Nervous Cardio EP Study and Cardio Ablasion

[DBlain]

Tomorrow my husband has to go in the hospital for an EP Study and there is a good chance he will have a cardio ablation. He originally only told me that he was going in for a study, so I was not worried, but then I spoke to the Doctor's nurse and found out a lot more and of course goggled it. He has been having trouble with bouts of A Fib. What he will have done tomorrow is more of a procedure than a test, they will semi sedate him then and stick a bunch of catheters up through his groin and into his chest, then they will cause him to go into A fib and look and see what part of the heart it is coming from. Then if they find the source or sources they will do a cardiac ablation. They say the test goes from 3-4 hours because they will keep moving to different areas of the heart causing the AFib to happen. I feel so sorry for my husband, he will have to lay there while they cause him to go into A Fib a bunch of times. It is going to be a long day tomorrow and who knows it might not even be able to come home. Wish us luck

[Cha Cha]

Good luck tomorrow. Hang in there. I pray that, at least, if he has to go through this you can get some solid answers and possibly fix this for him.

[rubymoon2072]

sending you many well wishes for tomorrow Donna. I will keep your husband in my thoughts and hope for the best case scenario.

[Jellybaby]

Oh your poor husband. Sending good wishes to him and to you too. Hopefully the doctors find the problem area early on in the test so your husband doesn't have to keep going into A Fib. Good luck tomorrow.

[kjc]

Keeping your DH in my prayers... hoping all goes well and quickly!

[yorkietalkjilly]

Oh, wishing your husband the best of luck and blessings tomorrow. I'll be praying for you two and those cardiologists and surgeons tomorrow. Update us when you can.

[DBlain]

thanks guys, I am trying not to think about it or ask him to many questions, no sense getting him worked up about it. I will have my laptop with me, so I can pass the time on YT

[rubymoon2072]

Originally Posted by DBlain

thanks guys, I am trying not to think about it or ask him to many questions, no sense getting him worked up about it. I will have my laptop with me, so I can pass the time on YT

yes agreed we all know how men do with these types of things throw in wifey questions and it throws them right overboard. glad you will be able to pass the time and at least try and stay distracted.

[107barney]

Good luck !

[crystalsmom]

D Blain, I know it's a worry but this may ease your concerns some.

My daughter and I went to the Cleveland Clinic the best in the world for heart to see if they thought I was a candidate for extensive testing, what my GP sent and what they took came out of little concern but I have a wonderful Dr. if I ever should need him.

What I am getting to is that I purchased the book he wrote since it had to do a lot with how to talk to one's cardiologist. I just looked up your husband's test in the book and this is what it has to say "A small amount of a sterile, alcohol solution into a coronary that subserves the thickened region. This chemically induced heart attack is very mild and does not negatively affect overall heart function. The patient is not at higher risk for a subsequent heart attack, either. On the contrary, the objective of the procedure is to reduce the symptoms of hypertrophic cardiomy-opathy, predominantly exertional shortness of breath and fatigue.

I know you will still be concerned, I would be as well but to have this in print would relieve a little. You both will be in my prayers.

[Ellie May]

I'm sorry.

I'm a heart patient, too. Because EP studies are done in such a controlled environment it is fairly safe, but honestly far from risk free. I was offered an electrical ablation for sinus tachy (not A fib), but it came with the warning that there was a 1/5 to 1/4 chance of getting a pacemaker that day. My symptoms are benign and not bad with meds, so obviously I declined. I'm not sure of the pacemaker rate if done for A fib. But..a pacemaker is far from the end of the world.

An alcohol ablation is something different. It is used to cause part of the heart muscle to shrink so blood can flow better. I have cardiomyopathy, so a few doctors have thrown this out there (except my case is too mild). Anyway, it is not exactly trusted fully long term.

Will be thinking of him...

[horsnaround]

Sending prayers

[enchilila]

I'm saying prayers for your husband today. I pray all goes well. Will be checking back for an update.

[DBlain]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

I'm sorry.

I'm a heart patient, too. Because EP studies are done in such a controlled environment it is fairly safe, but honestly far from risk free. I was offered an electrical ablation for sinus tachy (not A fib), but it came with the warning that there was a 1/5 to 1/4 chance of getting a pacemaker that day. My symptoms are benign and not bad with meds, so obviously I declined. I'm not sure of the pacemaker rate if done for A fib. But..a pacemaker is far from the end of the world.

An alcohol ablation is something different. It is used to cause part of the heart muscle to shrink so blood can flow better. I have cardiomyopathy, so a few doctors have thrown this out there (except my case is too mild). Anyway, it is not exactly trusted fully long term.

Will be thinking of him...

Ian, my husband was told the same thing, slight chance of a pacemaker but like you his symptoms are not that severe, it's just after the month study of him wearing the heart monitor they saw some things that were of concern. Ian told the doctor that he is NOT to put one in, that he would rather have time to think about it and do it later if necessary. I know a pacemaker is not the end of the world, but he is just 56 and really in very good shape. Plus they did not even give medicine that much of a chance to control this yet. The doc is an "electrician" type of a cardiologist and does this all the time so while we are worried we know he is in good hands and it is sort of a routine procedure.

Thanks for all the well wishes

[matese]

good luck today, I will keep DH in my thoughts and prayers.