My husband has had PVC's for years but only in the last 1-2 years the frequency and intensity have gotten to the point that they are degrading the overall quality of life. It has gotten to the point that he tires very easy and he is coughing due to fluid in his chest.
Last year he was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. We have seen 2 cardiologists and an electrophysiologist all of whom have said the PVC's and the cardiomyopathy are unrelated.
We met with the electrophysiologist to discuss the possibility of ablation for the PVC's but he told us that he couldn't guarantee the procedure because it was impossible to pinpoint the exact location. On the contrary, I have a friend who is a medical student in Japan who, while working in cardiology practice was told by the doctor that there is a computer directed procedure which can pinpoint the spot precisely with great success.
In light of that, I began researching the internet to find out more about the ablation procedure to which she was referring and came across a number of articles that adressed "PVC-Induced Cardiomyopathy. While the articles were written for doctors, I was able to understand enough to find out that there is a potential connection between the two. A couple of the articles were actually written after very successful research studies using ablation.
Do you know of anywhere where I can find more layman friendly research and information and/or of any doctors or hospitals in Texas who specialize in this condition?