Congestive Heart Failure

[livingwith]

Diastolic heart failure runs in my family. The men have strokes and the women heart attacks. My great grandfather was working in a saw mill when he had a stroke and sawed his arm off. My grandmother had diastolic heart failure starting after menopause then died of a heart attack. My father had a stroke I have had symptoms of DHF for many years but was only diagnosed 1 year ago.
I had the following symptoms:
Age 12 up: Paroxsysmal Atrial Tachycardia
Age 19 up: first angina pains, in the ...Read the full article

[scaramouche]

I was diagnosed with Congestive Hearth Failure about 1 month ago. I starte with symptoms about 3 months ago that seems related with a DYSPEPSIA; nausea, abdominal pain, and difficult to breath due to the abdominal distension. About 1 month and a half ago i start having a very high abdominal distension and my legs start increasing weight.. so i go to hospital and they make me exams and found a left ventricular dilated , give me diuretics.

Believe it or not in 2 days i expelled from my body 60 pounds of liquid: my abdomen start decreasing and i immediately start feeling great: breathing, eating at hospital, no nausea, and no pain. I keep one week more in hospital with no salt diet, furoxemide , espirolactona and then carveridol and i feel great. I never feel pain, fatigue, or problems to breath again. I leave hospital with the treatment, follow the diet very strict and start loosing weigh. I am 200 pounds now. Cardiologist send me to walk 30 minutes a day. I am 35 years, and to be honest.. i never feel better than now.

But i feel scaried. I read big mortality percents in CHF , or that is something that you only can hold in the best panorama 5 or 10 years. And i am afraid. I have faith, i have wilt. But i am confused. Are there persons who live to 50, 60, 70 with this problem? Is that possible?

Of course you never now if your case will be the bad 10 % or the good 90% ones or what.. but i will really appreciate testimonies about persons who survive long years with medications and treatment.

I want to know if i have opportunity to win this battle or is just a question of time, and no doctor is clear enough about this. On the net i read some sites telling one thing and other ones telling the opposite about this.

I really want to get contact with persons with the same problem to share tips, and knowledge.

I am from Uruguay, but with sarongs links with the US, i used to live there and i work for an american company.

God bless you all.

[drauris]

Since you are so young it will help you to go for periodic check ups and adhere to your medications and healthy lifestyle changes. Look into clinical trials. Do you know your ejection fraction and VO2 values.
Auris

[scaramouche]

My ejection was 20 last ergonometry. Under stress 17 (using dipiridol) .

At first sight i was very scaried about this number... then i learned that Ejection Fraction is not a main morbiliy factor and some persons even wen four times lowe index survive to make it climb to 40 or more making rehabilitation , I am assisting a local representatn of the AMERICAN HEARTH ASSOCIATION were a second cardiologist give me a scond opinion about what my main cardiologist tell me.. i trust in my cardiologist but i think is wisdom to have always a second opinion or to confirm something is very right or to propose the other another option. After all is my body, and they are humans i think humans we can help as much as posible.

I am doing all what my cardiologist said as clockwork: prescription every day, same time, diet STRICTLY WITHOUT EXCEPTIONS, i don' t smoke, don't drink at all, i am walking at least 30 ms a day as recently mt cardiologist allow me.. i am even able to walk 1 hour or more without experience symptoms at all. It seems exercise can increase my ejection fraction.

I am reducing weight about 2 pounds a week, and the most important: i am praying God every day about my hearth. My faith (i am christian ) allow me to take this much more better i think i always feel the calm from Him believe it or not (well there are even some studies in cardiologist magazines that show that faith help a lot in prevention and in recovery, it doesn't matter if you are jewish , christian or muslim)

I think all here know the worst panorama. .. right? We already search the net and is easy to find the worst panorama in pronostic. "10 % die at first year, 50 % at first 5 years, and in the first 7 years 70". Can someone tell me which is the best panorama? Can someone tell me what happen with the 30% who DONT DIE the first 7 years? Are there histories of persons living 20, 30 years with this disease? Have i hope to see my grandsons some days, to see them groove? What is the best i can expect following all the indications, the exams, and if God help and hearth respond favorable to all this?

Is CHF something you can keep controlled the rest of your life as the asma or diabetes? These are mortal sickness too: one cousin of mine die from asma very young, at 34 but a lot of people get old having asma . You know i mean ? I want to know what is the best pronostic possible for CHF patient... doctors never told that,they don{t like, i understand them... don't want to give fake hopes. I ask , one say "yes you can live a lot under control and if you follow instructons", other say "is imposible to know ... CHF evolute in diferent ways we can't predict"

Any testimony? Any history about a long survive with this? I am feeling great: i am eating, i am walking, i have not symptoms at all i look now younger than the past year... can i mantain that status if i mantain the life changes i made?

God bless you all.. i will be praying for any person here and i hope we can help each other to find info, alternatives, answers.. etc.

regards