Questions posted in the
Heart Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
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Subject: Re: CCF and medications First of all I would like to thank all of the CC heart doctors for taking time to answer questions in this forum. You guys are great! I am taking florinef acetate for postural orthostatic tachycardia. In doing so I have developed a cough and slight dyspena of unknown cause. My doctor is doing and investigation into the cause. It is known this drug can cause edema and CHF in some people due to the fact it retains sodium. I had and electrocardiogram done, normal sinus rythm, normal heart rate. A chest exray, normal. On Thursday I am having an echocardiogram. I have gained 10 pounds on this drug that my cardiologist is not worried about, as it increases blood volume. My question is this, how would I know if I have CHF? I do not have swelling in my ankles or hands. Will the echo show if I have CCF? Can echos show both right and left sided heart failure? Our current working theory is that it is due to the fluid volume overload. If this turns out to be true I may have to stop taking the drug. If I get CCF in this case would it be reversable once the drug is stopped? I am sorry for all the question. I thank you in advance for your answers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An echo will show either left or right sided heart failure (CHF). This test will certainly help sort out what is going on. If the fluid retention is caused by your medication, this will be fully reversible when you stop it. I hope this is useful. Feel free to write back. I wish you the best of luck. If you would like to set up an appointment with one of our cardiologists here at the Cleveland Clinic please feel free to call 1-800-CCF-CARE. Information provided in the Heart Forum is intended for general medical informational purposes only. Actual diagnosis and treatment of any particular medical condition can only be made by your physician(s).
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