The HHT and Afib Athlete

  A reminder about me and what I know about HHT and Afib So, what do I know? Well, firstly, I have them both!   HHT is a genetic bleeding disorder, characterised by malformations of the blood vessels which bleed – these can be in the nose (90% of patients) plus also could affect the lungs, brain, gut, mouth, liver, etc etc.   It can be a contributor to Afib as the mis-plumbing in the liver can lead to increased pressure in the heart and cause problems.   Nobody really knows and it is estimated that only 10% of people who have HHT are diagnosed.   I have seen many ENT specialists over the years and they are all pretty uninformed about it – I was lucky enough to know it was in my family via grandad, aunt and mum.   My nosebleeds have been treated at a specialist centre in London with a laser ablation.   I’ve had this done four times plus one skin-graft where they took skin from the thigh and patched the nose with it in the same manner as a puncture repair kit mends a puncture on a bi