Congestive Heart Failure

I just have been diagnosed with CHF and have started taking meds. to help prevent fluid build up. I'm 74 but have always felt 10 to 15 yrs. younger.I am still active in our farm operations but I wonder what to expect now.

Take your meds religiously and you'll be fine. A friend of mine has been diagnosed for 25 years now. Her situation is pretty severe so her activity level is limited but she's living with it.

I've seen two people I know in their mid to late 30's be struck with CHF. They have trouble breathing and end up in the hospital. Their ankles turn blue because the blood can't get back up to their heart. They are in their late 40's now but they both claim that an older aunt or uncle had it in their family so it must be hereditary. The two I know are living a normal life and working everyday they're overweight by quite a few pounds. I'm not sure what causes it or what other symptons may be.

The doctors know a lot more now than 100 years ago so listen to your doctor.

MORE THAN LIKELY THEY WILL DO A STINT OR SOME TYPE OF BYPASS, KEEP YOUR HEAD YOUNG AND THINK POSITIVE AND EVERY THING WILL WORK OUT STAY UP

I'm 79, 24 years since my heart attack and surgery.
A good doctor, and lots of pills.
Pills can keep you alive for another 20 years if the doctor knows what he, or she, is doing. Listen to them. Watch out for kidneys going bad from blocked blood supply and too many over the counter pain pills.
You must keep your weight and your blood pressure down.
LEARN TO BE WORTHLESS and enjoy life!!!!
Kennyp

The one thing I had to learn was my limitations, while I can be involved in most of the same occupational duties I was, I now must face the reality that some things may have to wait til another day, or I may need assistance. I find that those around me are just as concerned that I am here as I am, and actually look foreward to assisting. I would suggest you look ahead asking how can I continue to assist in the operation, you may want to take over certain parts of the operation others have done and have them take over some of the more straining jobs. You have been given the same warning many of us have, we are lucky. Good Luck, and have many more happy years. By the way my next stress test is Dec. 31, welcome to our world! Gary

I have CHF,... I'm 61 years old and I've had a couple of heart attacks.

2 years ago I had "5" by-passes,... and now I feel as good as I did when I was 40.

After my heart surgery it took almost a full year to finally get my blood-pressure down to 130 over 60.
I'm on Diovan, Metoprolol, Norvasc, and Crestor,... plus a couple of baby asprins per day.

The only problem now is,... some of the medication makes it very difficult for me to get my heart-rate up enough to burn excess calories and I'm slowly putting on some extra pounds, even though I exercise daily.

Overall, I'm VERY glad I had the by-pass surgey, because I was about "done for" with only .08% blood-flow. :shock: (the doctors said it was a "wonder" that I lived long enough to even have the surgery)

I'm doing great now, and I feel good.

My mother died from it about 6 months after she was diagosed. She couldn't breathe and had a panic attack and that is when it was diagnosed after being taken to the hospital. They could see her enlarged heart.

Then she wouldn't stop smoking. She had a breathing machine but wouldn't do the treatments daily like they recommended. When she had a breathing problem she went to the neighbor's who helped her with their breathing machine. May have been a heart attack that was the cause of death.

Watch your ankles for any signs of swelling, i.e. fluid buildup. You probably can't take much fluid in your lungs before you have problems. Wear a mask outside in the cold and try to avoid any type of cold or bronchial issues. Doesn't take much for pneumonia to set in.

Just had a friend die with emphysima. A cold turned to pneumonia. Once the fluid began building up in his lungs, even the doctors and the hospital couldn't reverse it. Even tried a breathing tube. He was fairly obese and had just recently quit smoking.

My uncle survived until he was 83 which was about 22 years after his first heart attack & bypass and 10 years after a bout with throat cancer.

I wish you good luck and many happy years. Do the things to avoid colds, etc. Winters are probably what you have to watch the most.

I hope I never get it and during my 8 years on dailysis I watched many a soul surcome to CHF . The real truth is that you just slowly drown as time goes on ,I felt for many I saw fade away best of luck .

