Driving

[Llanne]

Heart attack and cardiac arrest 8 weeks ago no previous problems was driving when pain started and had to find safe place to stop. Stent fitted Now really anxious and haven't got back into car will this feeling fade.

[Hidden]

Yes it will, time is a healer.You'll know when the time is right.

[Llanne in reply to Hidden]

Thank you

[Cee-Cee1 in reply to Llanne]

I completely agree with JohnH, Llanne, I think you just know when you're ready and that feeling will pass.

I don't know about stent fitting, but, from personal experience, I know you have to get the go-ahead from the medics if you have a bypass before you're 'allowed' to drive again.

I got the go-ahead from the surgeon at my 6-week assessment after a triple by-pass in February this year, but just didn't 'feel' ready to drive. I had my HA in January and had to wait until the end of February for the by-pass op so hadn't been in the car for quite a while.

On Easter Tuesday (7 weeks post-op) I took the car out knowing the traffic would be extremely light. I drove into town, avoiding the motorway, and home again and felt fine. I was just a little extra cautious driving for a few weeks afterwards and don't feel nervous at all now.

I'd just say pick a day when you know the traffic will be lighter (maybe a Sunday), drive locally, plan a route where you know there'll be 'stop-off' places in case you get a little anxious and need to stop and I'm sure you'll be fine. Good Luck! Carol

[Hidden]

From the DVLA website...

You don’t need to tell DVLA if you’ve had a heart attack (myocardial infarction) or a heart, cardiac or coronary angioplasty.

However, you should stop driving for:

1 week if you had angioplasty, it was successful and you don’t need any more surgery

4 weeks if you had angioplasty after a heart attack but it wasn’t successful

4 weeks if you had a heart attack but didn’t have angioplasty

Check with your doctor to find out when it’s safe for you to start driving again.

So although you appear to be now well outside of the above I suggest you talk to your GP who should be able to confirm you are OK to drive, unless there are medical reasons not to do so. Assuming you are OK that should hopefully give you the confidence to restart driving.

[Heythrop51]

I may be wrong but think you may need to notify the DVLA as you had a CA. You definitely need to notify your insurers or your policy will be invalid.

[Hidden in reply to Heythrop51]

See above for DVLA and angioplasty.

Further, there are umpteen other different medical conditions covered by the DVLA and their requirements are all detailed here

gov.uk/health-conditions-an...

As for insurance you should surely check your policy to see what is required for any significant medical condition.

[Qualipop]

The first few times I drove after my HA I made sure I had someone with me. The worry soon wore off.

[Mumfordandsons]

I blacked out whilst driving on a dual carriageway at 70mph, thankfully I regained consciousness fairly quickly and managed to avoid crashing. when i got home my daughter insisted she called 111 which led to me being whisked off to hospital and diagnosed with heart failure. The reason for telling you this is that even though I am still class3 on NYHA scale, I am driving regularly. I do not go too far, mainly because I get extremely tired. If you are nervous get someone to drive you to a quiet area and then take over driving yourself, you can do 5 minutes or an hour and gradually rebuild your confidence. Also remind yourself how often you had driven with no issues beforehand. You do feel extremely vulnerable after a heart event and it is hard to rebuild your confidence but you can do this, have faith in yourself and good luck ☺️

[LesleyJ59]

I'm amazed to hear you have to notify DVLA of palpitations. I've had them on and off for decades, but never with any other symptoms.