I know this topic has been covered before and there are mixed answers! My car insurance is due for renewal shortly and the cheapest quote from the AA is £140 less than my current company (LV) who I've been with for several years and were told about my AF without any problem. I looked on a comparison site and one of the questions was medical conditions. I thought I'd have a look and was referred to the DVLA site where Atrial Fibrillation is mentioned. Although it is ambiguous, as on t the next page it lists Atrial defibrillator, no mention of Afib. I tried to fill out an online form and ended up having to download one. To cover myself I have completed it and posted, but am really worried it may cause problems for me driving as my husband is no longer able to drive due to dementia.
In a bit of a panic re notifying DVL... - Atrial Fibrillati...
In a bit of a panic re notifying DVLA about Afib
As long as you don't pass out with AF or become too dizzy to drive, I think you'll be fine.
Driving is permitted so long as the AF is not incapacitating. Things seem to change from time to time as last time I looked it did not need to be advised to DVLA and doctors are not required to report it.
Hi,If you go onto DVLA WEBSITE, THEN search for and visit Medical Services it lists shedloads of medical conditions incl. AF. Against each condition are some cans and cannots. Have a read through what it says. This database should be the most up-to-date. I vaguely remember it says something about the degree of how AF is controlled.
John
You only have to tell DVLA if your Afib causes disabling symptoms or you cannot control the vehicle so if these don't apply you might have given yourself a problem !
Here's the actual wording from GovUK. 'Talk to your doctor if you’re not sure if your arrhythmia causes other symptoms that will affect your driving, or if you must tell DVLA about them.
You must tell DVLA if your arrhythmia affects your driving.'
So unless you have symptoms which are causing your driving to be affected. you don't have to notify AF. You say you've already notified them now, but I doubt it will cause you any major problems unless they want to check back with you what symptoms you have that are affecting your driving.
But of course, if things change and you suddenly start to suffer dizziness or anything else which could potentially cause you to become a danger through driving, you must let them know as soon as possible.
Actually this is a useful post. I'd previously been told no need to inform DVLA. Is the discrepancy of opinions due to differences between licencing and insuring I wonder? Pretty sure we didn't tell insurers when we renewed recently whereas for travel insurance we did. Cost a bomb too - and then the pandemic hit so we never used it!
Thank you John6. This is what I looked at
The operative word is ‘CAN’ include……As Callendersgal suggests, given that you’ve told the DVLA, talk to your doctor and ascertain if your condition is so bad that you shouldn’t drive. Doctors generally will set a high bar when it comes to denying your own means of transport especially if you need it, or it is helpful, on health grounds.
But if you look at the specific wording on AF it applies only if it effects your ability to drive safely, if not they don't need to be told. I didn't tell DVLA because i could drive safely however when I got my pacemaker I did have to tell them and they just said ok carry on.
My insurance weren't interested in either AF or Pacemaker.
Hopefully they don't suspend your licence but it's a possibility as others have found !
Hi and good morning, as far as I am concerned only a pacemaker needs notifying to DVLA and insurance. It did not affect my price either.Dave
Last time we tried contacting the DVLA they were on strike with over 1.4m backlog so don’t expect to hear back soon. We notified them of my husband’s pacemaker 4 months ago and nothing!
I notified both the DVLA and my insurance company about my af. My insurance company told me that as long as the DVLA were happy to allow me to drive, they were too.
I see how your confusion arrives.John 6 was correct in his quote from the DVLA website but it specifically says CAN include, not DOES include. And as you say it goes from mentioning Atrial Fibrillation to asking if you have an implanted defibrillator.
In the past it's been if your AF
affects your driving or if you've been told by a doctor to stop driving. It specifically mentions for a period of 3 months or more.
I've had AF for about 27 years
On one occasion while driving on the M62 on the approach to Leeds I felt ill, that I wanted to pass out. I pulled over to the hard shoulder and opened all the windows to get cool. Then I pulled off the motorway and by driving towards my destination, Wakefield I managed to get within 2 miles of a hospital. I stopped and rang 999 and was taken to hospital. After that incident I decided to travel by train on my 3-4 times a week journeys to Wakefield but drove without problems locally, e.g. for shopping. After some time I started motorway driving again. At no time did I think it was necessary to inform the DVLA because it did not affect my ability to drive.
Currently I cannot drive because of a condition called Foot drop. I could drive a car that had a hand operated brake and accelerator
but sorting that out is not a priority as I can walk and can use public transport. I order what I need, e.g. food online. I'm not notifying DVLA because I can't drive, even if I wanted to. I should add that my licence has lapsed and I will only renew it if I have handed controls fitted to my car or if my foot condition disappears.
You were lucky to get to the hospital..you should have dialled 999 when you got on the hard shoulder of M62. In that state you were a danger to yourself and all other road users.
