Oona,
Gosh, I'm sure sorry to hear about all of this, but I can tell you that you are definitely not alone here!
First of all I have CHF as well, both left and right sided. Once your Heart Failure (HF) is compensated then you usually do not show a lot of the symptoms of HF-the med.'s, the diet, the exercise, the heart are all in sync and things are working right. When you go back 'into heart failure' you are no longer compensated, so adjustments need to be made (perhaps even med.'s tinkered with). Usually, it's something like you had too much salt intake, or you've overdone with something. I was doing fine as well till a couple of weeks ago when I did too much walking and just generally overdoing. I had swollen legs/ankles even my abdomen. They cannot put me on diuretics as they also act as BP med. to help lower your BP and my BP is low on it's own, with 90/60 being the norm.
So I am assuming your are in the same boat. When you had your MI, what kind of damage was done?
Right now, I'm just slowly trying to get back to where I was...if you have left sided HF, perhaps your EF dropped temporarily down a notch or two? That can make you feel that way, too. You have to gradually make yourself go a bit further each day and continue to watch your salt intake. Just a few suggestions...
Wishing you well, and big Hugs, Teri
PS If I knew what the mcode was I could help you, but...? lol
Post Edited (Teri16) : 6/8/2005 10:51:11 AM (GMT-6)
Hi Oona,
First re mcode...when you read the last post and you want to reply, do not go to the blank posting space and write-that will always be black and white. :)
Where it says "Post Reply"? Click on that, and all the options will be made available then-just click on the color button for options and click on the smileys that interest you!
I'm not a Dr. so I cannot diagnose any of your problem, all I can suggest is that you really need to see a cardiologist with your ongoing symptoms!! I have mitral valve regurgitation and stenosis and it's heard as a heart murmur-it's between mild and moderate (has been for years!)-they don't do anything invasive until it's severe.
If you have to sleep with pillows elevating you, I can only speculate without knowing any of your diagnosis that you either have some lung problems, some fluid perhaps in your lungs, (any wheezing?), or GERD (acid reflux disease) that can actually cause a lot of problems!!
A stress test is not conclusive by any means as many people can attest to! You sound like you need a cardio Dr. to evaluate you. An EF of 55-75% is considered within normal range. 40 and below is suggestive of Heart Failure. If you have right sided HF a normal EF could be anticipated.
What is BBB? Right off hand it's not coming to mind.
I hope this helps a bit, Oona. Big Hugs, Teri
