I'm 74 and was diagnosed with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibulation in May '24. In the interests of brevity I'll keep it simple. The NHS was moving at a glacial pace so I paid for a private consultation with a cardiac consultant who told me I needed an ablation. I could wait 14-18 months for NHS or 3 weeks if done privately.
The 18 months wait was unacceptable. I have plans! I proceeded with a privately funded procedure 2 days ago at Spire Hospital in Manchester.
The facilities and care at the hospital were first class. The procedure went well. I was taken into theatre, anaesthetised and the next thing I knew I was in the recovery room. I had no pain or soreness around my heart, my groin was sore where the entry was made and there was a Femstop device strapped on the wound to apply pressure. I had a slight sore throat.
The consultant visited me post-op and said, "it couldn't have gone better." He identified the problem areas and treated them. I'm not familiar with the technicalities of the heart muscle - that's his job - so I can't disclose exactly what he did.
I had an issue when I first stood up after lying down for 8 hours. Despite the groin wound looking dry, blood poured from it and the floor looked like the set of a horror movie!
I'm now home, taking it easy and feel virtually no discomfort anywhere. My heart feels much calmer, no arrythmia or racing, just the very occasional flutter, which I'm told is normal in the first couple of months.
I'm hoping this will be the end of AF but I do realise it's unpredictable and erratic. Fingers crossed. I write this to put minds at rest. The whole process was well managed with very little discomfort. I realise I'm fortunate to be able to go private but at my age, there a no more sensible ways to spend money than keeping oneself active and free from distressing health conditions.