‘I’m terrified I’m going to drop down dead from heart failure’

A man who was only told he was suffering from heart failure seven years after tests were first carried out has said he was left “terrified” by the news.

Scott McKenna was living in Peterborough in 2018 when he organised an appointment at his local GP surgery for tests after experiencing chest pains, shortness of breath and swelling in his legs.

He said he never heard back from the surgery but, after a move to Scarborough in 2023, he received a letter from his new GP about an annual check-up “due to his heart failure”.

Mr McKenna, now 58, said it was a “shock” to discover his condition by letter – and especially so long after the original tests.

“Out of the blue, my partner said ‘you’ve got a letter from the doctor’,” he said.

“I was at work and told her to to open it – she said I’d got heart failure, which was a shock to find out that way.”

He added: “If I’m supposed to have an annual check, where have the other six been?”

Mr McKenna became worried about the diagnosis after seeing a BBC report documenting the rise in poor heart health.

According to the British Heart Foundation (BHF), there has been a 23% increase in the number of people aged between 20-64 dying of heart and circulatory diseases in Yorkshire since 2019.

“I’ve never smoked, I’ve had maybe five to ten units of alcohol since Christmas, which is well below the national standard,” Mr McKenna said.

“I think over the age of 30 or 35 there should be annual [heart] screening.”

The patient has since had six blood tests, two ECGs and a chest X-ray but felt no further along in understanding his diagnosis.

“On my records, apparently I was meant to have been put on blood thinners and beta blockers but I’ve had no medication,” he said.

The former security worker continued: “Through Covid I worked for the heart and lung hospital in Cambridge – I know how hard the NHS work, but it seems to be that I’ve been forgotten.

“I’m terrified I’m going to drop down dead.”

His former surgery did not respond to a request for comment by the BBC.

SSP Health, which runs his current GP practice, said: “We note that the patient has stated that they were not made aware of a diagnosis by their previous GP practice a number of years ago.

“This patient joined our SSP practice in 2024 and since that time we have acted in accordance with the NICE guidelines to ensure he has received appropriate care in relation to any conditions that he may have.”