hi i ad a cardioversion on tuesday that put me back in sinus then i saw my consultant on friday
He was very unhelpful and wouldnt answer any of my questions , the only thing he said was all this as damaged my heart , when i asked him to explain he would,nt so now i dont know whats going on , i probably have a damaged heart but i dont know for sure , ive always been fit and healthy before all this
i am not impressed at all by my treatment as anybody else ad these problems
Thank You
Steve this is wrong. I am so sorry that you suffer from baffoons like this as they do so much damage to the patient in terms of confidence and ability to go forward. I would write to the patient support group at the hospital where you were treated and complain about this consultant and ask for an explanation. Do you get copies of all medical correspondence sent to you? Most hospitals ask if you want this and I always do. If not write to the consultant and ask for this and also an explanation of what he meant and what are you options.
Frankly I find it odd that he should say this as although AF long term may do some damage to the heart, the reality is that most people with AF have an otherwise healthy heart. Stopping AF will normally allow any enlargement of the atria to correct itself and return to normal.
BobD
Hi Steve,
Sorry to hear of your bad experience. I would get a second opinion from another consultant. Ask your GP to refer you to someone else and in the meantime consider putting in a complaint. You should not be put in this position, it is awful and completely unacceptable. Regards Dee.
Hi thank you for the replies I've been really down since i saw the consultant , I was feeling really good when my cardioversion worked but since then all I've done is worry i am 46 and when he said my heart was damaged i was devastated , i just don't know anymore
But thank you for your replies
We have all been where you are now Steve, worried, anxious, devastated and quite frankly not knowing where to turn. Do go and see your GP and insist on getting your questions and concerns answered and next steps made clear. Keep the faith you will be sorted but you need to push. We are all here to support you so keep using the forum. Best wishes Dee.
thank you Dee i dont know if if it was being so uptight with all this but my heart as just tripped back into afib am gutted
Stress will do it Steve, hope you soon revert to normal sinus rhythm. This is a lousy condition made far worse by your recent experience I don't doubt. Try not to be too afraid. Try to keep calm, not easy, and get some answers asap. Take care. Dee.
Slightly playing devil's advocate here, it is very hard to answer some of the af questions such as will it stay in sinus rhtyhm? I have had over 10 cardio versions and 3 ablations and still I slip in and out but I am a lot better than I was. I have a full time and a half time job and keep 11 equines. The questions I asked that they wouldn't answer were, will it last (it didn't), will I die earlier than others and if so what sort of age? still asking this one and no one seems to know,
but above all, what shall I do now I have had the cardioversion which they just stared at me and said, oh carry on as normal. Well as normal for me is flat out work I found this extremely unhelpful. Seven years down the line they should ahve said, carry on but rest as much as possible after the cardioversion, eg an hour or so in the day and get 8 hours sleep at least. As for damaged hearts, they should be doing an angio gram for this and you need to know if there is damage. Esp as you can then claim critical illlness on your mortgage ify ou have it. I'd guess there isn't any damage but this consultant isn't very up in af and assumes there is. Go back and ask for angio gram and don't go away until they do one. Also heart scan. If you are not already referred to somewhere like Papworth, ask to be. I wasted two precious years at a general hospital before Papworth. I am now having to go back to Papworth to deal with GPs who think because I have had all this treatment I must be fine and need no special treatment - esp as I have carried on working. Very annoying how little the medical profession apart from places like Papworth, seem to understand AF and its implications.
10 cardio versions and 3 ablations and still suffer with AF? Goodness, my consulant wants me to consider both, but after reading that I do not feel inclined to try either.
Steve, My heart goes out to you, I reckon I had been having Af for 8 months before it was picked up by my Gp, when I was admitted I was told that I had Heart Failure and my heart was damaged, 12 months later after rest and good care by my consultant ,medication I was told my xheart had more or less healed itself, although I have had 4 cardioversions, 2 ablations and latterly a pacemaker fitted, I feel well, I am still here 4 years later and expect to be around much longer. Having Af is bad enough, to have a dickhead of a consultant makes things worse. Attached to each hosp there is normally a Heart Rhythem nurse, perhaps it would be well to speak to her, possibly she would be more helpful, also ask to be referred to a different consultant. I cannot fault the treatment I have had at the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hosp, they have been brilliant, not all consultants are pratts Thank God. Hope you can get some reassurance as stress will not help.
hi Steve
Sorry to hear the lack of information from your cardiologist ; unfortunately you get good & bad in most areas of life- cold comfort but true .
Now is the time to see your doctor ask for referral to another cardio ..tell him what happened. I agree with all the sentiments' written by other forum members... there is no excuse for the rudeness & insensitivity shown to you. Sometimes you can be lost for words!
Keep in mind that atm you are in sinus and despite the upset you do have the choice to see someone else. Don't let the stress of this make AF worse ; it loves stress so take it away . Not easy but necessary. I have a feeling that this will lead you to a better cardiologist so all is not lost .
Hugs
take care
Nikki
Hi Everybody thank you so much for your replies
I spoke to the cardio nurse this morning and she as arranged me an appointment with a different cardiologist at my insistence , although this isnt for a couple of months and she couldn,t say what treatment i would get next ,
i was hoping my heart my go back into sinus overnight but i have,nt been lucky
I went back to work this morning , i do a physical job but i am not going to let a ignorant consultant or afib beat me .
Thank you all again its reassuring to know i can get great advise from you guys that are experiencing the same things and have been through it all already
My 3 ablations and numerous cardioversions have helped Steve and if it had been diagnosed correctly by GPs i wouldn't be in the state I am in now. Although I am loads better and going to Uganda complete with AF in November!
My 3 ablations and numerous cardioversions have helped Steve and if it had been diagnosed correctly by GPs i wouldn't be in the state I am in now. Although I am loads better and going to Uganda complete with AF in November!
Steve, the conduct of this 'Consultant' is without doubt, completely wrong, let alone unhelpful. I have paroxysmal AF and had 3 cardioversions at one go, which didn't work, but later I was called in for a Consultant appointment and it turned out to be the Registrar.
A jumped-up little 'Oyk', if ever there was, he commented that if it was up to him (he was the Doctor on the DVLA, he would take my licence away. My daughter, Sian and I could not believe our ears but for the moment, said little back, as he had more to say on the matter. We went home and promptly reported him to the Patient Liaison Team and he was replaced. When we saw him next, he was heading in another direction, with a face like a clap of thunder and we've not seen him since. Consultants with bad attitudes and no people skills are dangerous and definitely in the wrong job.
Can you ask your GP to use NHS choose and book to get you to an established EP cardiologist such St. Mary's in London Wyn Davies's EP Clinic. You could also get an initial private consultation with recommended treatment plan to take back to the NHS. Advise from an expert EP clinic is unlikely to be refused and if it did there would certainly be duty of care and negligence issues.
Good luck.
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