Finding a Cardiologist vs an EP??

I am having a terrible time finding a local EP. I went to one who was about a 90minute to 2 hr. drive away (depending on traffic), and he didn't work out. There are two more EPs in that same town, Santa Barbara, CA, but I don't know how to evaluate them without actually making an appointment (which will be about 3 months away). The first EP didn't like the fact that I was taking so many supplements and didn't want to treat me again unless I stopped all of them as well as my Armour thyroid.

There are many cardiologists in my area, so I'm wondering if I really need a local EP?? What are the advantages of having an EP over a cardiologist?

I have an appointment with Dr. Hongo, an EP at CPMC, in San Francisco on Jan. 31 to evaluate whether I am a candidate for ablation surgery, but he is about 300 miles away, so I know I will need a local cardiologist or EP as well.

Thanks for your help.

Nancy M

Just a thought - why not call dr. Hongo's office and ask them to recommend someone closer to you, explaining that you just want a regular EPclose to you, but you still want Dr Hongo to do your ablation? Tell us how it works out too, please?

PeggyM

WIndstar,

Peggy is absolutely right, there is no rush right this minute and its best to get a referral from Dr Hongo or the staff at CPMC for a good either local EP ...preferably as they tend to be more up with the nuances of ablation issues in general and in specific... or a good Cardio they trust in your general area near Santa Barbara. I suspect they will know of one or more in the general area they like.

And you can follow up with most things really over the phone with the superb staff at CPMC and they will manage you anyway for most everything during the first month before the ablation taking over anti-coagulation monitoring if you are on Warfarin then or less monitoring needed for Xeralto, and will follow up with you for sure during the first three months to six months post ablation and again at the 1 year point. They will send you monitors to wear for the first 4 months after the ablation and again for one week at the 6 month, one year and possibly at 18 months as well to confirm if there are any breakthroughs happening.

During this period right after the ablation you can always connect with a Doc they are already familiar with and trust which makes the whole thing smooth and easy.

Shannon

Wow Peggy, you hit a home run on that post!

Thanks for that sweet compliment George.

PeggyM