I am a fairly fit 69 year old who up to a month ago enjoyed an active life. Then one night had serious palpitations which warranted a trip to A&E next morning where they diagnosed AFib, gave me bisoprolol and when pulse went below 100 sent me home. Bisoprolol brought pulse down to around 90 but also blood pressure down to below 100/80. Saw GP who reduced strength of bisoprolol from 2.5 to 1.25 mg. Assessment for blood thinners gave a score of 1 so had choice of whether to take thinners or not -decided not to as I hate taking pills. I have good days and bad days. On a good day will walk 2 to 3 miles (gently), on a bad day, just want to curl up and sleep. Before all this I booked a family holiday for six of us in Tenerife for my 70th. Due to fly on 6th December. Read somewhere that flying with AFib when not on blood thinners is risky and increases chance of blood clot. Also, probably like everyone with this I get anxious and depressed very easily, probably due to the meds. Am interested to know whether fellow sufferers have any advice on what I should do regarding the holiday. Have only just had an echocardiogram and haven't had an appointment set with a consultant yet (if at all).
Newbe AFib sufferer wants to go on ho... - British Heart Fou...
Newbe AFib sufferer wants to go on holiday abroad
Hi Triplemix, I have AFib and have been taking Bisoprolol for 4 years and blood thinners are not required in my case. I've never been warned of being at risk of blood clots if I fly, but I suppose everybody has the same risk if they remain static during the flight. Try not to worry too much as it won't help, my advice to you would be to keep your feet and legs moving and do stretches and drink plenty of water (not alcohol) until you get to your destination and enjoy your holiday.
Thank you for that, suppose I am just worried that being anxious on the flight will bring on palpitations.
I assume you have managed to get and retain your travel insurance especially since you may have a condition under investigation.
Covered by nationwide free insurance though have to confirm with them the nature of the illness and ongoing investigations. Am hoping to see a consultant or GP to get a fit to fly certificate before I go back to the insurance company
I am also with NW Travel Insurance, and pay a considerable amount extra for pre-existing conditions for my wife and I. If you have not done so already I suggest you read the travel insurance Ts and Cs. If you are with Aviva in particular
What's not included?
Here are the main exclusions.
* Pre-existing medical conditions that you haven’t told Aviva about. They have to agree to cover them. You will need to pay extra to cover some conditions.
* Undiagnosed symptoms or health conditions.
Thanks for that. Have to admit that I find the term 'pre existing condition' a bit confusing. Have had NW insurance (now Aviva) for many years, well before any signs of AFib. Similarly, the holiday was booked well before my AFib diagnosis, so to me it isn't a pre existing condition unless they mean I have developed it prior to the actual holiday. I will declare it to the insurance company before I go but am waiting to see if I can get further clinical information before I go if, indeed I am fit enough to go
Hi triplemix
From a insurance point of view a 'pre-existing' medical condition is considered to be a medical condition that you have before you start your holiday/travel, not when you take the insurance out, as that changes the risk for them. Be aware that an insurance company can withdraw/cancel your policy though, if they don't want to pick up the risk. We used to have annual travel insurance through the bank (with Aviva) and they were always happy to insure my husband having had a massive heart attack, cardiac arrest & an ICD, when we told them of his heart failure diagnosis they refused to continue cover and cancelled the policy! Fortunately we didn't have any holidays planned so it wasn't an issue for us. Good luck, I hope you manage to get it sorted and get you enjoy your birthday trip
I think it depends on the type of policy. For our medical insurance, pre-existing condition is definitely prior to policy starting. But that's medical insurance, not annual travel insurance. (Our medical insurance also covers us while travelling, but not all do.)
Medical insurance is a completely different policy to travel insurance, the OP was referring to travel insurance. As you've said, you have medical insurance that covers travel which is a completely different type of policy. You can't really compare the 2 as the underwriting is based on different risks. I used to work in personal lines insurance which included travel insurance and all insurers in the UK want to know about pre-existing medical conditions.
It wasn't clear (to me) that Triplemix was definitely referring to travel insurance. He just said he had been with NW/Aviva for many years, so I didn't want to assume anything.
The op was replying to the comments***I am also with NW Travel Insurance, and pay a considerable amount extra for pre-existing conditions for my wife and I. If you have not done so already I suggest you read the travel insurance Ts and Cs. If you are with Aviva in particular ***
Thank you everyone for your comments. Have had an echocardiogram and got the report but am waiting for a consultation for the interpretation so I can go back to the insurance company. Talking of the report, it starts off with 'this was a technically challenging study with suboptimal parasternal views-limited pictures and measurements were obtained'. Has anyone come across this before. The operator carrying out the scan didn't say or do anything at the time to make me believe that something was amiss.
