For the last few years my right arm goes to sleep at times when sitting. Finally after telling my VA Primary care physician several times, I had an EKG. I then wore a heart monitor for 14 days, & had a heart ultrasound & saw a cardioligist. He said age (I am 76) increased an extra pulse caused by extra tissue (probably from birth) & the blood is leaving the heart before the chamber is full. The PVC ablation will removed the excess tissue & I will be young again. He said only 6 practices in the US can do this. The Nashville VA is tied into Vanderbilt for specialties. My wife is against any operation. Does anyone know anything about this procedure?

I didn't have that exact procedure done, but I had a cardiac ablation sixteen months ago to correct bad afib. It's a heart rhythm problem that basically leaves you winded, dim-witted (brain needs oxygen to function correctly), and short of breath at all times because you're not getting good circulation through your whole body.

Again, slightly different procedure, but same premise: They run a camera/laser thing up your femoral artery and burn away tissue that's causing a disruption. For me, it was nodes causing one of my atria to pump irregularly, so those nodes that were firing off out of rhythm got burned off.

The idea of heart surgery was very scary. I was only 37 at the time, and had to sign a thing saying I understood I could die from that procedure. My quality of life from the afib was so bad, though, that I was willing to risk it. I'm glad I did. I'm on a heart rate regulator now, and aside from the occasional flutter, or stronger pulse when I happen to miss a few days of my meds (which is rare, but worth mentioning), I finally understand how mostly normal people live daily. It's amazing the difference. I didn't realize how badly out of whack it was because it was normal for me, and somehow nobody caught it until I was 35 years of age.

I think your wife is right to be concerned, but you've got to be the one who lives with it not working right. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best.

You are having the procedure at a private hospital with a Vanderbilt cardiologist? PVC ablation is a bigger deal. Cardiac ablation is much more routine. If still is not along shortly page him. Best of luck.

Procedure is being done at the Nashville VA main medical center which is located in the middle of the Vanderbilt Hospital complex. The Nashville VA has many Vanderbilt doctors & interns doing specialty work. "PVC ablation (LV outflow tract)" is what the cardiologist wrote down.

Probably best to page our Dr. Goodheart on this.

I'm like P220 Smudge....I've had 2 ablations and 2 exploratory caths so I've been on the table some. I have no clue what a PVC ablation is but A-Fib is nothing to screw with at your age. You could stroke out and your wife would regret keeping you from a procedure. Get to a Cardiac Electrophysiologoghy clinic and get the ablation that you need. You can call me or email if you want and I'll tell you more. Don't hesitate.

The data “pvc ablation, and LV outflow” makes me think there are two issues. PVCis common term for premature ventricular contractions. This when the heart does not fully relax and throws another beat. Everyone has PVCs excessive can be a range from annoyance to fatal(ventricular tachycardia).

LV outflow has me wondering if there is a component of HOCM. This is a outflow tract obstruction. This is treated with either ablation, or open septal myectomy. It is hard to give detailed information with the data you provided.

Talk with the Cardiologist and get more details. I worked cardiac surgery for 7 years at Cleveland Clinic. Currently in ER there. So if I can answer questions please feel free to reach out.

The correct answer here us go to Vanderbilt, find who the top guy is, and get a second opinion from him. This us not a decision I'd make based on advice from the internet.