Appointment

[Vonnieruth]

Well hospital rang I'm actually in system for FA clinic but there are no appointments at moment I will receive it six weeks before I'm due to attend Is that a good or bad thing as I knew so many are far worse than me

[BobD Volunteer]

Sounds average unless you pay privately. AF is not life threatening so is not an emergency. Once you have had the first bank of tests and they know your heart is mechanically sound not a lot happens for a while.

[Vonnieruth in reply to BobD]

So would my bank of tests have been my 24 hour monitoring and my echo scan

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Vonnieruth]

yes

[Vonnieruth in reply to BobD]

Had them about seven weeks ago

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Vonnieruth]

Blood tests as well to check thyroid?

[Vonnieruth in reply to BobD]

Had bloods taken at time I went to hospital They said all was clear

[CDreamer]

Not a lot more you can do, If it were urgent then I think you would be seen much sooner. So maybe good news?

It may be an idea though to ask if there is an Arrythmia nurse at the clinic and if you can have their telephone number as they are often as helpful, if not more so on practical things, than the EPs.

I know at our local AF clinic the nurses never mind you ringing if you are worried about something and want to check it out - if they think it is something that requires urgent attention they will often be able to get you an appointment - often with themselves - much more quickly. If not urgent then it can be SO reassuring just to know you have a number to ring and be able to speak to someone.

They often have answer phone on but at our clinic they are very good at ringing you back.

[Vonnieruth in reply to CDreamer]

Thanks dreamer I will phone appointments this week and ask them that

[doodle68]

Hi Vonnie 6 weeks sounds good to me, you are I think on Apixaban so have a degree of protection.

I had to wait for almost 7 months for a clinic appointment with no official diagnosis, medication or echocardiogram.

Even after the clinic appointment where I saw a nurse not a lot happened other than my being prescribed medication and having an echocardiogram (I had to wait 8 weeks for the results of that) then it is a matter of waiting to see if the meds help to keep the AF under control and improve quality of life.

If your AF gets too severe to cope with there is always the option of A&E.

[Vonnieruth in reply to doodle68]

Yer Or my gp can send me back to acute medical ward We have two in the hospital where they try to treat you and send you home I was there six hours when I first started

[doodle68 in reply to Vonnieruth]

....Vonnie, unfortunately, the doctor I saw first was GP Registrar a trainee GP and she didn't seem to think my symptoms warranted any urgency and just said symptoms like mine usually required an appointment at the arrhythmia clinic and because she wasn't concerned neither was I . I later discovered the CHA2DS2-VASc risk scoring system and this site . I then realised how vulnerable to a stoke I had been with months of severe episodes of AF, a risk score of 3 and no medication.

I don't think all GPs appreciate the seriousness of untreated AF but people like the AF Association are busy raising awareness.

[CDreamer in reply to doodle68]

Last time I was sent to AMU by my GP who was very concerned after giving me an ECG I was hooked up to a BP monitor by a nursing attendant - not even a nurse - who said - oh your HR is only 90 - when it was 180 on my Kardia and felt more and the left for 7 hours in a waiting room by which time I had converted to NSR.

The whole place was absolutely heaving.

Not only GPs who are not overly concerned.