James
James was diagnosed with AF after he had a stroke which affected his right side. He had some irregular heartbeats a few weeks earlier but dismissed it. He has had one cardioversion and three ablations. He took warfarin before changing to rivaroxaban.
One night, James wife had her head on his chest and heard his heart beating irregularly. They both laughed and dismissed it. A few weeks later, James had a stroke, and it was discovered that it was due to AF. His wife joined the Atrial Fibrillation Association (AFA) and researched the condition extensively. James had a cardioversion which worked for a short while, but then he went back into AF. After further research they chose an electrophysiologist to go and see. James has had three ablations, and says that he felt a bit better after each one. The third ablation put his heart back in rhythm’. A flutter was detected after wearing a Holter monitor but he was told this is nothing to worry about.
Although James heart is now back in rhythm he will remain on blood thinners for the rest of my life’ because of his stroke risk. After his diagnosis he was initially prescribed warfarin but could not seem to get a stable INR reading. He found having blood tests every two weeks time-consuming and a pain in the neck’. He was pleased when new anticoagulants were developed as an alternative to warfarin and has taken rivaroxaban since August 2013. While James believes his blood is flowing fine at the moment’, when he had the stitches out after a hip operation, blood started pouring out of my stitch holes and he was taken to hospital where the wound was dressed and the bleeding eventually stopped. While his medical team has not made the connection, it has crossed James mind that the bleeding may have been the result of rivaroxaban.
Before his first ablation James took the antiarrhythmic medication amiodarone. He also took tablets for cholesterol but stopped these due to arthritis type symptoms. He now takes amlodipine for blood pressure, has cut down his alcohol intake, eats a balanced diet and keeps fit by going to the gym and cycling.
James stroke affected his right side, and he had physiotherapy and rehabilitation to rebuild the strength in his arm and leg. He found that his arm was weak and he found it difficult to play golf. His coordination suffered, and he was also very tired for some time following the stroke. He says that his memory is not as good as it was before the stroke. James described his recovery as an uphill struggle,’ but he stayed positive. Pleased with the care he received, James returned to work and says that his employer was very patient and understanding. However, he feels his employer wrapped him in cotton wool’ and did not let him go back to his full duties.
James and his wife had never heard of AF, and would have taken his irregular heartbeat more seriously if they had done. He has given his GP posters about AF to put up in the surgery, but they never have been. James says that his GP and nurses take his blood pressure and say that his AF is fine. Even when he has reminded them that they need to take his pulse to check for AF, they have not done so. He believes that there is ignorance about AF, and that it is not taken seriously enough by some GPs or the public. He urges people to monitor their pulse.
Interview held 3/02/12
Follow-up audio interview 29/01/15