"I worry if I wait any longer for heart treatment, I'll be housebound"

“People say I don’t look 80, because I don’t have grey hair. It’s still auburn, my natural colour. I didn’t use to feel my age either, until recently. But my angina symptoms are now making it hard to do anything. I’ve had to stop doing the things I love, like bird watching and gardening, because the next day I’ll be so whacked out.

My underlying condition is that, genetically, I make a lot of cholesterol that has clogged up my arteries. I had triple-bypass surgery nine years ago to treat blocked arteries, and now my right coronary artery is blocked up.

I know this because I had a CT angiogram in November 2023, when they told me I needed an invasive angiogram (PCI) to unblock the artery and possibly put a stent in. I looked up the waiting time at the local hospital and it was seven months.

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I did not realise I’d been waiting for 18 months until I saw British Heart Foundation's 'Hearts need more' campaign. I was surprised when I added it up, from when I had my first symptoms in November 2022 to now.

I used to work in the NHS, as a senior medical secretary in general surgery, and I’m sure there are people on the waiting list that are worse than me, and I would not want to jump in front of them.

But I worry that if it takes much longer, my artery is going to be so blocked they won’t be able to put the stent in. And that will leave me housebound."

How to get involved with the 'Hearts need more' campaign

There are several ways you can support us:

Sign our pledge calling on the next UK Government to commit to bold action on heart care.
Share the campaign with family and friends via social media and ask them to add their names to the pledge too.
Share your story about waiting for heart care with us by emailing [email protected]