Good morning everybody I hope I’m finding you all ok and not too bumpy. I have now been offered an ablation for my annoying pvcs, I have to stop taking bisoprolol two days before procedure, I just got told to stop taking them. I’m sure my ep knows best, my ep thinks the beats are originating in the right ventricular outflow tract. Has anybody on here had this procedure done and how successful was it? Many thanks
Alex
Hi Achant1,
I’ve not had an ablation but from your post, is it the ‘stopping the Bisoprolol two days before the PVI ablation’ that is also worrying you?
Have you ever tried to come off Bisoprolol before? What dose are you on and how long have you been taking it? I wouldn’t want to go against your EP as he is the expert of course, but usually Bisoprolol should be tapered off over a longer period. Do you think he might be wanting the stopping of Bisoprolol quite abruptly for a particular reason? Is the intention that you come off completely and never go back?
I hope someone will be able to help about the ablation….sorry if I’ve jumped in the bisop thing, but I’ve had experience of coming off Bisoprolol in the past.
I’ve stopped taking bisoprolol before, I’m a bit worried about the cold turkey bit, but he wants the beats to be frequent so ablation is more successful 👌🏻
ah, I see 😊 there is method in his madness then…I hope someone can help you regarding your ablation, but good luck with it.
Thank you very much, I’ve had two ablations for Af, this one will hopefully bring me some relief from ectopic beats.
Lol, I know exactly how you feel, I think we all feel like that sometimes 🤣
they know best I’d say as they do this proceedure all the time….for us it seems a big deal the first one I know but they are well practiced. Great news you have been offered it. Once you go through the doors of the hospital all your fears will float away as you will be soon done and dusted and onwards and upwards hopefully. It was the best thing ever for me, ok you have to pace yourself after not forget the dear ol heart has taken a bashing but for me and many others it’s taken away that awful fear of afib…..ok maybe one day, I’m five years since ablation it will come back again but I’d be straight into my cardiologue here in France go book me a slot and have a second…..I’d have a third…..
Chin up and onwards and upwards,
Sue
Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the ablation technique was invented in France.
I had an ablation for pvc's in March 21, had to stop bisoprolol 2 days before and it wasn't a problem. Was the ablation successful? Yes. However slipped into AF early May last year and still waiting for another ablation, on the waiting list!!!
What are you taking for a fib now, are the pvcs non existent now? Thank you for your response.
Hi Achant1. I’ve had many ablations and they do want you to stop the beta blockers so that the beats will be in full affect when they do the ablation. You might feel odd and your heart might start racing, but you shouldn’t be in any harm or they wouldn’t tell you to stop it so abruptly. I’ve never stopped bisoprolol, but I have stopped sotalol in the pass when I had ablations for atrial tachycardia.
Hi Achant1,
If I may I will come up with some alternative opinion.
First thing, sure you trust in your EP, and s/he is offering the best course for you. And like you said, who am I to talk on the Afib/PVC issues.
I had my ablation last year, successful, was never detected in Afib again, yet having ectopic beats, sometimes up to 15-20% burden. And I think in most days, though not always in high numbers… Two different EPs recommended I may consider an ablation for PVCs , if bothered so much. And yes, I am bothered, sometimes it is hell.
My questions to them were...Is the ablation imperative? The answer is no. And second question, does it necessarily mean that with PVCs my situation would worsen and evolve into Afib, so an intervention is timely? Again, the answer was no.
Then I thought I would stick with bisoprolol daily and Flecainide as PiP, when required. My decision had two reasons. And you are welcome to correct me on these...1. Every ablation is somehow damaging the heart muscle, as there would be a slight impact on healthy tissue as well. 2. One cardiologist once told me it would be hard to detect the PVC sources during ablation as they would not necessarily be alerted properly, unlike afib.
I am in no way saying anything against your judgement. Just wanted to share my thought process.
I would very much appreciate it if you can share your post -ablation opinion with us, when convenient.
Good luck.
My ventricles are border line enlarged and I cannot take flecainide unfortunately, as when I did it stopped them dead immediately, the ablation, if successful can reverse the slight enlargement and that for me is worth the risk. I’m finding these pvcs way worse than afib, and my afib has hit 300 bpm before. I have to stop beta blocker two days before the procedure and that is a worry, but he who dares and all that, I do anything to be rid of these buggers. My heart function has remained perfect, so hope springs eternal. Thanks for your response.
This is the first time I have ever heard of an ablation for PVCs. I have had them all my life. Was told they are totally benign and not to let them worry me. Once I was in Hospital with constant PVCs, had a catheterization to check my arteries. They never seemed to worry about the PVC's and the next day they were gone. I recently stopped taking daily Flecainide for AFIB, after ten years, and now only PIP. Have not had to use it yet, after four months now. I do have PVC's though, but not constantly.
So...how did it go? Did you go ahead with the ablation? How are you feeling now?
Thanks for asking, the ablation was far from straight forward, but that’s a story for another time, since I’ve had the ablation done, I’ve gone from being in bigeminy for days on end, having ectopics relentlessly all day every day for nearly two years, to having none at all. My last 24hr tape showed absolutely no pvcs whatsoever, just six ectopics, presumably atrial, it’s the weirdest feeling to be able to throw myself in bed and not feel my heart dancing around. I think I’ll need another ablation for afib as the catheters threw me straight in to afib, I have another review in a few months. Hopefully third times a charm for that problem.
Wow, that's an amazing result. I'm not sure many people realise that PVCs can be cured or at least significantly reduced with ablation. Many thanks for sharing your outcome. I hope the AFIB treatment goes well. Have you considered the mini-maze procedure? I hear good things about this procedure. From my own research it seems that PVC ablation is more successful than AFIB ablation. I don't think AFIB ablation really works. There always seems to be recurrence.
A friend of mine had an ablation the same time I had my first for afib in 2017, she has been completely clear of afib since. I think that even when they fail they still offer some sort of protection, as when my afib first came back, it was nowhere near as fast or uncontrollable, bisoprolol didn’t keep it at bay first time second it did, my second ablation seemed to highlight pvcs, so I’m hoping that when the third comes around, it could be jackpot time. The problem with this forum is that we’re all the people that are having the hard road.
Yeah, that's a good point. Members seem to post when they want advice or support but don't always feedback the outcomes of their treatments or procedures. Good luck with your AF treatment. I hope that it works out for you.
Thanks for your consideration and kind words, I wish you all the best with whatever arrhythmias you are living and dealing with.
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