I am so confused... on 17 Nov 2019 I had a heart attack and arrested. So I had a emergency procedure to unblock a heartery and have a stent put in. 3 days latter I had a planned procedure to have a second stent. On 18March 2020 I was stood down from work because of corona virus. I have been safeguarding ever since. I have not had a letter and some seem to think I am not in the group that does need to safeguard/self-isolate/stay at home... obviously I feel very much at risk, but getting mixed messages and opinions - can't seem to get a definite answer- do I now need to safeguard at home until the 15th of August- I live and work in Wales.
Can anybody tell me what the official/unquestionable advice/instruction is for me...
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StDogs
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I was told having a heart attack and stents did not put you in the Clinically vulnerable group on its own so did not need to isolate for 12 weeks but to follow careful social distancing.
However other things on top such as having a impaired immune system did so its not so clear cut .
Even GPs say thay have been told the infomatoin in on Department of Health website and thay are confused.
Thanks for your response. If the doctors surgeries are confused, what chance have we got... if i go out, and I get it, I could be very very very ill... and I might ... ... ...
Im at a loss as to what you dont understand? It was made very clear who had to isolate and who didn't really have to unless they choise to.
Ive also had an angiogram and have a stent with heart disease. Ive kept as safe as possible but have not isolated to the degree of the people who did get letters.
Namely cancer and kidney patients to mention just a couple. You dont fall into that category so as long as your socially distancing then you should be fine. But its obviously your choce to venture out or not
OK... thanks for your response. In March I took the advice of My Cardiac Nurse who said I should be self-isolating for the 12 week period... ... That was her understanding... if I catch it... I could be very very ill... ...
My fiancé had a triple bypass just as the covid situation started. He was approx 6 weeks post op when lock down was made official.
He also has AFib, asthma and mild COPD but still wasn’t considered in the highest risk group that needed to isolate, although his gp did advise it would be sensible for him to practice strict social distancing and avoid shops etc.
Everyone’s circumstances are different I think only a very small percentage of people were actually put in the highest risk group.
Thanks for your reply. I took the advice given to me by my cardiac nurse who said I should self isolate for the 12 week period. I am trying to establish wether I should return to work - I was stood down on the 18th of March...
Thanks for your input... Stay Safe, Stay Well... I wish You Well... Thank you . I will be giving this some thought and seeking further advice, but, this may not be a straight forward "you should definitely stay at home". Thank goodness we have our garden to step out into...
The categories are really clear. Heart disease alone doesn’t put you on the list. But your Consultant or GP can add you if they think it’s warranted clinically.
OK thanks for your reply. I will try and get to speak with my consultant. I have a low heart rate and an issue with my hearts pumping action - Low EF... So I'm quite worried about going out just yet...
Hi StDogs, you’re just like me except I had both the stents in the emergency op after the arrest in Feb last year. If you look at the detailed NHS you’ll find we’re in the ‘Clinically vulnerable’ group, which one up from the general population but not as bad as ‘extremely clinically vulnerable’ who need to shield. The advice says we should stay home as much as possible. I go out quite a lot for exercise, running or cycling, but I can easily avoid people, and the only shopping I do is the monthly pharmacy run to collect my pile of smarties. My wife does the routine stuff. Will get complicated in September when school starts with 3 school age boys and me a teacher, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Hope this helps, stay safe! B
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