hi all, am new here. Seems great site and support network. All very stressful and frightening though …
I live in the north of England and plan to pay for private consultation following A and E visits with fast pulse and high blood pressure in April …where told ‘likely Afib, is anyone able to recommend best doctors or hospitals please? Thanking you in anticipation..
Hi and welcome
Where is your nearest city? How far are you prepared to travel? You will need to be a little more specific if you want folk to recommend.
Liverpool (Heart and Chest Hospital which used to be Broadgreen) and Manchester have excellent Centres of Excellence for Arrythmias which are usually based in larger cities which where you will find the best consultants. Go north of that and not sure there is that much choice.
Various sites such as BUPA and other Health Insurers will have search engines for various specialities, as does the AFA which has limited list, which will give you good information about consultants specialities.
If you haven’t yet had confirmation of AF then I suggest this is your first step. AF has a habit of coming and going (Paroxsymal AF) which makes it very difficult to diagnose as you need to be in AF when you have an ECG and every time I rushed to hospital for an ECG AF terminated before they could hook me up. I was recommended to buy a small mobile device called Kardia which enables you to take your own ECG, print out a trace and take to a doctor.
Many of us on this site have such devices as this or a wearable - watch - which will detect AF. As long as you don’t get hung up on taking one every other minute these devices give excellent information for doctors - eg: if you have high BP then you may be asked to keep a BP journal where you take your own BP at home, 3 times a day for a week - this will give a much more accurate picture of your BP then a one off reading in a stressful A&E department or a GP surgery.
Three pieces of equipment are helpful to self monitor - BP Machine which can work when in AF, most will not. O2 saturation finger monitor and ability to take ECG from wearable such as iWatch or mobile monitor.
Best wishes
Many thanks for your response. I will take a look at your suggestions. I am in the north east, Newcastle, durham area. Am prepared to travel…just want time to speak to a consultant rather than the feeble few minutes we now get!
Good plan, I did the same as 20 years ago when I developed AF as I was most unhappy with advice from general cardiologist at our local hospital who to be fair spent an hour with me but was against ablation and I felt not proactive. I had a lot of difficulty taking medications and specialist consultants were few and far between so I travelled from Devon to London. Never regretted it.
Yes, I recommend first buying a Kardia 6L as you will need to have an ecg showing your arrhythmia before seeing any EP or Cardiologist. 24 hour delivery is available via the AliveCor website, so you can be up and running in no time. Perhaps best to avoid the subscription service offered by AliveCor and rely on your EP to do the ecg interpretation if your arrhythmia is more complicated than the simple "possible AF" or "NSR" determinations. (I have no financial interest in AliveCor)
Good luck.
I too travelled from the north of England to London. Its the best thing I ever did.
Have a look on line at the private hospitals near you and see if they have Electrophysiologists (EP) on their list of consultants. An EP specialises in Arrythmias - sometimes you may have to call the hospital or the Consultant's secretary to know more as its not always clear from their websites what their specialities within the cardiac sphere are. though sometimes you can look the consultant up by name on line and get more information about them on line.
It's a good idea to have the initial consultation privately and then ask to be put on the consultants NHS list so that any furhter expensive tests can be done that way. I had to do this when I had my first diagnosis with my GP as there was no cardiologist at our hospital and hadn't been for 14 months. Was lucky to consult with an EP who eventually joined the team at a hospital nearer which became linked to our group of local hospitals.
I do know that Manchester Wythenshaw has a brilliant Cardiac Unit.
I will definitely check this out. Many thanks
Was going to to suggest Wytheshawe hospital in Manchester- I was there at the end of 2020 as after heart surgery I was left with AF as I understand that happens sometime. My cardiologist referred me from my local hospital some 20 miles south of there- its always had a good reputation. Afterwards one of the staff assured me about when I commence walking to stay somewhere flat- bit difficult as live on the edge of the peak district😄but Ive not had a problem since
My wife goes to the Lung Centre and National Aspergillosis Centre there - we live a long way away but it's the best treatment we have had any where
Thanks for your input
l am privileged as l live 30 miles from Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge. It is the top heart hospital in the world. Prince Philip was treated there at one point. They performed the first ever heart transplant. There are several EP’s you can see. Bart’s in London is another top hospital.
