Fitbit discovers Heart Condition
Donation protected
Felicity's Story: Atrial Fibrillation (Persistant)
Felicity has recently discovered she has Atrial Fibrillation; a heart condition causing an irregular, often rapid heart rate, which commonly causes poor blood flow. Without treatment of her condition, the risk of a fatal stroke or heart attack is very high. Symptoms include sensations of a ‘fluttering’ heartbeat (palpitations), irregular heartbeat, angina (chest pains), general malaise, dizziness, inability to tolerate exercise and fainting spells.
In a healthy heart, the sinus node is the natural pacemaker. It sends out electrical pulses which create the heartbeat, in a steady and coordinated fashion. In Atrial Fibrillation, electrical pulses are also created in other areas of tissue in the heart, causing a chaotic heartbeat where the upper and lower chambers of the heart do not work in unison.
Felicity can credit wearing a Fitbit watch since last November for the initial discovery of her very high heart rate, which frequently went up to a disturbing 200bpm. She noticed her heart was working overtime, even when resting.
Following a 24 hour Holter Monitor test, her Cardiologist/Electrophysiologist surgeon detected the Atrial Fibrillation and straight away booked her in for a Catheter Ablation surgery. In this procedure, the surgeon first makes an incision in the upper thigh or groin. A catheter (thin tube) is inserted into a main artery and is carefully pushed along until it reaches the heart. The tip of the catheter is fitted with an electrode. Once in position, the electrode is activated. Radio frequency waves burn or destroy the small area of heart tissue responsible for causing the Atrial Fibrillation. It is a time consuming procedure which usually lasts 4-6 hours.
This diagnosis has finally clarified so much of Felicity's medical history. In the past, her doctors had at times noticed an irregular and high heart rate, but this was never fully investigated until now. The Atrial Fibrillation can only be picked up by the Holter Monitor and Echocardiogram tests. For over 20 years she has endured ups and downs with unexplained fatigue, fainting spells, severe migraines, sensitivity to temperature changes and has generally not been able to live life to the fullest. As a teenager she suffered a severe bout of glandular fever which was followed by frequent periods of being completely bedridden, with months off school. Prior to the glandular fever she had been very active in swimming, rowing and running. Interestingly a virus can be a trigger for this type of heart condition. Felicity had been treated for Asthma in the past but it was most likely the Atrial Fibrillation causing her breathlessness. More recently Felicity had scans to rule out breast cancer as she was having pains on her left side. This pain has in fact been caused by her irregular and fast heart beat.
Felicity has always been incredibly embarrassed by this constant illness, always putting on a brave face for others and trying her best to keep up. She would only tell people of her situation if she absolutely had to; having to carefully choose just what to put her minimal energy into and what to miss out on. The occasional over-exertion or fun time with friends would generally result in days spent in bed recovering.
Despite her life of illness, Felicity undertook a Degree in Fine Arts and a Postgraduate Diploma in Graphic Design and after five years of struggle, graduated with Distinction.
Felicity is originally from New Zealand, but now resides in Bunbury, Western Australia with her partner Darryn who have become parents to a lovely, lively daughter, Olivia. She is 2.5 years old. When Olivia was born, Darryn found himself out of consistent work for about 18months, this took a huge toll on the family of three and they sold belongings to pay the mortgage and even borrowed money to pay the bills at at times. Darryn has worked for the past year in a permanent role and the family feel like they are only just getting back on track after a tough few years.
Felicity needed an ambulance in 2012 which cost $800, she quickly learned healthcare in Australia was far more expensive than in New Zealand. She decided to set up a mid level health insurance cover with Darryn.
After contributing into her private health insurance fund for over three years, Felicity asked them if they would cover any of the costs if she went through a private hospital. She was told that the surgeon’s fee of $6,000 would be covered, however she would need to pay the extra $2,000 for theatre expenses and it was agreed that her insurance Gap Saver of $1,200 could be used towards this. This was finalised over the course of several phone calls with them.
On the day of surgery Felicity became very unwell and tachycardic due to fasting in preparation for the surgery and required IV fluids, she was told that she was only 5 or 10 minutes away from her surgery being cancelled because she had become so unwell. Despite this her surgery was a success, with not one but two pathways being ablated in her heart. Following surgery Felicity spent the night in ICU (which was unexpected) therefore further raising the costs dramatically. While being discharged the next morning to return home Felicity had an episode of 180BPM, this required her to now stay in hospital for that whole day. She immediately began medication and was seen by the doctor again because a repeat surgery would be required.
