cardiac ablation OMG wordy

A

anon

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So.... I'm functional and legal to fly with my PVCs (Premature ventricular contractions) but heard recently from a (new to me) doc that my arrhythmia is very likely ablatable (sp?). What prompted this was a 600,000th appointment for the discomfort I have from this condition.

The condition is very uncomfortable at times as the frequency and intensity is increasing. The ablation MAY make all of this go away.

Before I get the "health before flying lecture" - I'm trying - it's really, really, really hard to keep any health care professional's attention here. First, it's generally a very low risk condition. Second, our city is super over-tasked by medical demand. I visited our ER to get my arrhythmia checked out yesterday due to significant discomfort and promptly got ignored for three hours. The triage nurse that took me in looked rather disgusted when she saw me still sitting in the waiting room. She gave me a very sympathetic glance. My cardiologist office took mercy on me and got me a brief next day appointment where I received the new information.

What kind of nightmares does an ablation cath cause for a basic med pilot? FWIW, I had a SI for all of my cardiac conditions when I went on basic med. I assume that I will have to prove that I am still functional post-operatively. Probably 328 or so tests and a new 3rd class approval?

Does everyone else ignore benign medical conditions to save medical certificate pains even if it could make you more comfortable in real life?

Would love to hear from the actual docs here.

Grateful for insightful responses - thanks in advance.
 
Not so much distress

pre ablation consult
Ablation note
90 days down
Stress treadmill
Holter
Echo
Doc’s cardiology assessment

this may or may NOT be an SI after....
 
I had this issue about 16 years ago. Like yours, my PVCs were considered benign and so were not taken seriously by hardly anyone in the cardiology community. I finally found an electrophysiologist who offered me an ablation, but also said I might respond to meds and opted for that route instead. Meds worked wonderfully (verapamil) and even better, posed no barrier to certification. No SI was needed. So before ablation, I would certainly give the meds a try if you haven't already, and if your doctor thinks they might help. (Verapamil is a calcium channel blocker that is known to have anti-arrhythmic properties and is acceptable to the FAA, unlike some anti-arrhythmics.)

But you said you were on Basic Med... why then are you thinking you would need a 3rd class to resume flying? Unless your PVCs are due to CAD for which you've never had a SI, I don't see why this should be the case. Doc Bruce would know for certain, but my understanding is, that subject to the above qualifier, you should still be Basic Med eligible after recovery, even if you choose the ablation route.
 
FWIW, my doctor was diagnosed with this, but decided against the ablation. It may be nothing, it may be he knows what's behind the curtain, but if something caused me discomfort with regularity I'd get it zapped.
 
FWIW, my doctor was diagnosed with this, but decided against the ablation. It may be nothing, it may be he knows what's behind the curtain, but if something caused me discomfort with regularity I'd get it zapped.

Like any procedure there is a possibility it could go wrong. My understanding is a bad outcome could mean wrecking the heart firing system requiring a pacemaker to keep your heart beating. Life is full of risks.
 
PVCs may be a symptom of a condition that requires a pacer. Lots and lots of people, and pilots, have pacers. No SI required for that under BasicMed, either.
 
What kind of nightmares does an ablation cath cause for a basic med pilot? FWIW, I had a SI for all of my cardiac conditions when I went on basic med. I assume that I will have to prove that I am still functional post-operatively. Probably 328 or so tests and a new 3rd class approval?

Does everyone else ignore benign medical conditions to save medical certificate pains even if it could make you more comfortable in real life?

Would love to hear from the actual docs here.

Grateful for insightful responses - thanks in advance.

I had an ablation last November for Afib. Recently I had a self correcting Supraventricular tachycardia event during my stress test (I felt fine, the Doc conducting the test saw it)

I spoke with my electro cardiologist. He said it can be difficult to induce a SVT during an ablation so they can correctly map where the bad electrical signal is going from or to. (He induced my Afib during the ablation to map it and then selectively burned the areas) So a successful ablation for SVT can be problamatic.

I would spend some time trying to address this pharmacologically and if that isn’t working, go to the best hospital you can find/afford/travel to (Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Rochester) to get some advice on how to proceed.

Good luck
 
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