Singapore

[Glenn50]

Wife and I are thinking of a fortnight in Singapore next year. I have a number of health problems that are well controlled and haven't had AF back since my first cardioversion January 2018. Am on Pradaxa for life though. Will Take out a good travel insurance for wife and myself.

However I am concerned that the heat over there may cause a relapse. Am I worrying about nothing or am I right to be concerned.

[Tako2009]

Hi Glenn50

I have had no problem with AF holidaying in hot places including Sri Lanka and Vietnam. I think you should be fine as long as you remember to keep well hydrated. Plus usual advice about keeping out of sun in hottest part of the day, wearing a hat etc. I know we are all different in the way our AF is triggered but with sensible precautions and good travel insurance you should be fine, I think. And Singapore is clean, modern and I am sure has excellent health care should the worst happen. The only other thing I’d mention is to research weather in Singapore to avoid the very hottest (or wettest) times of year.

Enjoy your holiday!! 😊🎉. Liz

[Glenn50 in reply to Tako2009]

Thanks Liz. I will research the best time to go as I am sick of rain after this NZ winter (also have to make sure I miss the Formula1 racing over there.)

[CDreamer]

I’ve travelled to many parts of the world, including Singapore and Vietnam and as Tako suggested - just pace yourself and keep very well hydrated by drinking water.

I think age also has something to do with how well you tolerate heat or cold and I am more cautious these days as extremes affect me & my husband a lot more than 20 years ago - 68 & 85 - but it is rarely the temperature which affects the AF - more the stress of the travel and having to stand in line for so long so we now ask for assistance in airports which makes air travel at least possible but we do travel far less than we used to.

[wilsond]

I grew up in Singapore and it quite humid all year round. However everywhere has air con now so that helps. Out and about,hydration will be very important. Great modern health facilities there. Get good insurance cover as you say. Have a wonderful time wish I was going too!

[Glenn50]

Hi wilsond. The hotel we are hoping to stay at has air con and is fully serviced. Definitely will get good insurance as we are a couple of old crocks LOL.

[HiloHairy in reply to Glenn50]

I'm pretty sure every hotel in Singapore has air conditioning. It's one of the most modern and affluent places in the world.

I live mostly in Hawaii which has a climate nearly as equatorial as Singapore. This summer, nearly every day was at least 32 degrees C. I have a second residence in the San Francisco Bay area where the temperature seldom gets higher then 20 degrees. I'm as likely to get an afib event in one location as the other. The only difference at least for me is that I need to be somewhat careful about what I eat when I'm in Singapore and other Asian cities. Large amounts of sodium, prevalent in most Asian cuisines, acts as a trigger for me. Your body may be different.

I'm assuming you live in the UK and are flying a great distance to get to Singapore. If this is the case, I would suggest spending at least a little time somewhere else for contrast; possibly Bali, Indonesia or one of the beachy areas in Malaysia. They're both so close once you've flown that far. From Singapore it's even a nice picturesque drive to nearly anywhere in Malaysia. I suggest this in spite of the fact that I absolutely love Singapore and would consider living there. I think of it as possibly the best city for restaurants in the world.

[Glenn50 in reply to HiloHairy]

Thanks for your reply. I live in New Zealand 10 hours direct flight from Singapore Don't need to worry about too much sodium as I suffer from hyponatremia in my collection of medical problems so too much salt may be a good thing. We were talking about a extra week in Malaysia which would be great if we can get enough dollars together.

[Barb1]

Just go for it. I actually had to have some tests when I was there in 2015 and it was so easy, cheap with good communication with my UK EP. We travelled just before my 4th ablation.

[Glenn50]

Definitely going for it.