Tell me about Congestive Heart Failure

[2BigKIdz]

Christine
Was the pulmonary something, pulmonary hypertension. My mom has right sided heart failure, is on 9 different pills to keep things running smoothly. The cardiologist said that she also has pulmonary hypertension which is a result of the right sided heart failure. The drs havent said CHF but she is on all of the pills for it.

I'm going to guess pulmonary edema, fluid and swelling in the lungs? Seems to go hand in hand with CHF.

Does your mom smoke?

 

[tinaluis]

I'd like to second what others have said -- it is very important for your mom to follow her doctor's orders to the letter. My mom died of CHF in 1995 at age 50. She had a strong family history of heart disease and did smoke, but quit when she was advised she needed triple bypass surgery. She was constantly *sneaking* things she wasn't allowed to have, like watermelon and potato chips. I don't think she realized that they could literally kill her. You mentioned that your mom may have confused some of the things her doctor told her about her diagnosis. I think it will be important for you to have an open dialogue with her doctors so you understand her diagnosis and the course that her treatment will take. She may have to execute a HIPAA Authorization to allow them to communicate with you about her treatment -- check with her doctor. Good luck to you both.

 

[Judy from Boise]

Pulmonary HTN would be the cause of Right sided failure.The result of the right failure would be very bad edema in the body, especially the legs.
It sounds like your DGM has left sided failure, which causes a back up of circulating blood into the lungs.It makes sense that this would be caused by her incompetent valve between the two chambers of the heart. Expect that she will be also placed on a blood thinner to make sure she doesen't build up clots.

 

[Chris2597]

Judy,
You are right on....my mom has had bouts of horrible lower body swelling...at times it seems it goes to her waistline....Her legs became so swollen they literally would leak pools of water. It was terrible...The edema has resolved, but is still evident....
Thank you for the clarification...I wasnt sure if the PHT caused the right sided hf or the opposite....
She has never smoked a day in her life..She turns 86 next week.....but has a family history of heart problems. It is such a worry having loved ones that are elderly, frail, and ill.

 

[drgnfly30]

Christine
Was the pulmonary something, pulmonary hypertension.

I do believe that was it....

she is terribly swollen right now.. from her abdomen to her knees.. Thankfully she's never smoked a day in her life... but it sounds like the diabetes is going to complicate things anyway...

Thanks so much to all of you for your insight!

 

[C.Ann]

This was one of the many illnesses that my DH fought for quite a few years.. It was definitely a roller-coaster - up one minute, terribly ill the next - but I think if he had received proper medical care (and not the so-called medical care from the VA) it would have been managed much better and he wouldn't have suffered nearly as much as he did..

If your mom has a good doctor and good care, she can live a long time in relative comfort..

 

[Kimberle]

My dh had this at 39. He was not feeling well for a long time, then finally went to the doctor. It took many dr's & specialists, and several months to figure out what was wrong. He wasn't eating much because he felt terrible, but wasn't loosing weight. He was put in the hospital for a week to remove the fluid buildup. The took 80 pounds of fluid off him. He really was loosing weight, but the fluid was taking it's place, so noone had any idea he had so much fluid.

It's been about 4 years now. He's monitered by his Cartilogist <sp?>, takes lots of med's, and is fine. His heart has "come back" very well. It's not 100%, but very strong. His doctor is pleased.

Eat right, excercise. I don't know about the others, but no more alcohol (not that dh was much of a drinker anyway).

 

[Chris2597]

Christine
Does your moms dr know how bad the swelling is getting? My mom came home from rehab for a broken hip and within a week she was horribly swollen from the waist down (a bit of edema in the hospital, but nothing like it got). The dr. had to put her on a heavier dose of lasix and another diuretic for a couple of weeks....the other water pill really flushed her system...and it is much better but still there....

 

[drgnfly30]

Christine
Does your moms dr know how bad the swelling is getting? My mom came home from rehab for a broken hip and within a week she was horribly swollen from the waist down (a bit of edema in the hospital, but nothing like it got). The dr. had to put her on a heavier dose of lasix and another diuretic for a couple of weeks....the other water pill really flushed her system...and it is much better but still there....

Yes, the Dr. knows... she's got at least 20lbs of extra water weight... she's starting Lasix this morning...

 

[Judy from Boise]

You should see a nice effect from the lasix! Make sure you have someone teach your family how to monitor her elctrolytes........the main draw back from these diuretics is that they cause the kidneys not to reabsorb sodium and potassium. ( this is doubly important for anyone also on digoxin)

 

[Judy from Boise]

Aslo I must put in a plug for nurses. Many people with chronic CHF are wonderfully managed by Nurse case managers or Nurse practioners!So follow your health care providers (not just physician's) advice!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

There is some good information on this thread. One thing that is important in management of CHF besides a low salt diet and weighing yourself every day, is to limit daily fluid intake. You can take off all the fluid you want with diuretics, but if you drink it all back, then they haven't done much good. Now your kidneys have been taxed from the medications, essentially for nothing. Most patients are advised not to drink more than 2 liters of fluid in 24 hours, though this may be liberalized for less severe cases. If someone is gaining weight in leaps and bounds, they are usually drinking too much. Other medications besides diuretics will fine tune the heart's pumping and the resistance it has to overcome in order to reduce the workload and pump more efficiently. It is very important to see a doctor that specializes in heart failure.

Here is a good article on heart failure by one of the country's leading heart failure teams.
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/104/18/e89

Heart failure patients run the gamut of symptoms, not everyone is the same. Some people do wonderfully, and others have a harder time. It is important to do as much as you can for yourself to control other things like hypertension, smoking cessation, following dietary and fluid guidelines, losing weight, exercising, eating healthily, etc. Nothing is scarier than having an episode of pulmonary edema or so much fluid in your extremities you can't walk across the room. Tight management is warranted then. Unfortunately, some don't take things seriously until something like that happens. It's better to control it from the outset. Good luck.

 

[Chris2597]

Judy
My mom is on 2 lasix aday and 4 potassium pills aday....The dr also put her on another diurectic that she took 3 times a week (he said it makes you literally dump water)...but she had to stop that pill as she got very itchy.....She is also taking digixon but the dr. hasnt said anything about that being an issue.