Again…I will check this out definitely. Cheers
thank you all very much for your responses and advice. It is greatly appreciated. I will have a look and , yes, if need be, I will travel. Best wishes to you all.
There is a list of specialists (EPs) by area within the patient resources section of our main website. (Atrial Fibrillation Association.)
I can send you a private message on the forums ‘chat’ facility. I seem to think we arent meant to specify specific doctors on the forum. I could be wrong about that but in any case watch out for my chat post to you.
I’m in West Yorkshire but saw Dr Derek Todd of Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital. I initially saw him at his private clinic at The Spire in Warrington. He then transferred me to his NHS list/clinic for ablations and all check ups since. He is highly thought of and LHCH is a centre of excellence. There are other equally good hospitals and EPs around but this is the one I have had personal experience of.
I hope you find someone you are happy with.
thanks for reply; i will check out.
I am thinking of seeing an EP privately too. Do you have to be referred by your GP for this? Many thanks .
No, You just phone the hospital and speak to the secretary of the EP., who will give you an appointment.
I am in the NW and highly recommend the Lancashire Cardiac Centre in Blackpool. My consultant EP was Aruna Arujuna and I would not hesitate to recommend him.
I had a private consultation with him and at his suggestion went on NHS waiting list. I was offered an ablation 6 months later, was able to request Mr Arujuna, and he performed my ablation. This was nearly 2 years ago.
My husband and I both felt he was, not only a very skilled EP, but a thoroughly decent man.
look up York Cardiology online, and check Dr Sanjay Gupta’s invaluable YouTube videos on heart matters. Good luck
I agree I have had a lot of comfort from Dr Gupta's YouTube videos. I then decided to have a one-off private in-person second opinion with him and was somewhat underwhelmed - maybe he was tired at the end the day with all his on-line work etc ??
I have found it beneficial to have a once a year private consultation with the same cardiologist where I live in the South as you build up some continuity and I hope benefit from 'brand loyalty'!
My wife very briefly saw Dr. Gupta when she was an NHS in-patient at York (and agree, his videos are great too). Although he is a cardiologist he said he wasn't a rhythm specialist and he suggested my wife saw one of his colleagues privately - Dr. Jane Caldwell. We were able to see her fairly quickly (via BUPA) at Spire in Hull. Although we didn't need to go down the ablation route in the end (as the change in meds that she prescribed worked for my wife) we felt very confident with Dr. Caldwell's approach and understanding. So, we'd recommend her to you too, JFJ131
thanks for the tip. best wishes
Thanks for posting, good to know, will consider her as a possible second opinion for the future.
Many private consultants will offer a telephone or video consult too.
Dr Gary Wright at Ross Hall Clinic in Glasgow would be my suggestion. He is a top EP / Cardiologist.
thank you
it’s scary isn’t it - I had to go private after a&e admission last October as nhs cardiology was 12 months minimum wait
I went to spire Claremont hospital Sheffield and saw dr Sheridan cardiologist and was diagnosed and treated by him and now have an action plan and pill in pocket after recent A&e admission.
I believe he also works at Leeds too
Your local Nuffield and Spire hospitals will provide all you need and the information is available online. I would probably choose a cardiologist who is also an electrophysiologist ("EP") but that isn't absolutely necessary, but do choose one that also has a practice at your local major hospital's cardiology unit.
That said, and, speaking as one who has used the private route, initially in 2019 as we then had insurance, and later because of fear of delay, I can add that you might well not end up with better treatment unless you are willing to dig very deeply.
What you need is to realise that often your AF might more easily be diagnosed at home relatively cheaply using a home ECG device. This is so because of the nature of AF. It occurs sporadically (i.e. you have "paroxysmal" AF), and catching the event can be impossible for a GP to do. A home ECG, and I would recommend an Apple Watch since it is always on your wrist, is a way to capture arrhythmia events, and have evidence available for your GP to work with. An alternative is a Kardia device, but these are less likely to be there when needed and lack the functions of the watch.
A rather clever device, somewhat pricier but unique for home use, is a Wellue AI ECG which can run, depending on model for 24 hours (as in the one own) up to 72 hours. In my experience, 24 hours is more than enough and I rarely ran mine for more than a few hours. Amazon sell these, but they are always cheaper from the Wellue website.
