Questions posted in the Heart Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Question Title: Cardiomyopathy & CHF

Forum: The Heart Forum
Topic: Heart Failure


I was diagnosed with end stage CHF brought on by Cardiomyopathy nearly a year ago; and put on medication which kept me stable for nearly 3 months maybe a little longer. In late November I was told that my condition was deteriorating, and that my time is limited.

In researching and reading about this disease more times than not I've read that a person with this can live 5 years after diagnosis. I can't understand what happened to me.

My doctor has said that mental lapses that I have is due to a lack of oxygen getting to my brain. He has also said that he believes I am going into renal failure, which could be due to this disease. Can this be? I have not seen these complications or symptoms mentioned.

Thank you.

Dear Karen,
The renal failure and mental "lapses" are actually expected with 'deteriorating' cardiac function. The concept is simple, a failing heart can not pump blood out to the body, and the organs in the body that require the most flow, i.e. the kidneys and brain, suffer the most. The kidneys fail simply because they do not get enough blood flow to maintain the life of the individual cells, which over time results in failure of many cells and the organ itself.

Have you ever been evaluted by a heart failure team?, for transplant?, if not you need to have this done as soon as possible at the Cleveland Clinic or a heart failure center like it (i.e.one that performs heart transplants.) The timing is urgent in that renal failure is a sign that you likely have well less than 5 years of life left. I am sorry to be so blunt but this is a very bad disease with a very poor prognosis if not aggressively treated.

I hope this informatin has been useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only. Only your physician can provide specific diagnosis and therapies. Feel free to write back with further questions.

If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.

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