Congestive Heart Failure?

[tigercat]

My df has just been diagnoised with congestive heart failure. He has been put on potasium and water pills. Does anyone know anything about this?
tigercat

 

[Micca]

My mother was diagnosed with this when she was in her 80s. She lived to the age of 92. That's really all I know, others will chime in with more info. Best of luck to you and your df.

How old is your df?

 

[HelenePA]

My first dd had it before she had her heart surgery. She was in congestive heart failure for about 5 months she was born with a heart defect, we knew so this was not a shock to us.. http://www.medicinenet.com/congestive_heart_failure/article.htm read more about it here.. its not as "deadly" as it sounds.

 

[WDWCastMember]

My Grandfather was diagnosed with this also; he had a heart attack and didn't even know it because (which we didn't know until we became educated on the heart and such) was that you can have a heart attack without any pain or symptoms....the way we found out? During my Grandfather's heart attack, he stood up, and fell over from the 'force' going through his body and he broke his hip...during the MRI, blood draws and x-rays and such in the ER, that's when they 'found' his heart attack, and since Grandpa was 89, and has COPD, they couldn't put him under for a stent or procedure, so the amazing heart specialist did it with a local, through his spine and did a balloon....and Grandpa had a great outcome! They did tell us that he will need blood because odds are when you do have CHF you will tend to be anemic and thats normal, and a pint or two added every so often will make the heart stronger and not pump as hard.

Potassium pills, water pills, and lipitor was given to Grandpa and low exercises for his stamina and the heart was fine. Our specialist also did MRIs and ultrasounds for the heart and lungs to be sure everything was 'fine'.

Also, watch the salt intake, and processed foods, and be sure to speak with a nutritionist about a cardiac diet...it does make a difference.

I also asked the nurses, specialists, and staff for any information they could provide me and any books, pamplets and such they could recommend to me, we're big believers in educating ourselves when it comes to something that happens such as this.

Good luck, I"m here if you need me

 

[tigercat]

My df is willing to take the potassium and water pills but that is it. It is really difficult to get him out of his chair. He had quadruple bypass surgery years ago and at the time they told him things were not good. The doctor told us in certain words that things were not good. His leg is really swollen and he is having trouble breathing. As well he keeps throwing up. He has afasia as well.
tigercat

 

[fussymonkey]

the water pills will make him feel so much better. I had CHF after DD was born. My body just couldn't get rid of fluids quickly enough (I'd been swollen through the pg, then had bolises when I had the epidural, then c section and subsequent swelling), and my lungs started to fill with fluid. When they gave me that lasix in the hospital I was never so greatful for anything in my life! I lost 17lbs in 3 hrs and 40 lbs in 9 hrs. Seriously, I felt like a new person.

People can live with CHF forever, its manageable with the right medications. In my case the CHF was reveresed, since it was onset due to pregnancy. My mom had CHF for 12 years before she died (her death had nothing to do with her chf, either).

 

[HelenePA]

My df is willing to take the potassium and water pills but that is it. It is really difficult to get him out of his chair. He had quadruple bypass surgery years ago and at the time they told him things were not good. The doctor told us in certain words that things were not good. His leg is really swollen and he is having trouble breathing. As well he keeps throwing up. He has afasia as well.
tigercat

Well that is a whole other ball game. He really needs to watch his salt intake, his fluid intake. He needs to monitor this closely. I hope all goes well for him and he's feeling better soon! to both of you

 

[tigercat]

He actually gets very little salt and has for a long while. As for liquids it is actually hard to get him to drink. He has a small glass of oj and a small cup of coffee for breakfast. A small glass of chocolate milk for lunch and a small glass of milk for supper. That is it. The glasses are about 1/2 cup. He will not drink water or anything else any other time. Getting him up to walk around the house is horrible. They have said too that the days that have him going to placement for the day is really hard on him now. The stress is too hard on him and that causes problems like the throwing up. Also, since my dm died early this year I'm not sure how much will to live he has. I guess we will have to see.
tigercat

 

[Robinrs]

My Dad was diagnosed with that in his 50s, he lived to be 83. I really HATE the name of the disorder, it sounds so fatal!

 

[starann]

I am a home care nurse, so this is the info I give ALL my CHF patients.

1. Stay away from salty foods, start reading the labels on all items. You should limit yourself to 4000mg of salt a day (a can of soup has about 900mg PER SERVING).

If you use canned veggies, rinse them is water before cooking, it was wash off most of the salt.

2. Weigh yourself EVERY morning.....after you've gone to the bathroom, but before you eat or drink anything. A 2lb weight gain overnight or 5 lbs in a week is a phone call to the dr so his water pill can be increased fro a day or so.

CHF is something that can snowball, so 2lbs can turn into 4 which the next day can turn into more and land him in the hospital with shortness of breath cause his heart can no longer handle the fluid and it goes into the lungs.

Daily weights is an easy thing that can keep him out of the hospital, which seems to be a goal of anyone.


3 big signs of a CHF exacerbation are
1.weight gain
2.edema or swelling in the legs and feet (if you can press your finger into his leg and your fingerprint stays, then he has some edema, the longer your print stays, the worse the edema is)
3. shortness of breath (esp at night, he may need an extra pillow to sleep comfy)

These all warrant calls to the dr. An extra day or 2 of water pills sure beats a week or so in the hospital!

Good luck

 

[minniecarousel]

I feel like an expert on CHF. My Mom is 92, lives with us and is in CHF. There is a blood test that tells the severity of it, called BNP. When she is having difficulty with it, she'll either get short of breath, swollen ankles and/or weak. She gets treated with extra lasix, potassium and another water pill. (She had a triple bypass 8 years ago & has a pacemaker.)

I regulate everything she eats. I work really hard at finding foods with low sodium. I couldn't believe the baked goods with high sodium content! I also make homemade mac & cheese with lower sodium cheese. She has some good days and some bad ones. She's so weak right now, and has bad knees, so she's afraid of falling. I only have 2 weeks left at work, then I'm off for the summer and I can be there for her 24/7.

There's not much you can do to help someone who has given up. He probably doesn't see that he won't get any better. His symptoms can be managed - there are many different levels of CHF. As others have mentioned, you can live with it for years.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

tigercat, I sent you a PM. Hugs to your Dad.