Have been diagnosed with paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation (July 2023), very frequent episodes at first but then getting more frequent in last 4 months. Was on Bisoprolol initially, then Dronedarone but frequency of episodes increased. Now on Flecainide and Bisoprolol for last 4 weeks without an AF occurrence. My EP has recommended an ablation and I am now on a waiting list (12 months+).
I am considering private ablation, Pulsed Field Ablation, and am willing to travel to Berlin for it but wondered if there are facilities in UK ( I live in Scotland) which offer this kind of ablation and what the costs are for a private procedure. Has anyone on this forum experience or knowledge about this?
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elkewilliams
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Thank you for replying, I will look into that. Problem is that I won’t get a referral from NHS Scotland to a hospital in England. So would be private and I found that private is cheaper in Germany, believe it or not.
I would think twice about treatment abroad because if you have any complications later or require follow up it may prove difficult and expensive. Also, if you want to pursue legal action if your treatment goes wrong or does not meet your expectations doing so in another country again could be difficult and expensive. Overall it could prove to be a false economy. Also, I'm not sure if you are aware of this already but PFA is no more effective at curing AF than any other ablation method, just reportedly less risky. Best wishes.
I would imagine you could be looking at 20k in the UK although could ne less. It was 15k 16 years ago fir RF ablation. Alot now are done as day cases which brings the price down
Cost me less than £15,000 for PFA in January this year. I did a search for leading ablation consultants in London and was fortunate to choose one that did PFA.I was lucky to get a cancellation two weeks after my initial consultation, and on the day of the op was on my way home just after midday.
Those are the three EP's involved in the initial PFA trials, so they probably have the most experience with the procedure. They can be contacted individually.
4 weeks in sinus. UT seems the Flecainide and Bisoprolol are working well. I would seriously reconsider an ablation in that case. Unless you would have intolerable side effects from the medication.
Elke I think the jury is out on PFA. It seems to be no more effective than cryo / RF tho it may have a slightly better safety profile. But there seems to be nothing in it.
As you are in Scotland I would recommend that you make an appt to see Dr Gary Wright at Ross Hall Clinic Braehead in Glasgow. He will tell you everything you need to know in language you can understand so you can make an informed decision.
He is a very experienced EP / Cardiologist with a great reputation.
I am in the same position. I would not go the private route myself, partly owing to cost and partly owing to the fact that it (in the UK) will most often be in an NHS suite anyway. Also, not to be in any way dramatic, but all heart procedures carry an increased risk of needing extended emergency care and a government hospital is far better resourced for such a rare eventuality. PFA is carried out at our Leicester Gelfield hospital, but I doubt the kind of ablation makes much overall difference to the outcome.
We’re in Loughborough. I had a phone call from Dr S to say I’m safe to press on with flecainide but I emailed him after to ask him please to confirm thus my GP in writing but he never did. I wonder if I have upset him in asking?
Hi Karen. Yes - I taught English and Media Studies for many years at nearby Beauchamp College where many Wigstonians went!
I would like to know from Dr S if flecainide as PIP is okay for me but my GP told me most people take it regularly so I can guess his likely response. I can’t help feeling that it’s a potentially risky drug so I’m hesitant to take it when I’m coping well without it. For now I’m nursing a cold and my palpitations are none too bad.
I take Bisoprolol daily, last December my cardiologist also prescribed Flecainide to be taken as a PIP whenever I felt an episode coming on. It does seems to make the episode a lot, lot shorter but not stop it.
I think using flecainide as PIP might be a local approach, perhaps given what my doctor said. I was given it as 50mg bd after I found that doubling to 2.5mg of bisoprolol did little for the arrhythmias and dropped my heart rate a bit too far (as I already have episodes of bradycardia). The one day I took it, I was clear of arrhythmia but did have some periods of worryingly heavy heart beats (presumably caused by the LBBB?).
I suppose each cardiologist has their own take on things, I have only ever seen mine once and am awaiting my next appointment, goodness how long that will be.
Hi Chrissie. I couldn't wait and my GP said to see the cardiologist "pronto" so ended up paying privately to set things off at a cost of £200. That worked well as everything else has been on the NHS and has moved quite quickly. The ablation, however, looks like a year wait.
I waited 12 months for my ablation.Glenfield Hospital in Leicester is now offering Pulse Field ablation.
This is one of the top heart hospitals on the UK and people travel from all over the UK to attend there. They are leaders in research too and my EP is President of the British Cardiovascular Society.
From all over UK probably only means England. Good to hear that more hospitals are offering it, as in Germany it is regarded as the procedure of the future, mainly because it is safer, less risk of damaging other parts, and also is a shorter procedure, although the success rate at the moment seems to be similar to Cryogenic/RF ablation.
Thank you for replying, I will follow up all suggestions made.
If you are going private then my advice would be to choose a large specialist heart hospital like Papworth or Harefield or Hammersmith. Do ask your consultant how many PFAs and RFs he/she has done as PFA is relatively new whereas RF is a well worn path .Good luck
Having had a successful PFA recently (after six unsucessful), I do understand that it has not been proven to be more successful that cryo or RF. BUT...
It seems it causes less peripheral damage, and for that alone - if there is the possibility for needing repeat ablations, this is the path I would choose! (and I did.. 😆).
Good that you had a choice! I will have to wait until my next appointment with EP to find out more about ablations and different procedures but not hopeful PFA is available in Scotland, private or otherwise. Shorter procedure and less risks drew me towards it.
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