Question Title: can heart failure recur

I have had cardiomyopathy for about 30 yrs,doing that time,several caths,one had cardiac arrest,mild congestive heart failure in the 70's,records shows heart dilation several years ago,have arrhythmia doing all this time.Have been on many different meds.(enderal, lopressor,procanmine,verapamil,etc.)coronarys have been clear up to 1993 and a cath showed 25% I think one of the smaller arteries around the back of the heart...I have been doing well,complaining of being tired,short of breath, and pain or discomfort of the chest. Lasix given off and on,Nitro as needed.Now l complained of being dizzy in Dec. and more short of breath,holter monoter had no great changes since 93,( EKG is always showing old MI 1st degree AV heart block,Left axis diviation and stress test shows ischemic)so in Jan, I got worse and went to another heart group and after a echo-stress test they said my heart has gotten weaker EFof 25-30 and enlarged and l had heart failure and should have a cath as there is a part of the heart that is blocked ("doesn't move")I was given zestril 5mg.lassix 40mg.changed to 20 and amiodarone 200mg. and aspirin .I felt better as far as the breathing goes then came to Wash and consulted a heart failure specialist with my records and he agreed and added lanoxin,after the cath (3mos.after being on meds)he was surprised and said there was no blockage,no heart failure,all l had was cardiomyopathy and took me off all meds except amiodarone and baby aspirin.In hospital my hct.was 30 and hemog 10.2 and wants to do a work up as not to overlook anything,but l real concern is being off the meds, will l go into CHF again as l cant understand the EF being 25 and now 50. He said the echo-stress was misleading or I had a remarkable response to therapy.Would appreciate any info you can give me....Iam 66 yr young female ,I also have severe disc compression and degenerative joint disease and I try to keep acitve,with a large family,thanks

Dear Amelia, thank you for your question. You have a complex medical history that is hard to decipher in this forum on the internet. However, I don't think the heart failure specialist would have stopped your other medications unless he felt you didn't need them. I don't know if you will develop symptoms of congestive heart failure again, but I'm please to hear that you have improved. I suggest that you speak with the heart failure specialist and relate your concerns about stopping the medications that you were previously taking.

I hope you find this information useful. Information provided in the Heart Forum is for general purposes only. Specific diagnoses and therapies can only be provided by your physician. Please don't hesitate to write back if you have further questions.

If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-223-2273 and ask for cardiology appointments. Alternatively, you can inquire online at www.ccf.org/heartcenter where you can make an appointment with a specific staff cardiologist or browse the site for more information about the Heart Center.