Oh my, I wish the drs would realise that the average person doesn't have a clue what all this means! My husband had a prolonged and very invasive ablation last year, you needed a medical degree to understand what the follow up letter said!!
I think it's saying that they were unable to get a clear scan so getting pictures, measurements etc was challenging. You could try phoning your cardiologist secretary and ask him/her what it needs, you could also ask him/her when you're likely to see the cardiologist, sometimes the secretary will make the appt whilst you're on the phone, we've done this before.
Alternatively you could phone the BHF nurses attached to this group and ask their advice. , They work 9-5, mon-fri. Let me know if you'd like me to get the number for you
A couple of things.It would be better to contact AF association . Details via AF forum And you can search for the medical terms via Google.
Thank you but I think you've replied to me by mistake, I don't have AF I was just replying to the op. Hopefully he'll see your reply
I have mild pectus excavatum (a concave breastbone). A couple of operators over the years have struggled to get good images, but most did not (I've had roughly 30 echos done).
Alas they can’t do 7 years at medical school to say “fuzzy pictures “ it’s just their tech speak to enable the photographer to say to the doctor ’fuzzy picture’
If it’s too ‘fuzzy’ the doctor will ask for another. If it’s clear enough to recognise the ‘bride and groom ’ you’ll Get an opinion which will undoubtedly carry a disclaimer about ‘fuzzy picture’
….. I know it’s crazy. Be as worry free as possible but definitely get some medical info to the insurance people asap. We all know that insurance is just ancient language for “ what excuse can we find to NOT pay out” They should call it fuzzy insurance
We are with Nationwide and had to phone to tell them about my husband's cancer. They said that as the holiday had already been booked prior to the diagnosis then we were covered. They are one of the few companies that do this. Best to tell them but you shouldn't need to pay more this year- you will next of course
GHIC Card will provide you with medical cover in Canaries..probably better than UK
Have got one of those, never used it and never totally sure what it does and doesn't cover - will investigate further, thanks
Be aware that if you use the GHIC card that it it's limited. You'll need to ensure you use state medical facilities, not private, and that you may have to pay upfront for some treatments and then reclaim the costs when you're back in the UK. We had to do that when my husband was poorly in the Algarve, the language barrier was a problem, the paramedics kept asking for documents! As we were at the airport I thought they meant passport etc. As I was going through my stuff they spotted the EHIC card (as it was then) and took us off to the state hospital. After some tests etc he was allowed to continue the holiday but we had to pay the ambulance costs & blood tests costs first. We were able to reclaim the money when we got home.
Your anxiety is perfectly understandable. I hope you start to feel better very soon and your confidence begins to return once you have had your cardiology appointment. Travel unsurance is hard to get when you have a new condition exacerbated by still undergoing tests or with outstanding test results. Please ensure you give every possibly detail to your insurers so you cant be caught out and find you arent covered due to some small print or health anomaly. Best wishes.
sorry to hear about your issues. Regarding blood thinners and the fact you didn’t choose to go on medication, have you thought about taking something milder? Aspirin will help towards this and at the sane time helps obviously towards pain. If you suffer stomach issues from tablets then get yourself a stomach protector , Lansoprazole is very good. Hope you manage to have a good holiday
Thank you, will speak to the GP about using aspirin as a short term blood thinner - have had stomach issues in the past so need to take care. Also have Crohn's disease but haven't had any issues with that for the past year.
Good to talk to GP. I have been told aspirin is prorective if had heart attack but not for atrial fibrillation. I have been told I will need anticoagulants when I am 65. I will be happy to take it.
I would go with the blood thinners as they reduce the risk of stroke. Pills are a small price to keeping you alive With regards to holidays firstly you need insurance and if you can call the cardiologist and see if you can get a yes or no to travel
Agreed re blood thinners. I was put on Apixaban.About travel. I was in a similar boat(no pun intended). We had made our own arrangements a while back to go to Philippines. No flights booked. We go to stay at our cottage there for the winter.
The other day I had a call from cardiologist telling me he had received results of my coronary angiogram and has forwarded them to the "panel" who arrange TAVI. Unfortunately he could not give a timescale.
I asked him hypothetically IF it came back that TAVI is next April could we travel to Philippines before.
His answer to me was that I'd be better off just waiting and get the TAVI done and then think about nice holidays.
I think he's right.
Hi, I visited my son in New Zealand in March. I was glad of travel insurance because needed medical advice while there. No NHS. I needed to see a cardiologist. I would suggest you talk to travel insurance team.
You can take coated aspirin. I was prescribed aspirin and Lanzaprazole to counteract any stomach problems but I now buy coated aspirin and take them instead.
Buy some compression socks to wear during flight to help prevent DVT. Boots sell them.
You sound exactly like me,I had a bit of arthritis til July last year when went into af! Told it was permanent an get on with it! Also given bisoprolol which put me back into sinus,pulse went down to under 50, got off bisoprolol,got echo and got to see cardiologist where he told me had hole in heart! Should not have been told af was permanent as have to have over 12month and tried all reverse options
We are with Nationwide. I was diagnosed with AFib and heart failure in May. I rang travel insurance (then UK) who said I wIas covered. The policy was renewed recently (now Aviva) and for myself (72) and my husband (78) also with AFib and a couple of other minor conditions the cost of a worldwide annual policy was £247 and we are covered for any new health conditions that may arise. Aviva T&C says we don't even need to notify them of new conditions. I do take Apixaban and my HF nurse has suggested I wear compression socks for flights longer than 4 hours.Good luck on your HF journey. It's very scary at first but then it becomes easier to cope with the changes we have to make and hopefully life carries on as normal as possible.
Thank you for that, very useful. Yes it has been very scary but, hopefully am starting to understand the condition a bit more now.
I’m astonished that your Aviva policy says you don’t have to inform them of any new conditions as without doing so how can they assess the changed underwriting risk…? Personally I would double check that you have interpreted this correctly and in the right context…
Hello FindingCaradoc. Although Aviva provides the travel insurance cover, the policy is with Nationwide and this is what it says.
"During the 12 months you do not need to tell us about changes to the health of the
insured people named on the schedule, as we will provide cover for changes in the
conditions you have already told us about, or any new symptoms or diagnoses, until the
upgrade expiry date."
The last part of the sentence does specify new symptoms or diagnoses, although to be on the safe side, if we had any new symptoms or diagnoses (God forbid!) I would call them as I did when my AFib/HFpEF was diagnosed in May.
Well that sounds promising! But I would definitely discuss with them before travelling to make sure 😬
Hi Kulakmanb
That sounds a great policy although I would suggest checking the T&C's for what they won't cover. Personally I would still tell them as the wording is ambiguous. The wording covers 'new conditions' it doesn't say undiagnosed conditions or unstable conditions! I would guess that the insurers assume any new condition will be being treated & that a Dr/cardiologist will have given you the ok to fly.
Hi - hope you manage to get on holiday OK - just to add some thoughts to the Travel Insurance issues… first of all you have a diagnosis from what I’ve read, otherwise cover would be a definite no I would think… BUT you are also having further tests, which may complicate things, so as others have said best to speak to the insurers in detail to be sure where you stand. Good luck.
I had AF paroxysmal and persistent for 16 years and flew many times short and long haul to USA and Australia and not on an anticoagulant or blood thinner. I always wore compression stockings to the knee, did leg and feet exercises from the seat, walked up and down aisles frequently and drank lots of water, not alcohol, to keep you well hydrated. Double check with your GP if concerned. Make sure you have good travel insurance, declare appropriately, and have a great time on your holiday.
I have paroxysmal A.Fib and, before I was on apixaban, I asked my cardiologist about flying to Vienna, this involves two flights of 1hr and 2hr20mins. He said, absolutely no porblem, go ahead. Maybe ask your GP?
Thanks for that
I believe in making sure my travel insurer knows absolutely everything which is why I prefer to insure with an insurer that I can speak to and records the conversation. Reason, I know of too many instances when someone has missed mentioning something and had a problem totally unrelated to any pre-existing health conditions but their insurer has invalidated their claim. Speak to your insurer, tell them your story and ask them what they need from you. Some insurers just ask for yes and no answers which are difficult to answer, I avoid them and go with an insurer that treats you as a person not as a flowchart, they might be more expensive but there's a reason and I'm happy to pay extra. I would be concerned that an echocardiogram that is unable to clearly identify the structures in your heart might raise a red flag with an insurer even though you may not have any serious issues. Good luck.
Sorry to read this , nd completly understand. I would suggest taking the blood thinners . I found it so reassuring ,and I fly a fair amount with my work . I was put on Bisoprolol and Edoxoban when diagnosed with arterial flutter , I then flew to China with work. I had an ablation recently ,I hope it was successful and may be able to come off medication.I get anxious too and found if I trusted the Medics and took their advice , it was reassuring. Why not chat to your Dr.,go on the thinners ,and go and have a wonderful holiday!! ?
I’ve recently returned from a perfect holiday in Tenerife. I didn’t think a four hour plus flight was very long although I’m comparing it to the ones I sometimes take to New Zealand. My GP prescribed diazepam(just one) to take before a flight and it seems to keep me calm and relaxed. Maybe it would work for you.
I haven't been abroad since my diagnosis as find the travel insurance costs prohibitive but apart from that there doesn't seem to be any reason not to go. It's only a short flight and you're going to a country with good hospitals if, God forbid, it was necessary.
Hi disciple here 
AFIB happening Every 28 days on Average
Stopping bisoprolol
Carpbait