Following her eventual discharge from hospital Felicity suddenly became extremely unwell and was advised by the hospital to return to their Emergency Department, due to a high temperature causing hallucinations, tremors and nausea. This increased the costs even more. Felicity was admitted overnight and given IV fluids, pain relief and antibiotics. She slowly began to feel better by the following day. All of this was highly unexpected given that the procedure is not very invasive due to the catheter, and has a quick recovery time. Felicity was told she would only be staying in one night in a ward.
It then came as a complete shock to hear from the insurance company that they had decided not to cover ANY of the hospital expenses. As if this wasn’t bad enough, two hospital administration staff came to her bedside with a mobile EFTPOS machine and a bill for the surgery alone for over $13,000, asking for immediate payment or a contribution (shocking also the hospital staff who overheard this!). All hospital costs at that stage had not been finalised and are set to rise even further yet.
Upon hearing this, Felicity's Cardiologist/Electrophysiologist very generously said he would waive his surgical fee if she was left with no insurance cover at all. This of course, will help immensely, but Felicity and her partner Darryn will still struggle to pay the extensive and unexpected hospital fees.
Felicity will now require further surgery which will be under the public system with the same surgeon. But unfortunately, it's going to require a much longer waiting period. It is the type of procedure that can take a few goes, and a pacemaker will eventually be fitted if the surgery can not correct Felicity's heart rate.
Felicity is set to feel so much better and have a greater quality of life should the second procedure be successful. She is looking forward to having a normal heartbeat and a normal life and feels incredibly lucky to have finally found what has been causing her ill health for all these years, as well as not suffering a stroke or heart failure.
Felicity has supported a number of “gofundme” requests in the past and is bewildered to find herself now in the situation of asking for help to meet these unexpected costs. While her surgeon’s offer to waive his fee completely is most generous, it will be a struggle to pay the remaining medical bills.
Felicity would be grateful for any help towards meeting this unexpected cost of her treatment. Any money raised above our goal will be donated to Atrial Fibrillation research.
Thank you so much for any support you can give.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNkkzWcseA0
Felicity has recently discovered she has Atrial Fibrillation; a heart condition causing an irregular, often rapid heart rate, which commonly causes poor blood flow. Without treatment of her condition, the risk of a fatal stroke or heart attack is very high. Symptoms include sensations of a ‘fluttering’ heartbeat (palpitations), irregular heartbeat, angina (chest pains), general malaise, dizziness, inability to tolerate exercise and fainting spells.
In a healthy heart, the sinus node is the natural pacemaker. It sends out electrical pulses which create the heartbeat, in a steady and coordinated fashion. In Atrial Fibrillation, electrical pulses are also created in other areas of tissue in the heart, causing a chaotic heartbeat where the upper and lower chambers of the heart do not work in unison.
Felicity can credit wearing a Fitbit watch since last November for the initial discovery of her very high heart rate, which frequently went up to a disturbing 200bpm. She noticed her heart was working overtime, even when resting.
Following a 24 hour Holter Monitor test, her Cardiologist/Electrophysiologist surgeon detected the Atrial Fibrillation and straight away booked her in for a Catheter Ablation surgery. In this procedure, the surgeon first makes an incision in the upper thigh or groin. A catheter (thin tube) is inserted into a main artery and is carefully pushed along until it reaches the heart. The tip of the catheter is fitted with an electrode. Once in position, the electrode is activated. Radio frequency waves burn or destroy the small area of heart tissue responsible for causing the Atrial Fibrillation. It is a time consuming procedure which usually lasts 4-6 hours.
This diagnosis has finally clarified so much of Felicity's medical history. In the past, her doctors had at times noticed an irregular and high heart rate, but this was never fully investigated until now. The Atrial Fibrillation can only be picked up by the Holter Monitor and Echocardiogram tests. For over 20 years she has endured ups and downs with unexplained fatigue, fainting spells, severe migraines, sensitivity to temperature changes and has generally not been able to live life to the fullest. As a teenager she suffered a severe bout of glandular fever which was followed by frequent periods of being completely bedridden, with months off school. Prior to the glandular fever she had been very active in swimming, rowing and running. Interestingly a virus can be a trigger for this type of heart condition. Felicity had been treated for Asthma in the past but it was most likely the Atrial Fibrillation causing her breathlessness. More recently Felicity had scans to rule out breast cancer as she was having pains on her left side. This pain has in fact been caused by her irregular and fast heart beat.
