"Cardiology care"

In early 2023 I went to my GP feeling unwell . She identified very high blood pressure, I had two days to get it under control or be hospitalised and was referred to the cardiology department as the symptoms were consistent with cardiovascular disease.

2 weeks later, I attended a clinic and was assessed at cardiology at Victoria Hospital. After doing an ECG and other tests they couldn't make a case for referring me for angina. I was told I'd hear within the next couple of weeks. I sought further advice using private medical insurance through my employment. Another specialist carried out the same tests and concluded I was showing symptoms of angina. I told him that I was hoping to get CA within the next few weeks and he asked to get permission to see it, otherwise he would refer me to the private clinic that he worked for in London. However I was too ill to make the journey to London and was also worried that if the coronary angiogram confirmed a blockage they would operate immediately which would have left me in London alone following the procedure, so I decided to trust in the team at Kirkcaldy a little longer.

A few days later an appointment came through for a coronary angiogram at the Queen Margaret hospital in Dunfermline. After having the coronary angiogram I was called by a member of the Victoria Hospital cardiology unit and was told I had a 74% blockage in one of my arteries (without saying which one) and this was considered a borderline case for for the treatment and I would hear in due course however if I felt unwell should contact hospital or dial 999.

As requested by the private specialist, I asked if he could have access to the scan so that he could give me further advice, the person that I spoke to told me they would ask the specialist in Victoria and the reply came very quickly that they alone would review my scan and write the report and any other person could access their report in due course. The specialist I spoke to privately said that he would have been amused if he doesn't think that it was such a serious situation and felt it was a display of arrogance.

A few weeks later I was ill at home from severe symptoms, I was concerned that I was on the verge of a heart attack, my wife took me to the  A&E unit where I was assessed as on the verge of a serious heart attack so was kept there overnight.  I was taken upstairs to the cardiology ward to be kept under observation. That night, the lead cardiology nurse on the ward told me that I would be prepped for the stent in the morning, until a senior cardiology consultant came on the ward, told me that I had pericarditis (?) and was discharged. The staff in the ward were aghast, no-one could look me in the face.

I then contacted another private specialist in Glasgow, who declared that I really needed to get the stent inserted asap and scheduled it for 4 weeks later. I was admitted to the Ross Hall hospital in Glasgow and underwent the stent procedure, only to be told after that the blockage that had been detected was not the only one and a branch artery was 95% blocked, they had inserted stents into both and also advised me that they had found an anomalous (extra) artery and that I need to be kept under review. They also said I was lucky to be alive considering where the lesser blockage was. After the procedure they discharged me with recommendations for regular review, ongoing blood thinners and statin therapy.

Fast forward to April 2024, I received a short notice appointment to attend the cardiology clinic at the Victoria hospital where I was seen by the same consultant who had refused to share my scan. They asked me what was going on, and said I had disappeared from their radar at Kirkcaldy. I asked them to refer to my notes and told them that I had had 2 stents inserted and had been in a much more serious and life-threatening condition than they had assessed. 

The consultant's abrupt manner led me to directly challenge how their cardio angiogram had missed the more severe blockage, why they had denied allowing another professional permission to view my scan and why I had not been contacted for follow-up and review. They admitted they had not read in my notes that I had had the stents inserted. I then asked for an explanation as to why I had been discharged with a diagnosis of pericarditis when it was obvious that something much more severe was unfolding and that my condition was far worse than just borderline. No answer.

October 2024, I was admitted twice in 5 days because of chest pain and arrhythmia, on the first admission I was told by the lead paramedic that I was in the early stages of a heart attack I was discharged and diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and was back in 4 days later

In April I was seen by the same cardiologist for a review. They said that they needed an echo cardiogram to decide what was next. After a week I called cardiology and asked when I could expect a scan, wait time was 12 months. I reminded the person that I needed the scan as I due to deterioration on a daily basis, I may not actually last 12 months without a serious event with no treatment whatsoever. 

The letter the consultant sent to my GP  is littered with omissions and inaccuracies, it ends as if the echocardiogram happens soon, but does not mention being considered non-urgent causes a 12 month wait. I may not get private funding due to the letter

How do I feel?

Not particularly good, as it happens.