Our key aim is to provide care closest to home whenever possible so you are likely to be offered an appointment in your local centre. You will be seen by a visiting Congenital Heart Consultant from the East Midlands Congenital Heart Centre, and one of the local heart specialists.
During your appointment
You will usually have an ECG (Electrocardiogram) and an echocardiogram (Echo) in the clinic before seeing the Consultant. You may be in the depertment for approximately two hours. Further tests may be arranged for the following weeks. The results will help your cardiologist plan your treatment which could include inpatient care.
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH)
PAH is a condition causing high blood pressure in the lung arteries. This is often associated with breathlessness. Patients with PAH require assessment and treatment in specialist centres. EMCHC has links to specialist services in Sheffield and Cambridge. Those patients with PAH may therefore be referred to those centres as well as continuing under the EMCHC Team.
Anticoagulation
Anticoagulation refers to certain types of blood thinning medication that help prevent blood clots forming in the circulation. Warfarin is a commonly used anticoagulant and requires regular blood testing at a GP surgery or hospital to monitor the effects. Arranging and attending appointments can be time consuming and inconvenient for busy people and so we encourage our adult patients to consider self-testing at home. This involves doing the same skin prick test done in a clinic and using the same hand-held monitoring device. If you have recently been prescribed warfarin, or have been taking it for some time, and would like to find out more about home testing, please contact our specialist nurse team or talk to the doctor at your next clinic visit.
Further tests
Please follow the below links to find further information on:
