]

I can’t answer your specific question, but I assume you’ve had a look at their website and/or asked your GP? As I’m sure you realise - and at the risk of stating the obvious - for an ablation you need to be under an EP Cardiologist who has significant experience with the procedure. I live near Burton upon Trent and my local Trust (Derby and Burton) have to refer out of area to either Stoke or Leicester, Nottingham wasn’t mentioned, even though closer, but of course that doesn’t mean they don’t have the expertise, rather there isn’t an arrangement presumably. As I am fortunate enough to have private healthcare cover I ended up having an ablation in Liverpool.

[MisterMagoo in reply to FindingCaradoc]

Thanks, FC. You have highlighted my concerns. There is stark information on EP cardiologists available on the Nottingham University Hospital website - well none actually. That's why I'm looking for people's experiences here. I've been in paroxysmal AF since 2011 and had a break between switching health insurers so not covered for private. However, if I can't get assurances about the treatment in Nottingham for the waiting list I am on, I will have to consider delaying retirement for a couple of years to pay for a private operation. Win win for our Tory over lords.

[FindingCaradoc in reply to MisterMagoo]

And your GP doesn’t know either? Anyway, hopefully someone in this group will be able to advise on Nottingham NHS EPs 🤞

[FindingCaradoc]

As a further thought look on the Nottingham Private Hospital(s) websites (Bell50 mentioned one above) and also the BUPA Consultant finder, to see where their NHS base is…

[mhoam]

Hi,

You might find this website interesting;-

nicor.org.uk/hospital-and-o...

A report for each hospital performing ablations and cardiac devices (Pace Makers) and also shows the number of ablations performed by each EP. per year.

Sadly no information on outcomes

Good Luck

[MisterMagoo in reply to mhoam]

Thanks, no outcomes but it's still really useful

[Ppiman]

I had mine at Leicester, but I heard Nottingham and Derby were also excellent, so you’ll be in good hands.

It seems that being unfit can certainly make AF worse if not cause it so that doctor was being practical. An ablation will work best if other aspects of health are dealt with: sleep apnoea, being overweight, not exercising, having high blood pressure, drinking too much and having high blood sugar.

Steve

[Speccymagoo in reply to Ppiman]

Yeah - I suppose 10k time of just over an hour is just not fit enough some some docs. Don't know what she'd say now that I can hardly manage to run at all without my HR blowing up

[Ppiman in reply to Speccymagoo]

Er wow - well done! Well, she was making a general point, I guess. Weirdly, I gather excessive prolonged exercise is the number one cause of heart issues in younger people and is often the cause of sudden death in otherwise fit young athletes.

Also - it seems a lot of us inherit minor heart issues that we never find out about till we are older or push the heart beyond what it can cope with.

Steve

[MisterMagoo]

A quick Google tells us that sudden cardiac death affects 0.1% of the population with a median age of 67. We should be really careful not to put people off the most effective way of maintaining a healthy life.

Also, correlation is not causation. Athletic types tend to be more attuned to their health and may therefore be inclined to notice and report issues more often and earlier on than more sedentary types

[BlueINR]

I am sorry you folks in the UK need to wait so long for necessary medical procedures. In the US, I've never had to wait more than a day or two for an ablation. I've had 3, and the last one seems to have done what was needed.