Changing GP surgery / heart problem

[IthinkIamAnAlien]

I have become so dissatisfied with my GP surgery. The latest concern of mine being a sudden eruption of palpitations after an exercise session. Each time it takes 24 hours for my heart rhythm to settle down.

I found a good app called Fibricheck which gave me info to take to the GP. He'd never heard of the app, didn't want to know, told me I was fine.

He was so dismissive that I decided to change surgery and registered with a surgery actually much nearer. It seemed good until I discovered that their routine was to be quizzed in public as to why you want to see a doctor and then you go on a waiting list. I had booked an appointment online through some system called Amina but apparently I should't have been able to do this and when I turned up, I discovered that I wasn't expected!! It may take 2 weeks to get an appointment.

Apologies for making anyone read this far but can i/would it make sense to switch to another surgery with a sander system? . Is that possible?

I've got some basic medical insurance which I've never used but I'm worried about this heart stuff which has come totally out of the blue. I called the BHF helpline yesterday and the cardiac nurse urged me to get properly tested. Sigh.

GPs are all running some kind of triage system; did you go in to the surgery to book an appointment? Don’t they have an online or phone option for more privacy?

What did you actually say to the first gp about your symptoms? What did the app tell you?

I had been noticing for a while that my heart rate was slowing. I am reasonably fit and was used to a heart rate in the low 60s but noticed that it was becoming the 50s and sliding down into the high 40s. My already low blood pressure was getting lower and I was colder and getting lots of fatigue. Then 10 days ago had an episode of scary palpitations after a session at the gym.

GP did a range of tests including thyroid, which he complained had been done before, and said it was OK and compared to most people he saw I was fit and well!

The app gave me a series of warning messages, said share the results with my GP. I was having ectopic beats and something called bigeminay and trigeminey episodes. I have never had palpitations after exercise before though I've been aware that my heart seemed to be missing beats.

Apparently with the new surgery I have to be given permission to book online! The NHS app must have let me book online because I did it that way with the last surgery. Today has been a bit of an eye opener. We are now virtually without medical care it seems to me.

Was the app suggested by a HCP? Or just a random one you downloaded? Did you wear leads attached to your phone?

You need to see a cardiologist…can you afford 150 to 250 for a private appointment with an ECG? If so, just go that route and thenyou can always jump back into the NHS with a diagnosis. You can self refer to a private cardiologist .. if you look for one who also works on the NHS in your local hospital, it will make switching over more easy

And in the mean time take a magnesium supplement every night before bed, 100% rda, eat a banana every day for potassium, make sure you have dairy every day for calcium and take an iron supplement at lunch with food