Heart problems and GP

PamelaJ1 I can relate to your story. Like you I have paid more than £700 for an echocardiogram and a consultation with a cardiologist. My GP refused to even refer me for an echo, giving me the impression I didn't need it, but when I looked at my notes on the NHS App, she had put that she hadn't referred me "because the service is overwhelmed"

I have 3 friends who have had "silent heart attacks" which were only discovered further down the line, one friend actually dying and the 2 others nearly dying before being given stents or a pacemaker. My own heart episodes pointed to my possibly having had the same and I was getting nowhere with the NHS.

The private cardiologist diagnosed Atrial Fibrillation and SVT and wrote to my GP recommending a beta blocker and a blood thinner which he prescribed. I have had more advice and help to get these medications tweaked from the British Heart Foundation who offer a free consultation with a cardiac nurse.

I pushed for a referral to an NHS cardiologist but there are no appointments even for next year. I have also been referred to the Lipid Clinic because my cholesterol is astonishingly high (8.4) for no reason as I have other health conditions which mean I eat a very restricted low fat diet. GP thinks my high cholesterol is genetic but both parents died many years ago and were never tested. Meanwhile I have put myself on Plant Sterols to reduce it and it has gone down to 7.2 in 2 months, so I will stick with those for the time being rather than take statins.

At the moment I have Shingles so am battling with that.

Just a quick up date on my ‘journey’ - I’ve seen the private cardiologist and he explained the information in the letter that the A&E Dr. had not made clear.
He told me to have a cholesterol test which I had at the Surgery. I had a reading of 5.7 the pharmacist rang me and told me that I could try and bring that down by changing my diet or by taking statins.
I will try the diet first but as I seem to be following the guidelines anyway I am not hopeful.
Am having another ECG and an echocardiogram tomorrow privately. In total I will have spent £725. No Christmas presents this year!
Good luck to all of us.

My Dad walked to his Gp surgery to order a repeat prescription one day.
He must have looked a bit off as they took his pulse: 35!
Straight to hospital and had a CRT device (pacemaker) fitted.
He was 87 at the time and is still going strong at 93.

You are far too young to be written off Notagranyet24!!

I was nearly crying with frustration last week.
At the end of August I collapsed on the tennis court and was taken to hospital by Ambulance.
Had all sorts of tests and was pronounced very healthy.
I had to go back a few days later and have more tests. Again I seemed fine but had to return the following week to pick up an ECG machine that I had to wear for 24hours.
Turns out I have a problem but I am not sure quite what!
I have been given a prescription and am now taking A pill every day.
I am supposed to have an echocardiogram but after waiting now for about a month for an appointment I thought I’d start contacting my GP.
They weren’t interested, I had to go through the hospital.
They eventually told me that it would be about 4 months before I got an appointment.
When I suggested having it done privately I was told that the consultant wasn’t prepared to look at a private result.
Tomorrow I have a private appointment with a cardiologist. Not for the echocardiogram but just for a chat.
£250.
The 4 month wait may be quite reasonable, I may not need to be concerned but I need reassurance.
As someone who knows nothing about heart conditions I have been worrying for weeks and think my £250 will be well spent.

Absolutely disgusting behaviour from a GP. I suggest you go to your practice and tell them as a complaint and say you want to see a different Dr

I am a GP and I am upset by the actions of my " colleague " ( even though I have no idea who or where they are , of course)
Go back ,insist on seeing someone else.
You need a proper ECG , probably at least a 24h tape , blood tests , BP monitor and possibly chest xray and an ECHO scan of your heart.
In the meantime cut down on caffeine.
Be firm.
I'm 68 and still working as a GP so you are definitely not considered old at my practice!

Pri1

I think this is awful from your GP. You need further investigations. It could be atrial fibrillation. Get another appointment with a different Doctor. Don’t wait.

This, in spades!

Luckygirl3

Send me this young trainee! I am at a loss with all this, but ploughing on somehow.

She was amazing. Listened to me, lifted the phone, said I am going to get into trouble for this and phoned the Professor directly on his mobile.
She caught him walking to a clinic and he said he had five minutes to listen.
He gave her advice on the spot and asked her to call his secretary to explain more fully.
She actually saved my life.

