Symptoms in England and Nat'l Health Care Q

[ctyguy]

Im in England on vacation and my sis-in-law is telling me all about various issues she is having. Specifically she has alot of fluid retention, especially in her feet. She also has some chest discomfort periodically, palpatations from time to time and her heart races to upwards of 190bpm with light to moderate exercise. She has put on 40 to 50 lbs in the last 6 months or so and it appears to be mostly fluid. She claims she has always had poor circulation and her dad passed away about 18 months ago with heart related issues. The doc she saw has given her a diuretic but its of no help. I didn't want to freak her out too much but I asked her about seeing a Cardiologist. She is on the national health care system and according to her that getting an appt with a specialist is no small chore.

So my questions are, what do you all think about those types of symptoms ? And for those of you that are familiar with the national health care in England what do you have to do to get a cardio appt ?

We are seeing them again tomorrow so any help with these questions would be of great help, she really doesn't know what to do.

 

[Jan]

I live in the UK and if I were having issues like you mention I would talk to my GP and say I wanted to be refered to a Cardiologist,

If the GP did not refer me I would just turn up at A & E were you would have a wait but you would be seen, and if nessecary refered to a Cardio.


hope you get this sorted

were in the Uk are you ?

cheers

Jan ( Liverpool )

 

[sue943]

What Jan said. Ask GP for a referral, or if more urgent go to A&E. You just cannot self-refer, you need to see a primary care doctor first and be referred. You don't choose your own cardiologist, or any other specialist, you normally get referred to the most appropriate.

 

[ctyguy]

thanks for the input, we are off shortly I will pass along the advice. We are in East Knoyle which is about 20 minutes west of Salisbury. Lovely little English villiage, everything I'd hoped for !

 

[ajay_22_86]

I agree with what everyone said - the GP will refer. But I don't agree with the lack of choice. You should be able to choose a hospital. They might want to refer you to a local hospital but ask if you can go to a specialist. I know London is a bit out of the way but they have the UCL Heart Hospital, and other good hospitals there. I was able to switch from one hospital to another, however I should add that this was discussed with my old cardiologist and not a GP. But see what the GP says, they should be some leeway.

If not, there is the option of going private. If you have the money to spare that is. NHS waiting list shouldn't be too bad though. I remember when my dad had a mini-stroke and although he was fine afterwards, he had a hospital appointment in about a week or two for tests.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

In my Non-Professional Opinion, with those symptoms,
I would say that she definitely needs to see a Cardiologist.
The sooner, the better.

 

[ctyguy]

My sister-in-law had an x-ray a few weeks ago (not sure why) but they called yesterday and asked her to come back in for a second. She went in this morning, had the x-ray, and she was told that she has an "irregular silouette". We aren't really sure what that means but they suggested she go to the A&E for further testing. Im assuming that means an enlarged heart, an anuerysm, so something along those lines. But there could be a number of reasons as to why that is. When she woke up this morning her legs were very swollen with blotchy red spots. Needless to say she is very upset and worried. I told her not to jump to conclusions yet, we need to understand what that term means. Hopefully I will hear back from her today and find out what is going on. Once I know I will post more. If she does end up with something significant I will be sure to give her this website, it was a great resource for me and right now she can use all the support she can get.

 

[ctyguy]

My sis-in-law has been diagnosed with Connective Tissue Disorder and Marfan's SYndrome. Evidently the Marfan's has been known for a long time but I wasn't aware of it. She hadn't connected the dots between Marfan's and heart issues until now. The x-ray showed an unusual shape to her heart but at this point she hasn't been told anything beyond that. She has further appointments in the coming weeks, hopefully she can get a complete diagnosis and a treatment plan.

I've directed her this site for research and support. It has been invaluable to me and many others.

 

[AgilityDog]

Well, it sounds like she's heading in the right direction to get the treatment she needs. She's really lucky you were there to support her through this time.