Lis Campbell , Assistant Manager , Vetting Unit
I just wanted to leave you some feedback from my Airwave Health Screening appointment yesterday. Jackie (the nurse who did my tests) was fantastic. Being a blood test phobic, she put me at ease and was very gentle, very professional and thankfully, very quick at getting that part of the test over and done with! The tests were very thorough and extensive and I'm glad it was opened up to Police Staff who don't use Airwave too. We don't get a lot for free in this job!Pc 2295, Paul Gridley, Driving School
Thanks, for the health screening the other day, very interesting and even quite fun, let alone nice to meet you all. Please pass my compliments to the nurse who accepted the challange, took blood out of one my other arms and there was NO bruising whatsoever! That' a first!APs 1192 Brown, Sergeant, Southend Central NPT
I attended one of your AIRWAVE Health Checks about a month ago [March 2008] and my blood pressure reading was high. I subsequently took up your advice and saw my GP (the reading was the same as when it was measured at your clinic) and I was prescribed a course of medication. After 2 wks I attended a follow clinic and my blood pressure was on the way down. I have a further appointment booked in another couple of weeks when my medication is due for review. All looks positive. Thank you to you and your staff for finding the condition and sending me in the right direction so I can get it treated. Best wishes.Prior to attending the health check I had been experiencing a sense of compression in my chest when undergoing even light exertion ..... I subsequently received a call to tell me that the consultant’s [from Glasgow Royal Infirmary] advice was to have the condition checked out.
The follow up call from your unit, prompted me to go to my GP. I did an ECG which was all clear but he recommended I do an exercise ECG. That was on a Thursday prior to Christmas 2006. Having been told that I would have to wait up to 18 months for an exercise ECG on the NHS, I contacted Bupa and saw a cardiologist the following week. I then returned just after Christmas and had the exercise ECG. That test was almost clear but I did report some slight compression sensation and the cardiologist recommended that I have an angiogram, though stated that it could be nothing as the ECG appeared clear.
I subsequently had the angiogram at the Cardiac Unit in the Heath UHW. That showed that my front artery was completely blocked and that the blood flow had been maintained to some degree by the arteries matting around the obstruction. Without that I would have been in serious trouble! I returned a month later and, after 2 ½ hours in theatre, had an angioplasty in which 2 drug-eluting stents were placed into my artery, thus reopening the blood flow. I was off work for 5 days and returned without side effects. I’ve since been taking Clopidogrel, 40g Simvastatin and aspirin each day. Other than that I’m fine.
In the month prior to the angioplasty I had been suffering more regular compression pains and could walk little more than about 300 yards without having to stop. I now go to the gym regularly and train for about an hour without any chest pains (though it does cause me to perspire like a pit pony!!).
All in all, the result has been excellent and the first visit to the health check clinic was the kick up the backside I obviously needed!
Steve Morris, Inspector, Swansea Central
I have been a sports fanatic all my life and have played Rugby from the age of 8 years through various district sides, club sides and played the " old first class " as it was called finishing at 31 yrs as a result of various injuries.....
I also played a lot of squash and was at one point the senior schools district champion. I am a qualified sports sub aqua diver and have been since 1991...
I had recently taken up jujitsu....
For my 40th birthday I bought a £700 mountain bike and regularly spent 2-3 hrs a time going "nuts" in various forests...
I also used to train on weights and go running to keep in trim ...
I go skiing once a year.
I have never smoked and always been careful with my diet I do have a drink, usually on weekends only and so as not to interfere with my hobbies
I did not feel any symptoms in relation to my condition, however if I had not been diagnosed (after attending the Screening arranged by Imperial college) I would have collapsed at some point and that would have been it !!!!!!!.
Over Christmas (2006) I will be having an angiogram and a TOE prior to my operation for the replacement heart valve sometime early in the new year (2007).
After, I have been assured I can carry on doing what I have been doing as long as it all goes wellI think I will have to slow down a bit though.
Mike Berry, Supervisory Traffic Warden, Ton Pentre
Thank you all at Workare for the screening which I attended in September 2005. I was found to have atrial fibrilliation (Ed: arrhythmia(abnormal heart rhythm)) which resulted in hospital admission and treatment.....
It was also discovered that I have a leaking mitral valve (Ed: in the heart) which is being kept under observation. I would like to congratulate you on your staff at Bridgend who were very professional and considerate and a special thank you to Lorna Andrews for her concern.
(July 2006) ... the hospital confirmed my high pulse rate and were, initially, as concerned as you. It seemed to trouble them somewhat that I have never suffered any symptoms but they eventually came to accept this as unusual but true.
My diagnosis is an Atrial Flutter (Ed: supraventricular arrhythmia ) caused by extra electrical pulses in the heart but it is impossible to tell when the condition started or why. Once I escaped from hospital I came back to work straight away without any problems.
Their intention is to subject me to a Cardioversion procedure to zap my heart back into its natural rhythym. The Cardiologist, Dr Jones, seems very confident that this should do the trick as there are no signs of disease or damage to the heart itself.
(Feb 2008 ).. the cardioversion was carried out in August 2006 & proved to be successful. I've never suffered any symptoms before, during or since and feel absolutely fine now. In fact I'm doing a run for the British Heart Foundation in London at the end of May.
© July 2008 - Imperial College London