NAVIGATING PH AS A HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL As an advanced nurse practitioner in cardiothoracic surgery, Tania Riches found herself on the other side of the fence when she discovered she had pulmonary hypertension. Here, the 55-year-old shares her experiences of being a patient with a rare disease, and explains why she believes the NHS has ‘a lot to learn’ from the UK’s specialist PH service…
I
first noticed increased shortness of breath during moderate exercise. I found it increasingly difficult to maintain the level of activity I had previously managed comfortably. Over the next 12-18 months this worsened to a point where I found myself modifying the routes I would take, to avoid stairs or inclines. Eventually people started to comment on my shortness of breath. Embarrassingly, even a very frail and sick cardiac patient I was taking to another department said, “oh dear love, you’re more out of breath then me”. It started to affect my private life as well as my working life.
AUTUMN/WINTER 2022 emphasis 10
I am extremely fortunate to live in Cornwall and I would normally take full advantage of everything the county has to offer, with its beautiful beaches and walks. But I found I was becoming very tired and fatigued and once again started to avoid such activities. Unfortunately for me, this all happened during the pandemic, and consequently, trying to access the GP service was nearly impossible. I also felt like they didn’t take me seriously and thought that I was just slightly overweight and unfit – ‘nothing that a bit of regular exercise wouldn’t put right’.
