Once a year I check in with my cardiologist to keep tabs on the old ticker. The most recent check showed an increase in irregular heartbeats and the recommendation was to re-do the procedure. Having been abroad for a while, I thought it might be worth seeing a Sydney-based Electrophysiologist/Cardiologist for a second opinion. The cardiologist in Sydney described my stress test echocardiogram, as "one of the most impressive asymptomatic cases of PVCs" that he has seen. What has gone from a second opinion, to second attempt. The procedure is slightly different this time around. Instead of one entrance site on the right-hand side femoral vein, the catheter from the right, an ultrasound probe from the left.
This time in Hurstville Private. It's nice having family around for the procedure. It's a little more standard, this time the anaesthesiologist puts me to sleep straight. I wake up and there's bleeding from both the groin sites and a familiar ache in the chest. Initial verdict, irregular heartbeats have been reduced but not completely eliminated. The muscle bundle from which the errant heartbeats were coming from the left papillary muscle, over 30+ ablations were performed. On blood thinners for the next 90 days.
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