Also, it's well worth saying that what you have is a disturbance in one of the top chambers of the heart, and, if it is AF, that will be in the top left chamber. The key chambers of the heart are the two bottom ventricles. However bad AF feels, and it can feel fearfully terrible, as if death is around the corner (a feeling of "impending doom", it is called, and is part of panic syndrome), it is not harming the heart, especially the bottom chambers or the valves, at least if a few things are true (and they usually are):
- the heart racing is sporadic (i.e. tachycardia, which is a resting rate of greater than 100bpm, and it is often 120-160bpm, sometimes up to 180bpm, rarely higher ). It can last for many hours without causing harm to the ventricles or valves (assuming there is no pre-existing heart disease).
- the tachycardia caused by the AF is not leading to a big drop in BP (thus compromising the major organs and making you feel faint or even collapse). When the heart races unnaturally (i.e. from an arrhythmia and not from stress of exercise) it pumps less efficiently. In a very few people only, this can require hospitalisation.
Normally, a rate control drug such as a beta-blocker like bisoprolol will be prescribed. This reduces the heart rate and force and can keep the AF at bay, or, at least, reduces the symptoms. It can reduce the heart rate during AF to make it less stressful and uncomfortable (perhaps down to 85-130bpm).
If you are over a certain age, your GP will calculate any stroke risk and determine whether you need an anticoagulant tablet such as apixaban or edoxaban.
To reiterate - you are safe, and the main effect of AF in the majority of sufferers is fear. This forms a vicious circle as it increases the already fast heart, making you feel much worse, even panicky.
Steve
Thank you very much ... I have found this reassuring. Best wishes
You will find cardiologists in the UK are as expert on arrhythmias as their EP colleagues (an EP is simply a cardiologist with training in ablations not in arrhythmias).
Steve
oh...thats interesting. I was thinking they were specialist in arrhythmias. Good to know. thanks
Well worth a private appointment with an EP as they understand arrhythmias. Lots of good advice to select one in all the comments.
Good luck
yes, all very much appreciated. So nice to have this forum. It can feel lonely and more frightening otherwise.... best wishes
hi are you near Sheffield/ Leeds. I had my ablation done in Leeds consultation was in Sheffield with a very very good consultant. Had no more heart problems since my operation 👏 after 8 years of constant svt’s .
Good to hear your successful operation. I could get to Leeds no problem, so if you dont mind sharing the name of the consultant. thanks
There is a Dr Steven Hunter who works at Sheffield (and other places both NHS and private) who has had very positive feedback re procedures for AF. Here's a link to his Bio at Sheffield Teaching Hospital ...
sth.nhs.uk/services/a-z-of-...
He is also mentioned by Forum members in this previous Post you might find informative ...
healthunlocked.com/afassoci...
Good luck.
Many thanks
Hi
Your Dr should refer you to best private Dr and my new private Dr said cheaper to be referred by Dr.
I live in NZ.
Only used private because no followup from Stroke Embolic, rapid & persistent AF. Yes I was followed up with possible ? Thyroid Cancer.
But saying yes to a biopsy meant I rung that I hadn't been called up. From 30 September rung late October - early November and procedure in late November.
I said No to Metoprolol but was prescribed regardless - said I would get breathless. She an Endocrinoligist said I could reduce. 23.75 x 3. I reduced and reduced to 1 x 23.75.
1 year 5 months a 24hr heart monitor proved heart rate 186 Day no exertion, pauses at night.
The heart specialist changed me to bisoprolol but little drastic reduction 156 Day can exert now. Proved above rate. Left there without control.
Then to the private consultation. He kindly shunted me back to Hospital Specialist to have ECG and 24hour H/Monitor after on new CCB few weeks.
Bingo. Controlled to 85-95 bpm then I lost 3kg then down to 60s.
Since then had 2 (not heart) ops I needed. Phew I thought when the anaesthetist said under 100bpm or won't operate. I was OKed. To mention that at night bpm 47avge though, my natural.
So if your private can refer you back for tests best.
CCB Diltiazem a god send. Try it for rate control.
I take only Bisoprolol 2.5 for BP control now 110-135. /. 69-79
cherio Joy 75. (NZ)
thank you for your reply Joy
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