The holidays and P-AF

[Rhiannonimity1]

I suffer from an AF episode roughly every 4-6 months and have done so for 4 years, prior to this the episodes were years apart. After my last episode I was put on bisoprolol 2.5 per day. I’m not on anti-coagulants. Every time I have AF I end up in Hospital for fast heartrate and a CV.

I’ve just come back from France. I was fine but my son needed urgent medical treatment for an ongoing problem with his ears. Everyone was kind, but we struggled with communication problems and I wasn’t able to tell them his medical history, which meant he was given unnecessary drugs, and we just didn’t understand what was going on. In hindsight, I realised that if that was me with an AF problem. It would have been extremely difficult without a translator. As an aside I also had problems with the travel insurance, because they were insisting I had documents I didn’t know how to ask for in French. I tried to use Google translate but the doctors wouldn’t look at it.

My question is- has anyone been hospitalised for AF outside the UK? If so, how did you manage?

Thanks

Anne

[BobD Volunteer]

Not sure how you always have a DCCV unless you are on anticoagulants but lets not go there. It is quite unusual to have DCCV so readily unless you had chest pain and drugs had not worked. Most people seem to manage their events more easily .

I've been to doctors in France with AF but I had e mails from my EP team advising me what to do and this enabled me to get the drugs I needed and stopped them sending me to a hospital which I did not need. I can only suggest that you carry a suitable multi language medical history to present in time of need and make sure that your travel insurance covers you for AF.

[Rhiannonimity1 in reply to BobD]

Thanks Bob. I have to take 300mg Flecainide when an episode happens. This never works and doesn’t appear to reduce my heart rate. I then have to go straight to a and e. They then try to persuade me to have an amiodorone bolus, which all consultants and my ep have told me to refuse because it causes a stomach upset which causes my af to recur within hours. So last time within 2 hours I was moved to the cardio ward where within 30 mins I was given electrical cardio version. I was on no regular meds at all despite having had paroxysmal AF for 11 years. I have previously posted on here that I was unhappy with the CardioVersion because it appears I wasn’t given the right strength of sedative or forgetful medicine for my weight, (I am heavy) because I was awake for the third attempt. I received very bad blistering burns to the chest and when I read up later someone of my weight should start with 175 - 200joules whereas I was started on 75, then 150, then 200 joules worked. I don’t recall they even asked me about anticoagulants. Drs I have spoken to since have been horrified that I was awake for the third CV.

Thanks Anne.

[rosyG]

I’m using my phone at present to translate things to someone with little English