Hi all. I’m recovering well from my Cardiac Arrest (Dec 2019) and resulting diagnosis, in March 2020, of Heart Failure due to LVSD and low EF of 27%. Also had an ICD fitted (June 2020) to assist but overall I’m feeling well and want to return to work.
I am currently under review by my company’s Occupational Health Department and Cardiologists reports have been sent to my employer.
I was just wondering if anyone has relevant experience regarding their return to work. How did you find it? Was your employer supportive? Did you find it too much? etc. etc. etc.
As I’ve already said, I feel well, currently have no symptoms, and would like to return to work, as much for my mental health as anything else. I am able to undertake my role (in my opinion) and just wondered what other people’s experiences were.
Thank you.
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MattyC1968
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I was in a rush to get back to work, which was perhaps driven by a combination of denial and a need to reassert control. I returned after 4 weeks on a flexible working basis, initially working in the office 2 days per week and the rest from home, adding an extra day in the office every week until back to normal. So, 7 weeks until I was back to the previous working pattern. This included some further travel to the USA, which I was initially nervous about but went perfectly well. Even stayed in the same hotel where I had my HA!
All through that period though, the expectation/hope from the medics was that my heart would recover significantly as I was treated quite swiftly, so nobody was talking about HF and any longer term complications. Unfortunately this turned out not to be the case - I went from 30-35% ef on discharge to 40-45% (was given Entresto in the US, which was discontinued after 4 weeks back in the UK, but that’s another story), then 35-39% on a series of Echoes, before an MRI in January this year confirmed 34%.
My employer was hugely supportive throughout. I’m fortunate in that I work for a big multinational and they even flew my wife over to the States to join me within 24 hrs of being admitted for my HA. Loads of supportive messages from up and down the chain of command telling me not to come back until I was completely ready.
The flip side is that, for all the genuine support, the corporate world is competitive, so I felt added pressure to get back to high performance. There were occasions, when the adrenaline was flowing and pressure was on, when I would feel anxiety bordering on panic, and have to take myself away to an empty meeting room and just breathe. Not great and not sustainable, but if there has been one benefit from lockdown it’s been the ability to work from home full time, which has done wonders. That, combined with peace of mind from recent ICD implant (May 20) and evidence of a stable and effective treatment regime have put me in a really good place which I hope will endure.
I’ll close out the essay by saying that my employer has just launched a massive re-organisation, so I may well find myself out on my ear by Christmas! Even so, I can put that prospect in perspective thanks to the journey I’ve been on. I’m lucky to have a supportive family and we’re making backup plans to downsize etc if necessary.
I know what’s important now and how lucky I’ve been. There are many in our situation who have the opposite experience in terms of employer support. Are yours making the right noises so far?
Hi. Great post and let's hope your employer keeps you on after the reorganisation. It's good to know you're feeling really well too. Difficult to say how things are with me and work. Never had much time off Sick (couple of op's) in 33 years working for same company, so I hope that counts for something. To be fair, they've put no pressure on me whatsoever while I've been off and also kept me on full pay for 6 months, which has recently been scaled down to half pay. But redeployment and ill Health retirement have both been mentioned in initial informal Phone calls. I would like to return full time, but I am aware based on other people's stories that fatigue etc may play a role in all this, but I would like to try for as long as I can and then adjust accordingly if needs be (and allowed). Will know more I guess this week as I have a first meeting.
You mentioned that you were put on Entresto in the USA initially. How did you find that, and why was this not offered to you back home in the UK?
My Heart Failure team have tried to get me on Valsartan/Sabutirol (spelling?) which I think is Entresto as they've said this would be a good move for me due to my age. I couldn't be put on them in June due to low blood pressure, but seeing them again in September for another reassessment.
Like you, my family are so supportive which helps so much and we know that every single day going forward, is a day that I may never have seen (my wife was told I had a 2% chance of survival). So I've beaten the odds once, and I fully intend to keep going for as long as possible. We will have to make adjustments if I do not work, but we know how lucky I am to be here, so we will make them if needed.
Sounds like your employer has been very much in your corner so far - I’m sure that will continue to be the case. Fortunately I haven’t had any real issues with fatigue, more the occasional bit of mild chest pain, and it sounds like you’re doing well on that score also.
I was warned by the cardiologist who saved me in the US that I’d probably struggle to be prescribed Entresto once back in the UK. He cited cost as the main issue there, and prescribed me 6 weeks worth on the spot. He was a great guy who seemed genuinely gutted that he couldn’t have prevented more damage. The ‘door to balloon time’ in my case was 75 minutes - not quite gold standard but generally good enough for most, except I had a humdinger of an event with apparently a 6% chance of survival.
About a month later I had an echo in the UK which sowed 40-45% ef. I was delighted, and the cardiologist perhaps opportunistically took me straight off the Entresto and onto Ramipril. I still wonder if that decision led to my regression to 34% or whether it was down to the accuracy of MRI. That’s a big margin of error if so!
Anyway, breaking news - as of today I am back on Entresto courtesy of the NHS. I will keep you posted on progress with that!
Great news on the Entresto. Yes, please keep me updated how you get on with them (side effects etc). Fingers crossed it may have an uplifting effect on your EF too. Hopefully I may be on them too by the end of Sept. Keep well.
Hi, I returned to work in October last year after LBBB and severe heart failure, dilated cardiomyopathy and heart beating out of sync. EF of 30% all diagnosed in the April before.
Had a lot of support from my company as I returned, but not so much that I felt like an invalid. Had a CRTD fitted in jan this year.
So have felt good with the meds And pacemaker but really getting back to work was the push I needed to get fitter and lose a bit of weight,
The support from the people at work is amazing and makes me think I should have started back sooner.
Hi there. Thank you for the response and it’s good to know you’re doing well, both at work and also with the meds and CRT-D. Keep it up.
I was informed I didn’t need a CRT-D when my ICD was fitted. Not sure if this means, should my symptoms develop and get worse, then a CRT-D would be an option for me??
Having looked at your profile Bigbrian, I see that you’ve been on Valsartan/Sacubutirol??
What noticeable benefits have you found taking these? Plus, what side effects have you had (if any) ?
My CRTD fitting was because my lower chambers weren’t beating in sync, and the defibrillator bit is just an extra. So feeling good, when it was first fitted and programmed I felt amazing but thats trailed off but still feel good. The sacubitrol valsartan is now on top dose, been on it for about 10 months and it’s helped before I got pacemaker and I assume is still helping. So really I’m on the top of all I can be and according to My last echo I was now very mild if any heart failure, not seen my heart nurse to discuss this as it’s been lockdown and I can’t see her. But I have been told it’s about 9 months to a year before the pacemaker should give max benefit so it should get better.
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