Worried about DH - palpitations/other issues

[Bluelo]

I don't understand how we got here but approx two months ago, DH started suffering with lightheadedness and extreme fatigue. He is generally a fit person walked five/six miles a day regularly, always eating fruit and veg. He had some gastric issues but had not had day off work for three years. He started not sleeping well, waking up with palpitations, experiencing extreme fatigue. The palpitations happened at work with a feeling of fairness so was sent home.
He loves his job but it is safety-critical so has been off now for a couple of weeks. He has had an ECG but nothing showing, he was given indigestion tabs by GP to help sleep/gastric issues and because of nature of job has been referred to cardiologist.We are expect appt to come through this week.

Is it worth going private? To speed things up? I'm so worried in such a short space of time a fit and healthy man can barely make it down.the stairs without feeling exhausted. The exhaustion is physical as well as lack of sleep. He got lightheaded and ill after activities like washing up and swapping a tv over (we did this together). He has barely left the house, /let alone bedroom and loves his walks and fresh air. I'm beside myself with worry it doesn't seem right. He absolutely does not suffer work stress adores his job and hates being off.

Does anyone know if cardiology is one of those areas that has less attention at present because if covid?

I don't know what else to do, he is so.tired and has got in vicious cycle of not sleeping and waking up with palpitations.
.

I second having blood tests but if you can afford it I would also go and see a cardiologist privately if you can’t get in sooner.

A few years ago I had some palpitations on occasion. I went for an ECG as well as a 24 hour monitor and both came back clear.

About a month later I developed the flu and collapsed, ended up on life support. Turns out I have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which I will have been born with, and the flu led to my heart being attacked in addition so. Also ended up with a damaged mitral (on the left) valve and atrial fibrillation.

The ECG never showed up anything and it won’t if he’s not having an episode at the time, not even a 24 hour ECG.

He needs to go and have an echo (it’s like an ultrasound with ECG monitors attached, that way they will be able to look at e.g. the structure of his heart and vascular system around his heart.

I don’t want to be alarmist but heart conditions can happen that quickly and many of them are genetic so he will always have had it but never known.

I am four years on now and doing fairly well because of some incredibly drastic interventions, several stays in ICU, cardiac arrests and so on. But while I am doing well now my future will ultimately lie in a transplant, although I’m not there yet.

There is another poster on MN whose DH recently was taken into hospital with breathlessness, spent time in ICU, came home with a diagnosis and passed away a couple of weeks later.

It’s possible it’s something else entirely, but the longer you leave heart stuff, the worse the damage is.

Hi OP, I would ring your GP and see hwat they say? Are they generally good?
Any GP worth their salt would be concerned that someone who rarely goes to the GPs would suddenly be so ill as your DH is.
I'm a nurse myself, and in my area most depts are still working. I have a friend and she has had quite a few investigations for issues (some cardiac) this year and has been seen/had dates arranged within 2 weeks. That was NHS.
See what your GP says is my advice.

Try and get a 24-hour ECG. I kept "passing" tests because my heart behaved at the doctors. The 24-hour showed it was all over the place.

I was diagnosed with SVT (supra ventricular tachycardia) in the end and have to take medication.

No idea why I got it. No heart problems in our family.

Good luck - I know what a worrying time this is for you

Oh and I was lightheaded and dizzy and faint at times too.

We had I presume corona in March since when my fit twenty yr old son has gastric reflux so bad he vomits acid, fatigue, brainfog and palpitations from even just climbing the stairs

The ECG's can be useless. My DH was suffering chest and arm pain. The GP did a short ECG and everything was perfect. He had a heart attack the next day. One of his arteries was completely blocked.