"Cardiac Open Heart Surgery"

In March of 2022 I attended my local GP regarding my shortness of breath and tiredness. He was putting it down to age and my love of cycling. He checked my lungs which were fine and then checked my heart. To his surprise he diagnosed a heart murmur.

In June 2022 I was referred to Craigavon Area hospital for an ECG and later in September 2022 for and Angiogram. I was diagnosed with severe Aortic Stenosis. In February I attended a pre-assessment clinic in the Royal Victoria hospital, Belfast. My care and treatment was excellent in both of these hospitals. In March 2023 I was admitted to the Mater Private hospital in Dublin for Aortic valve replacement. I spent 10 days in the hospital and received excellent care and treatment from the doctors and nurses. The  nurses were very diligent in their care but sometimes  difficult to understand and comprehend.

Four months after surgery in the Mater Private hospital I had twelve sessions of cardiac rehabilitation care in the Orchard Leisure centre, Armagh. This was provided by Armagh and Dungannon Cardiac Rehabilitation and Secondary Prevention team of Shileen , nurse specialist and Jayne , physio specialist. These two ladies provided an excellent 12 week programme of physical exercise to gradually improve physical and cardiovascular health as well as tutorials on individual cardiac conditions and their treatment. Outside speakers were brought in to provide video presentations on topics such as diet and the role of medication. Every session ended with a short relaxation and a cuppa tea. The craic was mighty! These two specialist ladies went out of their way to make every session the best they could. Nothing was too much bother and no stone was left unturned.

Thank you so much from the bottom of my (new) ❤️ . Armagh Danny