Story
Over 7 million people in the UK are living with heart or circulatory disease. Too often, we take our hearts for granted. From the first beat, our hearts work tirelessly and unfalteringly as we move through life. We never give it a second thought – until that moment when something doesn’t feel quite right or as in my case it was identified purely by chance when I looked up what a little heart sign meant on my blood pressure monitor. As suggested I went to see my GP and I was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation.
The GP, Surgery (Saxonbook in Crawley) and NHS acted quickly arranging an ECG, followed by an hospital appointment to be fitted with a 24 hr ECG monitor and subsequently a heart scan.
The 24 hr ECG showed average H/B 55 but during sleep down to 44, with nocturnal pauses at one time pausing for 3.3 seconds.
I am now on anticoagulants and also the waiting list to see a Cardiologist for potential cardio version.
The British Heart Foundation provides some great information on Atrial Fibrillation, so that's why I, helping raise awareness.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a heart condition that causes an
irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate
It is the most common heart rhythm disturbance, affecting
around 1.4 million people in the UK. The irregularity in heart rhythm is often only discovered during routine tests or investigations for another condition.
Most people with AF show no symptoms, but some of the noted
symptoms include heart palpitations, tiredness, breathlessness, feeling faint or lightheaded, and chest pain.
For more details you can download the booklet from: