I actually met with Dr. Natale post 1 week ablation, because I was having a storm of SVTs or whatnot. He is a very nice guy, but at that time I want to wait at least 3 months to see how my heart settle down. It did settle down after 3 months and now I am back into arrhythmia mode again.
I forgot to mention that Natale is probably the top ablation expert in the USA and the top handful in the world. See if you can get an appt with him. I believe Dr. Hongo has the most experience with the Stereotaxis system of the group should that be recommended.
Thanks so much! Actually, I have another question to ask over there. I think I will hold off my planned pregnancy until I am completely healed from this thing.
It would be great if you can post your questions at the lone AF forum as well as there are many knowledgeable readers there about what you are going through. Though I can't recall anyone asking about taking AADs during pregnancy. That group there is familiar with doctors Hao and Natale.
I took it prior to my ablation in an attempt to control my SVT. It was a dismal failure for that.
But it did do a good job lowering my blood pressure, and it was one of the reasons it was prescribed years ago to people with high blood pressure.. But now Metoprolol is no longer a front line drug for control of hypertension. It been replaced with drugs that are more effective with fewer side effects. Still being that it was effective for me, and I really had acclimated to it, my physician and I decided that I'd remain on it.
I am very surprised at your outcome because CPMC does have an excellent reputation and all 4 EPs listed are experienced, Also the EP could have used their Stereotaxis equipped lab in your case (they obviously didn't given the navigation issue during the index procedure). So I would asked them about whether that would have worked better (my opinion - yes) and whether you should give it another go WITH the EP that is most experienced using the system. If not, would they refer you out to the top pediatric (because of small heart) center in NorCal. That would be UC Davis. There just aren't many studies that examined in detail the taking of AADs during pregnancy so there is big uncertainty about how reliable those statistics regarding safety are.
Are you taking Metoprolol only for hypertension only? And not for irregular heartbeats?
Hi, I did do it at CPMC because of their reputation. I don't want to do it again as it was hell for me and also putting myself at risk for a pacemaker or other uncertainties. So I am just back to square one and even worst than my previous SVT. Do you have any recommendation of more skilled EP at UCSF?
I reviewed your initial posts in April to get a sense of what happened and your AVNRT ablation failed. Your EP told you in April that your heart was "small" and he had difficulty getting the catheter to go where he wanted it to go as if there was an anatomical issue with your heart. My opinion is that you and your planned child would be better off if you have a successful ablation first so that you can be off AAD medication. AVNRT ablation is a relatively simple procedure when done at an experienced center (CPMC or UCSF or Kaiser Santa Clara as examples in Bay Area). It sounds like the index procedure made you worse by resulting in AT, PVCs. If your heart is difficult to navigate as your first EP said, then don't go back to him because you have to take him at his word, that he doesn't have the skills to do the job for you. Also the 3 example centers that I gave you have the procedure volume, skills, experience and tool to navigate structurally difficult hearts safely..
I too still take Metoprolol at 75mg per day 5 years out from mine. I use it for mild hypertension now. I forget now if this is certain, but I think Metoprolol is very safe to take if you're nursing. I believe it passes over in the milk, but the levels are so small, that it's not a problem. So if you need to continue it, I don't think it's an issue. It would be good to double check that though. You can't say that about every beta blocker, so you have to be selective. Good luck!