Since her heart condition was discovered four years ago, Luciya Gabriel has gone through a range of treatments.
Luciya is 78 years old and has had a series of health problems over the years. Her atrial fibrillation was first detected during routine tests when she went into hospital with pneumonia four years ago. Atrial fibrillation is a condition where the heart beats irregularly – and often too fast. It is important to diagnose this quickly because if left untreated it becomes increasingly difficult to return the heart back to a normal rhythm, which can increase your risk of a stroke and cause the pumping efficacy of your heart to deteriorate. Other symptoms of atrial fibrillation include dizziness and exhaustion, which are easy to mistake for something else.
Luciya and her family have been Bupa members since the 1990s. "I can't fault the care we've been given, from all the different sources," says her daughter Dee Deering who has been looking after her mother throughout her health problems. "With Bupa we've found that if there's something wrong you can get it dealt with quickly and sometimes that's been essential. I don't know what we'd have done otherwise."
Once diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, Luciya was put on medication that managed her condition for the next three years. The next problem came while she was unwell and taken to hospital. During her stay Luciya's heart rate dropped, Dee explains. "They did an electrocardiogram to find out what was happening and called a cardiologist who changed her medication due to the side effects she was experiencing."
A few months later however, a routine checkup found that Luciya's pulse was racing again, and over the next few weeks nothing seemed able to get it back to a normal rhythm. Finally, she and her family decided to get an appointment with the cardiologist who had treated her atrial fibrillation originally.
"It was a fantastic relief to be seen so quickly," Dee recalls. "Every single doctor and nurse we've seen has been great, but they're often just so busy. Going through Bupa however, meant we could find out quickly that something was seriously wrong and that my mother needed the medication changes that would tackle it."
The next few months were spent trying to fine-tune the treatments but despite everything, Luciya's atrial fibrillation refused to come under control. Eventually, after an emergency electrocardiogram and overnight hospital stay this spring, she saw her cardiologist again, and was taken into hospital for more treatment and a full range of investigative tests that Dee describes as "very reassuring".
Adamant that she didn't want to try surgery before other possibilities, Luciya and her cardiologist explored all the different treatments on offer over the next few months.
"They've gone through all the options with us, making their recommendations but leaving the choice to us," says Dee.
Finally, after weighing up the options, she decided to go for a highly specialist heart procedure and was booked in for surgery a few days later. The surgery went well and Luciya seems to finally be on the mend. All the way along, she and her family have talked to the Bupa Cardiac Support Team. "They've been absolutely brilliant too," says Dee.
"It's been a bit of a rollercoaster but everyone's been so supportive," Dee insists. "If wasn't for all the help along the way we'd never have got here this quickly."
Check your pulse
Atrial fibrillation is the most common cause of an abnormal heart rhythm. It happens when the electrical impulses that control the heartbeat become disrupted.
It's important not to ignore atrial fibrillation because, if it is left untreated, the heart can start to adapt to its new irregular rhythm, and this can damage it. Also, there's often a higher risk of stroke.
The best way to check it is to know how to take your pulse – and take it regularly. Atrial fibrillation's only detectable when your heartbeat is racing, so daily checks can be very useful, especially if you are over 60.
To take your pulse, put your index (first) and middle fingers on the inside of your wrist, below the base of your thumb and count the number of beats you feel for a minute. An occasional irregularity is normal but atrial fibrillation produces a random and consistently irregular pulse for more than 30 seconds.