Listen to your doctor very closely and ask lots of questions to fully understand what is going on. In addition, you must do 4 things to take charge of your own medical situation.
1. If overweight, get it down to normal. Eat healthy, lots of fresh fruit, vegatables, yogurt, whole grains, etc. Get professional help if needed with diet. Get a good bathroom weight scale and use it.
2. If smoking, stop. Now.
3. Moderate exercise. Walking is the best.
4. Get a blood gluclose meter and use it to closely monitor your blood sugar level. Get a good blook pressure monitor and use it.
All the best, Tom

My sister in law has had it for 15 years, She still does craft shows. She paces herself and doesn't get all tired out.The advice Tom gave was right on target.

What you say about .08% blood flow, If you think about that, it would be impossible to live with that little blood flow,
I think the Doc got it wrong.

NOTHING Can function with just 8% of anything -- give your car 8% gas to the carb.
cut electric down to 8% and see what you get.
cut your water down to 8% and see what you have.
breath just 8% of air and see how long you last.
put 8% of air in your tires and see what you get
DO anything at 8% and you will kill it now...

Ive had congestive heart failure and its nothing to mess with.2 and a half years ago I had 5 bypasses,then after about 6 months started getting sick,feet swelling,so back to the hospital for a stent,then in another 6 months the same thing only that time it was 2 stents,then in about a year another stent.I take plavix,metropolol,lisinopril,simvastatin,and about 6 months ago found out I have diabetes.Now I take a shot most days or pills for diabetes too.I do feel quite a bit better than I did when I went in for bypass surgury.Im 53,but I spent 15 years driving a truck over the road.In 1996 my blood pressure was normal I weighed about 170 lbs.Then it started going up.Some kind of stuff called plaque gets in your arteries and plugs them up,which causes high blood pressure.Now I would go to the doctor,he would give me blood pressure pills,I would take them until they ran out and quit taking them because the would make me sleepy or something.I also gained weight to 200 lbs.I would have been way better off to keep taking them and maybe wouldnt have had the real high blood pressure that caused my heart to enlarge,and work so hard it got stiff,then have congestive heart failure.Like others said you need to eat real food thats not been cooked like fruit and vegetables for the vitamins,you need to exercise if you can.I also take some liquid vitamins which help.I tried taking vitamin pills but they arent as good as liquid.You dont want to overdo it,but walk when you can.I carried a cane at first,but now I dont.A thirty minute walk every day will make a big difference.Also oatmeal helps your cholesterol.A bowl of oatmeal every day for a month and you probably will loose weight if you dont eat it already.Do what the doctor says,but if your feet swell,maybe you need to see another doctor if he cant control that.I had to do that because the one doctor I went to was trying but the swelling was getting worse,the older doc gave me about double the dose of the same pill and my blood pressure went down,feet quit swelling.You need to get your blood checked a couple of times a year or more to see how your kidneys and liver are doing.You want to keep your blood pressure down to where it should be which seems to help everything in my case.If my blood pressure is high I dont feel much like exercising,my weight goes up,I feel worse.Oatmeal and exercise helps you feel better,at least it worked for me.Also if you dont have diabetes you might want to get checked for it.About half of the United States has Diabetes nowdays.I was drinking about 3 gallons of water,tea,or something a day.A couple of weeks after taking the shots I wasnt thirsty much any more which helped on water build up.

On your meds:
(1) get the INSERTS the pharm co sends with each package; its usually the little folded-up paper with all the teeny-teeny printing (it's NOT the "handout" the pharmacist gives you). Carefully read sections like "side effects", "warnings", "contraindications", "precautions" (don't have one handy to look for others). Terminology may differ, but the difference is obvious to see when you have both.
You're doing this because the "handout" usually just hits the high spots on what to watch out for...
(2) give your pharmacist a list of EVERYTHING you take, including vitamins, and ask him to run it thru the computer for interactions (does mad A diminish effect of med B, or does med C exaggerate the effect of med A?).
A reputable pharmacist would run everything he handles, but he'd have no way of knowing what else you may be taking.
You can also do it yourself online as a double-check.Best wishes.