Results from my electricity Dr

EP Study (Electrophysiology Study)

by Gemita - 2022-08-19 03:30:48

Cadaverock, it can be difficult to make sense of your posts.  Hopefully this is not intentional on your part.  Tickle your heart?  Your EP is probably confirming that he will “stimulate” your heart during any EP Study to trigger your arrhythmia.  Stimulating the heart is normal practice during a Study because unless they can trigger the arrhythmia, they won't be able to confirm the actual tachy arrhythmia present, see how high your heart rate goes, see where the arrhythmia originates and how complex the area might be to ablate, whether there is more than one trigger area, more than one arrhythmia present and so on.

From your history, I see you have paroxysmal (intermittent) supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) - a tachy arrhythmia starting in the upper chambers of your heart - and have now seen your new doctor, an electrophysiologist (EP) who specialises in the electrical system of the heart.  He will be having a good look at the nature of your arrhythmia(s) during a full EP Study.  I attach a simple link with a 4 minute video explaining about this procedure.  I hope this helps address some of your concerns?

I have had an EP Study.  At the time of my Study I had not consented to an ablation which is often done at the same time.  My Study was requested to try to give my EP valuable information on how my arrhythmias start.  An EP study looks at the heart's electrical activity in great detail.  The test can diagnose and treat a wide variety of abnormal heart rhythms, including SVT.  If you are experiencing an episode of SVT at the time of the Study, this will be helpful since the exact trigger site can then be quickly assessed, avoiding a longer procedural time.  If not, the EP will stimulate your heart to hopefully trigger the SVT.

With any procedure there is always a small risk of a complication but the benefits of having an EP study to diagnose and treat your SVT would appear to outweigh any risk in the opinion of your experienced EP,  otherwise he wouldn’t be carrying out the Study. 

Our doctors are mainly concerned about very high heart rates and how long arrhythmia episodes last since uncontrolled fast heart rates for long periods would be dangerous.  EP's usually want to know whether we ever needed to attend hospital (A&E/ER) for treatment during episodes since if so, this would no doubt confirm that we were exceedingly symptomatic and that an ablation is likely indicated.  

During my EP Study I was given heavy sedation so was completely unaware of my procedure.  Talk to your doctors and ask whether they could ensure you are given an adequate level of anaesthetic and analgesic beforehand.  There is really no need to worry.  The Study and any ablation is there to help you to eliminate your SVT not to harm you. Good luck 

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/tests/electrophysiological-studies

??

by cadaverock - 2022-08-19 13:49:16

Will he do test first and then another day due the ablibation?? How do they trigger my heart to get the episodes . Is it safe for them to put me to sleep 

He will probably do the ablation at the same time if it is really indicated

by Gemita - 2022-08-19 14:46:26

Cadaverock, as you can imagine, once the catheters are in place, it makes more sense to carry out the ablation at the same time as the Study, especially if he sees a straightforward path to ablate.  It is very rare to do an EP Study today without doing an ablation.  My EP knew I didn't want an ablation, but he needed more information about my arrhythmias and what treatments (medication) would be suitable.  He trialled meds which stopped my arrhythmia immediately, whereas three cardioversions failed to stop my Atrial Fibrillation during the Study.  He therefore prescribed medication based on my Study and he knew the exact dose that would be successful in controlling my fast arrhythmia.

With the catheter tips they can send signals that cause the heart to beat faster or slower which may trigger your SVT or help them to see where any extra electrical signals are coming from.  They may also give meds through the catheters directly into the heart to block or slow electrical activity.  The heart's reaction to the meds gives them a lot more info too.  This is what they did for me.  Yes it is safe for you to be put to sleep (to have a general anaesthetic), since an anaesthetist will be on duty too if you choose to have a GA

ablation

by DMJ - 2022-08-24 00:52:50

I've had this done and it was no big deal. My EP was not able to trigger my heart as much as she hoped so did not get to remove as many triggers as she hoped.  A good EP is so important when dealing with arrhythmia's. We have to trust sometimes even if we don't fully understand all the medical words.