Ectopics and driving?

[HC74_2]

I would never consider driving or learning without consulting Drs about my personal symptoms first, but I'm wondering if anyone else is willing to share their experiences? Was it possible? Did you have to have treatment first?

I have PVCs and PACs, and I'm anxious that I may have NSVT as sometimes they chain together. They feel like a kick to the chest sometimes and can startle me, the chains of them usually make me hunch in a panic, so I'd absolutely have to consult a Dr and likely report to the DVLA for them to decide. But I put off driving for decades assuming it'd be a straightforward no. Has anyone had a different experience?

[SlothOnSpeed]

Honestly, if normal PVCs and PACs precluded people from driving there would be very few people on the road. Not sure how you came to the conclusion that that they would preclude you from driving.

[Ewloe]

i have PAF, SVT, and NSVT. I’m well controlled on meds at this point in time and drive do exercises and live. Good luck

[Healthaddict30]

Hi there, before my ablation, I had a 47% ectopic burden, so for almost every regular beat I was having an ectopic too and I drove with no problems from the DVLA or dr's.

If you're worried about it, I would definitely still talk to your Dr and the DVLA but I don't think you should have any problems. Good luck! 😊

[Parkhome in reply to Healthaddict30]

hi I've been diagnosed with ventricular bigeminy, 41% of ventricular ectopics

Having a MRI on 22 October. An ablation as been mentioned but got to wait results of MRI. My Pulse is 33 most times because of ectopics.

I've got terrible breathlessness which surgeon thinks is caused by the bigeminy, did the ablation work successfully & are you OK now.

[Healthaddict30 in reply to Parkhome]

Hi there! The ablation worked instantly and I wish they'd done it for me sooner. With such a high ectopic burden they should find the cells that are misfiring really easily. My ablation was done in 45 mins, 20mins was just waiting after they'd done it to check there was no where else the ectopics were coming from. I just had a little sleep during that time thanks to the sedation 😅

My resting pulse was 40 but my HR was actually double that as my pulse wasnt picking up the ectopics. You might find the same thing, where your heart is actually around 60bpm. No healthcare professional picked this up until i got admitted to the Bristol Heart institute.

Have you been checked for heart failure? I was very breathless and couldn't hold a conversation before I got diagnosed. I'm on medication now, and after the ablation too I feel better than I ever have.

Happy to help if you have other questions, just send me a message. Anything to do with your heart feels so scary and upsetting but I now feel really positive about it all after the initial shock.

[Parkhome in reply to Healthaddict30]

thank you, I have been diagnosed with bicuspid mild stenosis of valve & 55cm Dialation of aorta, I am on waiting list for operation, surgeon as said there was no way he could proceed with surgery with all these

ectopics . Did the ablation work straight away, some people have said you may have to have more than 1 ablation, I know my cardiologist was really concerned regarding the amount of ectopics shown on the alter monitor. Did you say its an easy fix with the ablation for 41% ectopics.

[Healthaddict30 in reply to Parkhome]

I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Yes my consultants were concerned about how many ectopics I was having too. I had just had a baby 2 weeks before which makes your heart really delicate and they were worried about doing anything to my heart at that stage. It was found I was having slow VT and that made the decision for them to go ahead with the ablation.

My ablation worked instantly. As soon as they wheeled me out and put the ECG back on, my heart rythm was normal and my blood pressure had gone up (previously very low so this was a great thing)

I was told the more ectopics you have the easier the procedure is for them. They map your heart to pin point where the ectopics are coming from. If you only had 10% ectopics for example they might have to wait 10-20 minutes between each ectopic which draws out the process. There can be complications if it's in one of the other chambers (sorry I don't remember which one, but I was told it was likely it was in the chamber they wanted it to be in, and that's where mine was, so no complications luckily)

Yes, sometimes you might need a second ablation procedure if it's not successful. Mine worked first time though so not sure about this. I have been told that ectopics can come back in the future and that if this happens that's when I'd have another ablation. But honestly the procedure was so straightforward and less invasive than I thought. I was terrified and shaking before I went in, I'd really worked myself up. But after, I couldn't believe how easy it was, and wish they'd done it sooner. Id have no worries having the ablation again in the future if needed.

I also had an MRI before the ablation, so I think this is great they're being extra safe and checking everything for you.

[Parkhome in reply to Healthaddict30]

thank you for your reassurance.

When you check your pulse is it now showing normal. Could I ask what medication your on, & is it for life or just for a certain time. I'm on 3.75 bisoprolol & statins plus blood pressure meds.

[Healthaddict30 in reply to Parkhome]

You're welcome, I hope it's helpful for you.

Yes, my pulse is now normal 😊 I'm on bisoprolol too though so it's a little lower than 'average' but it's generally around 60bpm compared the 40 it was before!

I'm on bisoprolol, dapagliflozin, spirinolactone, entresto and iron tablets. Yes they think I'll be on them for life, but said if I eventually improve they may be able to reduce them and maybe one day I'll be off them. To be honest, I'd be ok if I was on them for life, im very grateful medication like this exists to help us 😊

[Lowerfield_no_more]

If you are not aware the DVLA guidance for driving with a medical condition is here.

gov.uk/health-conditions-an...

Looking through it against your conditions it appears you will certainly need to discuss your situation with your GP prior to contacting the DVLA, and if your conditions do not affect your ability to drive safely and with the GPs input you should be allowed to drive, but the final decision is down to the DVLA. The bottom line is you certainly have nothing to lose by trying to find out if you are allowed or not.

[Redactrice]

Someone else has posted a link to DVLA, but I have been told that the biggest issue is whether you ever have blackouts due to dizziness.

[Qualipop]

I've had ectopics for years and never even thought t o stop driving. As long as they don't make you faint or affect your concentration badly, they are of no interest to DVLA.