Felicity has always been incredibly embarrassed by this constant illness, always putting on a brave face for others and trying her best to keep up. She would only tell people of her situation if she absolutely had to; having to carefully choose just what to put her minimal energy into and what to miss out on. The occasional over-exertion or fun time with friends would generally result in days spent in bed recovering.
Despite her life of illness, Felicity undertook a Degree in Fine Arts and a Postgraduate Diploma in Graphic Design and after five years of struggle, graduated with Distinction.
Felicity is originally from New Zealand, but now resides in Bunbury, Western Australia with her partner Darryn who have become parents to a lovely, lively daughter, Olivia. She is 2.5 years old. When Olivia was born, Darryn found himself out of consistent work for about 18months, this took a huge toll on the family of three and they sold belongings to pay the mortgage and even borrowed money to pay the bills at at times. Darryn has worked for the past year in a permanent role and the family feel like they are only just getting back on track after a tough few years.
Felicity needed an ambulance in 2012 which cost $800, she quickly learned healthcare in Australia was far more expensive than in New Zealand. She decided to set up a mid level health insurance cover with Darryn.
After contributing into her private health insurance fund for over three years, Felicity asked them if they would cover any of the costs if she went through a private hospital. She was told that the surgeon’s fee of $6,000 would be covered, however she would need to pay the extra $2,000 for theatre expenses and it was agreed that her insurance Gap Saver of $1,200 could be used towards this. This was finalised over the course of several phone calls with them.
On the day of surgery Felicity became very unwell and tachycardic due to fasting in preparation for the surgery and required IV fluids, she was told that she was only 5 or 10 minutes away from her surgery being cancelled because she had become so unwell. Despite this her surgery was a success, with not one but two pathways being ablated in her heart. Following surgery Felicity spent the night in ICU (which was unexpected) therefore further raising the costs dramatically. While being discharged the next morning to return home Felicity had an episode of 180BPM, this required her to now stay in hospital for that whole day. She immediately began medication and was seen by the doctor again because a repeat surgery would be required.
Following her eventual discharge from hospital Felicity suddenly became extremely unwell and was advised by the hospital to return to their Emergency Department, due to a high temperature causing hallucinations, tremors and nausea. This increased the costs even more. Felicity was admitted overnight and given IV fluids, pain relief and antibiotics. She slowly began to feel better by the following day. All of this was highly unexpected given that the procedure is not very invasive due to the catheter, and has a quick recovery time. Felicity was told she would only be staying in one night in a ward.
It then came as a complete shock to hear from the insurance company that they had decided not to cover ANY of the hospital expenses. As if this wasn’t bad enough, two hospital administration staff came to her bedside with a mobile EFTPOS machine and a bill for the surgery alone for over $13,000, asking for immediate payment or a contribution (shocking also the hospital staff who overheard this!). All hospital costs at that stage had not been finalised and are set to rise even further yet.
Upon hearing this, Felicity's Cardiologist/Electrophysiologist very generously said he would waive his surgical fee if she was left with no insurance cover at all. This of course, will help immensely, but Felicity and her partner Darryn will still struggle to pay the extensive and unexpected hospital fees.
Felicity will now require further surgery which will be under the public system with the same surgeon. But unfortunately, it's going to require a much longer waiting period. It is the type of procedure that can take a few goes, and a pacemaker will eventually be fitted if the surgery can not correct Felicity's heart rate.
Felicity is set to feel so much better and have a greater quality of life should the second procedure be successful. She is looking forward to having a normal heartbeat and a normal life and feels incredibly lucky to have finally found what has been causing her ill health for all these years, as well as not suffering a stroke or heart failure.
Felicity has supported a number of “gofundme” requests in the past and is bewildered to find herself now in the situation of asking for help to meet these unexpected costs. While her surgeon’s offer to waive his fee completely is most generous, it will be a struggle to pay the remaining medical bills.
Felicity would be grateful for any help towards meeting this unexpected cost of her treatment. Any money raised above our goal will be donated to Atrial Fibrillation research.
Thank you so much for any support you can give.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNkkzWcseA0
Organizer
Felicity McQueen
Organizer
Millbridge, WA