Ablation for Atrial Ectopics. Anyone have this done or know what the criteria is to qualify?

[bluefisher]

I'm new to this site and looking for some insight to my problem.

I am 65 and have had some arrhythmia since my 30s. In April of 2021 I started getting a big increase in PACs. I went to the cardiologist and had an echo and stress test, which were both negative for structural heart disease. Although a few PACs, and mild valve regurgitation was noted. A few months later had my first of 3 heart monitors which showed 200 PACs a day. Since then I have had 400 PACs and 1000 PACs results from monitor study. EP said to ignore them and they were not harmful. I tried really hard but I am very symptomatic and they bother me to an extreme. I bought a Wellue 24 hour monitor and started watching for continued increases and to study what was causing them. I am now getting more than 5000 PACs a day with some atrial tachycardia and PVCs. I am extremely worried that there is something serious wrong with me. EP had me try Flecainide and Propafenol, but it seemed to make the problem much worse. EP said he does not do ablation for PACs. I feel desperate and would like to know if anyone has had ablation for PACs or some other recommendation?

[MFM008]

I am similar- mine spiked up since Feb this year, now i seem to get them all day and night. I have low level heart disease some enlargement due to being overweight but im told the tests should be reassuring generally good.... They are not reassuring when i feel these things all day. Metroprolol doesnt seem to work at all. Im trying an SSRI, I was also turned down for an ablation as the PAC burden wasn't "high" enough. I dont know what to do either.

[sherbertlemon in reply to MFM008]

sorry pressed wrong button... they stopped my heart in Accident and Emergency and used a defibrulator to restart. 6 weeks later they did 4.5 hrs of ablation.. not pleasant afternoon but the difference is amazing. Still normal 'fast heartbeat' of around 95-110 but no 'seizures' and an exhusband to be. Ask if they do these devices in U.S and wether your insurance would cover the cost of the device which lasts about 3-4yrs and you can still have x.rays, mri and ct scans safely. GOOD LUCK

[bluefisher in reply to MFM008]

My EP said I would need 10k to 20k before he would consider ablation. He gave me a bunch of reasons why: they could come back, the procedures have risk, might not fix the problem, might not get any pacs during the procedure to locate them. After that he refuses to even discuss it any further. I am absolutely miserable getting these all the time. I am don't know if all EP's have the same attitude about ablation as my EP but would like to know. It is very hard to get into these specialists and takes a long time to schedule. At the rate my PACs are increasing I am very nervous. I am on a beta blocker and Zoloft, and wish there was a drug that would work for me to help reduce PAC burden. There are some recent studies showing that high pac counts are correlated to stroke and Afib. Looking for some help to point me to someone that will consider me for Ablation.

[TracyAdmin Partner ArrhythmiaAlliance]

Hi there and welcome to the Forum. I am sure all our members here will offer you some great advice based on their own journey's and experiences. If symptoms persist and you just feel something is not quite right, visit our Arrhythmia Alliance webpage, it contains a wealth or information, videos, patient resources and virtual events that are available "on demand" heartrhythmalliance.org/aa/us You may wish to download one of our 'Checklists' available from Patient Resources heartrhythmalliance.org/aa/...

Complete it ahead of contacting your health care provider. Alternatively, please do not hesitate to contact our Patient services Team if you require any further advice : [e-mail]

[Niki_]

Hi, I had a PVC burden of 13% and was very symptomatic ..I started taking Taurine, l-Arginine and magnesium glycinate and now my PVC burden is 3% … I stay hydrated and I also removed refined carbs from my diet.. for me sugar and carbs are big triggers .. if I eat cake or candy or a big meal full of carbs within a hour I have a lot of PVCs that follow me to the next day.. I eliminated coffee for a long time and recently started drinking it again and I think caffeine helps mine for some reason

[bluefisher in reply to Niki_]

Hi Niki, thanks you for the information. I don't know anyone that has a similar problem and the doctors are all too busy spend the time to answer my questions. I too have noticed after eating a large meal that my PACs increase. Also, a hot shower, activity, and even swallowing seems to be associated with them. Has ablation been offered to you at 13%? I was told that Ablation for PVCs is more frequently done than with PACs. I have started to log my daily activities to try and correlate what I can do to help reduce them. Did yours slowly build to 13% or did they come on all at once?

[Niki_ in reply to bluefisher]

Yes my dr offered it to me .. but I declined as I try to do everything natural… I wanted to try to get to the root cause and fix that

[Niki_ in reply to bluefisher]

Sorry I didn’t see your other question .. mine came on slowly over a few months.

[bluefisher in reply to Niki_]

I understand wanting to do with natural remedies. I would try that if I knew how to attempt it. I have actually been considering acupuncture. Looks like you did a lot of research and made some very good progress. I'm happy for you. Wish I could get my rate down to where I can live again.

[Niki_ in reply to bluefisher]

It’s definitely not a over night fix and everyone’s body is different so the natural fix will be different for everyone and some the natural may not work at all 💛

[Makathree in reply to bluefisher]

Hi blue fisher I get them to after a big meal my doctor said the vagus nerve goes through or round the stomach and this irritates the heart something like that

[jameshobby]

Hi bluefisher,Sorry to hear of your issues, I have exactly the same problem as you. I am 55. I can have 1000s of ectopic beats a day, I had a loop recorder for three years. I tried an ablation and it didn’t work. I now take a daily low dose of verapamil and just get on with life. If the doctors say you are ok then just tune out, stop caring about them. This is hard but achievable. Find a pill that helps, none cure it but they do help, exercise, lower your stress levels and be thankful it is benign. I spent years looking for a cure (had them since 14) and there isn’t one. What can’t be cured must be endured as they say. Good luck and happy new year.

James H