Hello. I was wondering if anyone could offer insight to what is likely to be discussed at a lipids clinic appointment. My husband had a heart attack a year ago, and they think it’s a hereditary issue with a faulty gene. So his cholesterol was 8.9 and it’s come down to 2.5 now. We had kind of forgotten that he was going to be having an appointment, and then he got a text today reminding him of an appointment on Friday this week. After much phoning round he’s been told that the appointment is a phone call and was only made today and he will get a letter but this will likely be after his appointment happens. I normally go to appointments with him as he gets quite anxious about these things, forgets to ask questions, and also forgets what he’s been told. But because of the short notice he’s not sure whether to take the call at work, or come home so I can listen in too. But then that will be a faff if it ends up a 5 minute call where nothing is really said ? What do you lovely people think?
lipids clinic appointment -what happens? - British Heart Fou...
lipids clinic appointment -what happens?
thank you for your reply. No recent blood tests, they did full blood tests in about august, and some basic ones in February, and he had not seen his gp since about march. He had side effects from tablets (including statins and ezitembe) but the doses on 2 of them were adjusted plus he was put on lanzoprazole and no issues since then, Yes, the levels I gave were the total cholesterol, off the top of my head I can’t remember what the ‘bad’ cholesterol levels were, I’m thinking 4.5 at start and 1.5 now . Also it was the hospital that referred him after the HA, not his gp
Thank you for sharing that. Sounds like you are right, it was a referral right from the start and his levels have come down really well with the medication and strict diet.
runinthepark has given good advice. I also have suspected genetic high cholesterol and I’m also surprised your husband’s initial appointment is by phone. My first lipid clinic appointment took about an hour and the doctor took a full family history and drew out a sort of family tree with all our early heart related deaths. He asked me lots of lifestyle and medical history questions, (prior to the appointment I also filled in a food diary) He did a physical examination too and spent some time explaining things and answering all my questions and reassuring me. I found it a really useful appointment. He explained what Familial hypercholesterolaemia is (the genetic condition our family likely has)
I would say if your husband can have his appointment changed to an in-person one it would be really worth it, I found it a really helpful experience. I also had a blood test prior to the appointment and the doctor went through the results in detail with me which helped my understanding of cholesterol types and other measures they look at.
Thank you for your reply. Yes seems a bit odd doesn’t it. Well the family history part won’t take long at all as we we know nothing about his family other than his parents who lost touch with their family many many years ago. . I’m hoping this appointment will be more productive than the cardiology appointment he had which was also a phone call, and was dire, complete waste of time as the doctor would ask a question and then talk over his replies. I guess we will have to see how tomorrow goes.
Adding my small experience-I had an in person Lipid Clinic appointment before the pandemic. It was really interesting-a blood test the results of which were far more in depth than the usual Gp one, urine test, eyes and ankles looked at for signs of cholesterol and a very helpful and informative chat with an expert.
Subsequently I had phone appointments which really weren’t very useful-I told them my latest blood test results basically. Sadly I got signed off without another in person appointment.
Maybe your husband could write down any questions he has and he could ask if he could possibly attend the clinic for a full lipid panel blood test with a follow up in person appointment to discuss the findings. He could ask if there are any available scans to see what level of deposits/thickening. He could also ask if there are any further tests that would assist and he might ask about when /if tests for any children you have would be appropriate . I did have a carotid artery scan and I had a session with a dietitian. I have not had a specific gene test which would be interesting.
I think the usefulness of your husband’s phone call will depend on the person conducting it but if your husband can be ready to ask for more input from the lipid clinic, he may find it will lead to more help in the future. Best wishes.
that’s great thank you, some really useful points there. We will definitely be asking about testing for my daughter.
I am also having a lipid appointment one to one next week, I’m surprised your husband is over the phone, totally agree with all the comments, your man seems to have his cholesterol under control that’s great but hopefully he gets tested at least twice a year as I’ve been told.
thank you for that. Yes seems usual for it to be phone but that seems the way it’s going where we are (Lincolnshire) . We weren’t aware that she should be tested twice yearly either so will definitely be asking about that. I now have a bit list of questions from the replies I’ve had so thanks everyone for taking the time to share .
Hi, Hare123,
This may sound completely bonkers, but it is just a suggestion/thought.
You mentioned that your husband might take his appointment call at work rather than coming home for the day/afternoon so that you might join in. I was wondering whether it might be possible for you to visit him at his work to sit in on the appointment call, and then you could leave after his call is ended. That way, you could think of questions to ask the doctor, or respond to any issues that might come up. Just a thought.
A second idea might be to have your husband to use a small voice recorder to tape the call simply so that you could play it back to learn about what the doctor had to say. With that idea, you might need to inform, or ask, the doctor about taping the conversation.
A third idea if you are up on technology might be to have a Zoom call via computer. I would have to learn about the technology before I could do that one.
Anyway, best wishes to you and your husband. 😊
Going to his work is a good suggestion, I will see if he wants to do that. And thank you 😊
❤️
My husband is AMAZING!
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