I agree Sarnia.I take Edoxaban as a blood thinner but need flecainide twice daily for AF.

Sorry to hear you have been feeling unwell and have a Dr who is not treating you correctly. Send a letter/email to the practice manager. It would be worth you having some comprehensive blood tests as this could also be a thyroid or iron issue. Hope you get to see a caring Dr at your practice soon.

Some doctors dismiss women’s heart problems. Try another GP, OP, maybe a woman GP?

Send me this young trainee! I am at a loss with all this, but ploughing on somehow.

Luckygirl3 I am having dreadful side effects from the multitude of drugs I am taking for my heart. Saw GP this morning and he does not know which is causing them. So nothing to be done.

This happened to me initially. I was back and forwards to the GP, sent away without help, but dug my heels in.
Eventually, a trainee GP listened to me and phoned the Professor, whose research I was involved in.

Out of the blue at 5.30pm, I got a phone call to say, that I was to come straight to hospital, a bed in coronary care was available.
I spent a week in hospital, where it was discovered that one of my heart medications was totally unsuitable and doing the opposite of what was required to keep my heart stable. My heart would eventually have stopped.
I was so fortunate and will be ever grateful to that young trainee.

Madmeg

I experienced fluttering in my chest, several times, but only for a few minutes at a time, until 8 months ago the fluttering was stronger and lasted over an hour. I took myself off to our local Out of Hours clinic (a godsend in this area) and was immediately sent to A and E 12 miles away. Fortunately my DH was able to take me. Six hours of sitting in A&E and undergoing several tests, I was eventually seen by a doctor who diagnosed AF. He tried one drug (intravenously) but it did not do the job, but the second one (Apixaban) did. I am now on that (a blood thinner) and have been fine. I was told I would be seen by a cardiologist but so far no appointment. However my GP thinks the Apixaban is doing its job and it isn't likely I will need further intervention at this time.

However, I have since learnt that I have three cousins (all on my dad's side) who have pacemakers (and declare they got a new lease of life) so that might be something to look forward to.

The nurse at the out of hours wanted me seen IMMEDIATELY, and told me if I felt worse en-route to call 999 at once. I didn't need to do that, thank goodness.

Incidentally, the hospital I went to for A&E was full of buckets collecting rain water from the leaking roof. Staff had to wheel beds around the leaks to treat patients - but they did it all with a chuckle!!! The government has just turned down funding for repairs to the decaying building where three entire medical blocks are now deemed unsafe.

Either pay to see a cardiologist or go to A&E for free (but a long wait). Do not delay. AF is easily controlled provided done swiftly.

Sorry to disagree but as a sufferer of AF for over 30 years it is NOT easily controlled and the anti-coagulant Apixaban had nothing to do with your AF stopping and your heart reverting back to normal sinus rhythm. It was a coincidence, pure and simple. AF starts and stops entirely of its own accord as you will find out should AF blight your life like so many others. You were given Apixaban as a precaution to protect against a stroke. Irregular heartbeat means the blood does not flow smoothly and has more ability to clot, hence the need for anti-coagulants.

I can only echo what has already been said on here and if I was in you position, the next time I had such an episode I would be going straight to Urgent Care or A & E.
A 2 minute ECG does not sound adequate IMO - all those that I have had over the years have been taken over a significantly longer period.
As for the GP telling you that you will probably have a heart attack/stroke.........have they never heard of preventative medicine???
Keep making a noise until you are listened to

madmeg .... it might be worth you knowing that apiaban does not treat or stop AF which is a faulty heart rhythm that needs treatments aimed at rectifying the rhythm problem. Apixaban's job is to thin the blood and prevent you having a blood clot that could cause a stroke. Blood clots are a risk when you have AF. The blood thinner has no role in stopping AF. So you have just been lucky that your AF seems to have been a one-off.
sparklefizz ... thank you for your suggestion.

Luckygirl3 I am having dreadful side effects from the multitude of drugs I am taking for my heart. Saw GP this morning and he does not know which is causing them. So nothing to be done.

