BODY: Ablation

Last week I saw my EP cardiologist.  I'm really not sure what I was expecting to come out of the appointment.  He left me with the same conundrum:  Stay on the beta blockers to keep my arrhythmia within the normal range OR have this ablation procedure where he would zap these rogue heart cells that are causing my PVCs.  I do not take any of this lightly.

The issue with the beta blockers (BB) is that they do not cure me.  The BB slow everything down including my adrenaline receptors which keeps things at bay but I still have PVCs just less of them.  I could increase my dosage of BB, the PVCs would likely be fewer.  Unfortunately, the BB make me dizzy on occasion.  Say I bend over to load the dishwasher or tie a shoe if I stand up too fast I get dizzy.  I suspect the BB are also making me tired.  Its hard to gauge tired.  Whether its truly from the BB or I'm just having a busy day or too much interrupted sleep, its so hard to figure out.  I do regularly (once a week) forget to take the medication which results in the PVCs coming in a little stronger.  The flutter in my chest is a quick but uncomfortable feeling that gives me anxiety.  I truly worry that something is majorly wrong with my heart even though I have been told everything is fine.  Supposedly there is nothing wrong with staying on BB long term BUT to take them for the rest of my life when it effects my whole body just doesn't seem right.  Plus, I worry that long term PVCs could effect my heart for the worse as well but I'm told they are harmless. 

Ablation means anesthesia, staying over night at the hospital, just all the worries that come with any kind of heart surgery, correction my cardiologist says its so minor its really just a procedure.  There's a great success rate though, like 95% effective and I'm told nearly all the complications are from the small incision made in my groin area not anything with the heart.  For the last several months I've wondered whether its worth it to go for the procedure.  I don't want to be one of these people that die on the operating table getting plastic surgery.   While this is elective surgery, my decision does not come from a place of vanity.  My doctor has been very reassuring that its a very safe and effective procedure so I've finally decided that I should have the procedure.  I'm booked for it in two weeks.