Sorry you are currently having other problems.
I have a friend with ‘foot drop’. What have can done about it that is effective?
"that is effective", therein lies the puzzle. I have a telephone appointment with a foot and leg specialist on Tuesday, really to get back into the NHS system as it happened at home in West Yorkshire, went to a hospital in Bradford, then stayed in Lincoln for 11 months with my cats, Bradford discharged me, and after a bit of a wait, Lincoln took me on. Left Lincoln end of June, Lincoln discharged me, and now I'm back in West Yorkshire and trying to get back into the system. So far I've been given a splint, which helps, and had a nerve conduction study, which couldn't find the peroneal nerve, electromyography which couldn't detect activity within my muscles. GP referred me to Muscular Skeletal team within the large medical group which runs many surgeries. They referred me to the consultant who works at a local private hospital to which I was referred by the NHS. Her main job being a foot and leg specialist in north west England. I feel an improvement, but fear that little will happen as I don't have pain very often.
Hi there--an elderly fried of mine had pain in her back and subsequently developed foot drop. She privately paid for a cortisone injection in her lower spine and with a bit of physio the foot drop and the back pain are gone. She is able to walk fine now. Don't give up hope of getting better Thomas.
Thanks dizzielizzie2 I have heard of others who've had foot drop from back pain. I haven't yet given up hope but mine was most liakely caused by slipping and falling downstairs, just where the peroneal nerve runs past the fibula where I had an hairline fracture. The problem is that because of the pandemic and moving from my house to my sisters' 80 miles away, I've not had continuous treatment for the condition.The NHS is not as national as we would like. The GP I had in Lincolnshire sent me for further x-rays but did not follow up the foot drop. In the end I went myself to A&E and admitted that to them it wasn't an emergency but it was the result of an accident. I saw an orthopedic specialist and treatment started, and after 8 months I've had to start again as I've returned home. This time GP referred me to a musculoskeletal team of GPs, and they've referred me to a foot and leg specialist. Unfortunately it won't be a face to face appointment, but all I want to do is get back into the system.
My 11 month move to Lincolnshire didn't affect my AF which is now p asymptomatic and permanent, not my asthma,as my medication was sent monthly on request from my normal GPs to a nearby pharmacy. I couldn't wear a compression sock on my right leg , ( I have lymphoedema in both my lower legs), because the contours of my leg had changed, but that's sorted now.
I don't have pain but it would be easy to think I don't have a problem.
Thanks for your comments and support.
Hi, the following is a direct quote from the gov.uk website under the medical condition Heart Arrhythmia;
"Car or motorcycle licence
You must tell DVLA about your arrhythmia if one of the following applies:
you have distracting or disabling symptoms
your arrhythmia means you might not be able to safely stop or control a vehicle
Talk to your doctor if you’re not sure if your arrhythmia causes other symptoms that will affect your driving, or if you must tell DVLA about them.
You must tell DVLA if your arrhythmia affects your driving."
I was told to let the DVLA know by my doctor. So I did. My experience was that you are allowed to carry on driving as long as a doctor has not told you you cannot drive whilst they process the notification.
The form I filled in needed the doctors details. They then contacted my doctor to confirm that I was safe to drive. I received a letter weeks/months later to say there was no problem and could continue to drive.
It was a pain doing the paperwork and worrying but in the end on a practical level it made no difference and I just kept driving.
I hope this helps allay some of your fears.
I tried to report it to my insurers but they just said they’d make a note of it as it wasn’t on their list of conditions to worry about……
I rang the DVLA four years ago to inform them I had Afib. She said she had to open a file on my condition and not to drive until I had received a letter saying I was clear to drive. The letter came a couple of weeks later and so I can drive and yet they have been notified, so I feel all bases have been covered.
Hi I'm glad you raised this point. The DVLA changes its guidelines frequently. I checked with my GP earlier this year and he said fine to drive so didn't inform DVLA. However when I checked again earlier this month when insure quote due I want sure. Couldn't get through to DVLA by phone and no e mail address available so I have written to them and I'll let you know what the reply is. I didn't tell insurance company but they said no problem if gp says ok.
I never gave insurance changes. They never questioned. I have 8 stents, COPD, AFib and who knows what else. I have many diagnoses that are on health insurance papers. I guess Blue Cross and State Farm don't communicate. I guess we need to judge it for yourself and know if it safe for you to be on the roads. Maybe stay on familiar roads. I stay off snow covered roads. Never mastered the skill required. You'll figure it out. Transportation to Dr. appointments is a fact.
A friend of mine is a manager in an insurance company and told me that I should inform my car insurers. If not, and I had an accident, whether it was my fault or not, it may affect any claim I make and they may not continue insuring me
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