Iregular heartbeat

[habumhug]

I have almost fainted 3 times. GP refered me to Hospital ECG , echo, 7 day monitor and eventual letter from consultant which was hard to understand but confirmed iregula heart beat and put me on beta blockers . Saw GP who checked me over and told me to check that I am on hospital clinic waiting list for review which I am.

slight fainting episode again saw nurse at GP's who checked with Doctor and told me nothing they can do , wait for Hospital Clinic.

A friend asked was I alright to drive?

I dont know. Nobody has told me not to drive. I live in small vilage so loss of car will be a major issue.

So far been waiting 2 months for clinic appointment.

Otherwise feel fine. Never actually passed out ,

DVLA advice seems unclear as it talks aboout sudden giddyness or fainting which I don think I sufer from. I can tell when my pulse drops and I have not actually fainted

Has anyone else been in this situation?

[meadfoot]

I live my life in this near faint situation when my arrhythmia kicks in which is often if I am not taking anti arrhythmic medication plus a beta blocker, its awful so I feel your concern.

I am under the care of a good cardiac electrophysiologist team which is crucial for a full diagnosis and relevant treatment initiation. Can you afford to pay for a private appointment to expedite being seen sooner rather later. Push for the care you need. Best wishes.

[Reb6789]

Hi, I have a history of near faints, not many over my adult life but enough for me to feel things weren’t right. Finally last month at the theatre I felt faint, exited the theatre to get air etc, but then fully fainted in a corridor. After this I was fed up I (also banged my head when I fell) contacted the GP, also took my own pulse in the surgery as I felt so flat- it was 40. I have since had various tests and wait to see a consultant, and have more tests. I have been told not to drive until they can work out why I fainted. I usually manage to catch a faint earlier and get to a place, such as a toilet to rest and get myself sorted out- but this isn’t always possible ie at the theatre. I have emailed the cardiology dept to see if I can drive, likelihood hood of me fainting in the day, without any alcohol (I think it’s a trigger) is nill. But I do get their point.

[EMBoy]

About 5 years ago, I had a near faint, and just shrugged it off as being over-tired and stressed, but a couple of months later, I had a full faint. I had been rushing around and was loading some shopping into the back of the car. Next thing I knew, I was coming round on the floor with blood coming out of the back of my head. Someone called an ambulance and I the paramedic wired me up to an ECG and told me I had an erratic heart beat. I was taken to A&E where they told me I needed to go straight to cardiology, and the next day, they said I had severe bradycardia and fitted me with a pacemaker.

All is well for me now, but the reason I am sharing this is because, if my faint had happened a few minutes later, I would have been driving home. It's up to you if you drive, but please take care.