May I recommend the British Heart Foundation which is a charity. They offer a free telephone consultation with a cardiac nurse and I found her very helpful when I was having bad side effects from my heart drugs which I've only recently been prescribed. She gave me the information to suggest to my GP who agreed to prescribe accordingly, and I am getting on much better now. (I have A.Fib and SVT)

I felt really angry when I read this post .
I'd certainly follow the advice given .
And I hope that the unacceptable response can be resolved at another surgery .
I'm not happy with my surgery either .
Apart from losing my prescription or causing me to continually ask for an emergency supply the person who did my annual asthma check up has removed Salbutamol from my prescription
On the rare occasion , I have a severe asthmatic attack - I need my emergency inhaler and end up on A and E .
They are putting my life at risk and also causing extra work for the A and E staff .

I experienced fluttering in my chest, several times, but only for a few minutes at a time, until 8 months ago the fluttering was stronger and lasted over an hour. I took myself off to our local Out of Hours clinic (a godsend in this area) and was immediately sent to A and E 12 miles away. Fortunately my DH was able to take me. Six hours of sitting in A&E and undergoing several tests, I was eventually seen by a doctor who diagnosed AF. He tried one drug (intravenously) but it did not do the job, but the second one (Apixaban) did. I am now on that (a blood thinner) and have been fine. I was told I would be seen by a cardiologist but so far no appointment. However my GP thinks the Apixaban is doing its job and it isn't likely I will need further intervention at this time.

However, I have since learnt that I have three cousins (all on my dad's side) who have pacemakers (and declare they got a new lease of life) so that might be something to look forward to.

The nurse at the out of hours wanted me seen IMMEDIATELY, and told me if I felt worse en-route to call 999 at once. I didn't need to do that, thank goodness.

Incidentally, the hospital I went to for A&E was full of buckets collecting rain water from the leaking roof. Staff had to wheel beds around the leaks to treat patients - but they did it all with a chuckle!!! The government has just turned down funding for repairs to the decaying building where three entire medical blocks are now deemed unsafe.

Either pay to see a cardiologist or go to A&E for free (but a long wait). Do not delay. AF is easily controlled provided done swiftly.

I went private too when my AF worsened this year, after having had it for over a decade.
When I left hospital after a recent cardiac episode and stent I was told the wait time for followup is 65 weeks, so went private again.
I am having dreadful side effects from the multitude of drugs I am taking for my heart. Saw GP this morning and he does not know which is causing them. So nothing to be done.
I think that anyone having episodes of unconsciousness should be thoroughly investigated.

This sounds so familiar.
I had several fainting events over 5 years.
GPs dismissed them and nothing picked up on ECG.
Last year had a private Cardiac appt,cost £250.
He arranged a 2 week holter monitor which we paid for,results showed episodes of AF,so put on anti coagulant.
Fitted with an internal loop recorder,again we paid for,it showed heart pauses of up to 20 secs.
Had a pacemaker fitted NHS,excellent care. Dread to think what might have happened ifwe hadnt gone private so if you can afford it do go for it.

Definitely sort this out. I had AF - was referred immediately to a cardiologist- after trying a monitor- nothing was captured so the cardiologist recommended the Kardia device. The AF was captured - emailed to the cardiologist who then prescribed blood thinners - Rivaroxiban- and Flecainide - I take 2 of the latter each day and it has stopped the AF completely. If it should happen and very occasionally it has, I just take more Flecainide and in about 5 to 10 minutes, it has stopped. The cardiologist called it a pill in the pocket. I keep some with me all the time. Please do something -

I have recently been diagnosed with AF, have a very irregular heartbeat and am now on several meds. One thing they made clear to me was that an irregular heartbeat increases your risk of stroke and so I'm on blood thinners for life. I hate having to take all these meds after being healthy most of my life but if they keep me going I'm grateful for them - I'm 73 next month and my youngest grandchild is only 6 months old and I want to be around to see her grow up.
Please insist you have more tests, I've had blood tests, an ECG and 2 echocardiograms, all on the NHS - and I only had phone appointments with my GP! Good luck and I hope you soon get the treatment you need.

I’m horrified,please next time phone an ambulance,you must see a cardiologist,it’s important—— easy for your Dr to be so casual,there is no comeback if he screws up & it gives other caring Drs a bad name when most are working so hard.

I agree you need to have this thoroughly examined and treated seriously, and that the first step should be a second doctor's opinion.

In your place, I would stop the kind of exercise that made you feel so woozy and tired - it is obviously doing you no good, and might be doing harm.