I had an NSTEMI in March 2020. Finally got to see a specialist in Jan 2021. He did blood pressure, heart and weight and said I would be coming off ticagrelor in March 2021. I asked if i would be more likely to have a heart attack once the medication stopped and he laughed at me and sent me on my way. Par for the course. Treatment this/last year has been abysmal.
I am not a drama queen but I do sometimes have a few twinges in my chest, I thought this appointment would put my mind at rest, at least a reading on my heart, but no.... In, out, next. What a waste of my time and his and exposure to Covid at the hospital to boot.
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Sparky2020
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I think it has a lot to do with expectations! What did you expect to happen in the 12 months since your event? In my experience, if you are doing well then what follow ups do you need? Other than, maybe, occasional blood tests!
If you're not doing so well, then it is up to you to contact GP or consultant, if they don't respond then I would say that is poor after treatment.
Blood tests would be a vast improvement on nothing. A heart attack is a major event and has a lasting effect both physically and mentally on your well being. Height weight and blood pressure i can do myself. Discussion, reassurance and maybe a heart trace would contribute to prevention of a reoccurrence.Regarding managing expectations, a first aider in a workplace could have given me these checks and saved the NHS thousands. Your expectations of someone earning £100,000 + are clearly less than mine.
You hit the nail on the head, they are paid to deal with serious heart issues as and when they occur, if you are experiencing further heart issues then as I said, YOU should contact your GP and they can decide the best course of action, that may, or may not be a Heart Consultant, they are not the experts in all the after effects eg: mental.
And yes, my expectations of someone being paid as a consultant would be that they are earning their money dealing with those that need their expertise.
Had my heart surgery before the pandemic saw surgeon at 6 weeks post op then saw my cardiologist after 6 months didn’t look at scar didn’t check my heart discharged back to my GP. Have had echocardiogram yearly not last year just to check my new valve is still pushing out the right pressure. Yearly blood tests done by GP and if I have a problem it’s there I would go. If he thinks I need to see the cardiologist then he will get me back into his clinic. That’s been like this for 4 years long before the pandemic.
As Gaz says if after being discharged you feel something is wrong then you need to see your GP. You need to monitor your own health and flag anything you are concerned about.
At least you got an appt, all I've had since my pacemaker last year is telephone calls despite them knowing I've had a few issues. I had a letter yesterday that said from now on the Cardio clinic are ending the majority of f2f appts and all follow ups will be by phone regardless of the covid situation and even worse no guarantee the call will be from the usual consultant ! My last two calls were from a Dr I don't know and he doesn't know me, so far from ideal ☹️
It must depend on where you are, or I've been very lucky!
I had a phone consult with my cardiologist last May during lockdown, just before the call I had an Echo. He discharged me back to my GP as I was finally doing really well.
At the end of Nov my Apple watch picked up possible AF, I felt dreadful and did an ECG with my watch, called the surgery and had a chat a little later with my GP, he asked me to send it via email and arranged for me to have a full ECG later that day.
He also wrote to my cardiologist with copies of the ECG's. Within 10days I had a 24hr holter. A week later I had a letter to go for an Echo yesterday, followed by a F2F appointment with my cardiologist.
My GP has had no involvement with my heart problems since initial referral over 6 years ago so me contacting them would be useless. I've not spoken to my Cardiologist since 2019 before my pacemaker was implanted, that was done by a different consultant who I had never seen before and phone calls since have been with yet another one so no continuity at all.
Same experience with my Gastro team who I've been under for over 20 years, since my consultant left a year ago I just get random bods calling me, only helpful ones now are the IBD nurses !
For people with chronic conditions it's not ideal and really doesn't work.
Hi Sparky. Surprised you had a f2f appointment - mine on Thursday was a phone call. Your cardiologist seems to be happy that your heart is doing fine after the MI and the meds you're on are doing their job. If you have any worries, write them down and talk to your GP, going through your list of any queries. Have you seen or spoken to the Cardiac Rehab team? If not, ask your GP for a referral. They will be able to give you more formal advice about exercise and lifestyle.
In the meantime, make sure you're eating well and exercising as much as possible. It's up to us to look after ourselves, the medics will take over if there is a problem.
Stay safe xx
I'm similar. NSTEMI in April 2020 and had a stent placed, spent 5 days in hospital. Since leaving hospital I have not seen a cardiology professional or been examined. Last week I had a 2 minute telephone call with a cardiologist and they told me I am done and discharged. I'm not surprised tbh as I didn't receive any rehab either.
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