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Congestive Heart Failure
My brother who is 69 years old has Type 2 diabetes, have had a stroke, high blood pressure, heart bypass surgery and now he has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He takes 160 mg. of Lasix per day and Potassium 3 times per day. His legs and feet are swelling, he cannot lie down to sleep because he has problem breathing when he lays down. He has major swelling in both sbove and below his waist. I notice tonight that around his eyes are getting really dark, but his eyes are very red. What can I do to help?
I have congestive heart failure and there are medications that can help, however they have to be prescribed by a physician.
The first medication is Coreg, taken 25mg, twice a day. Coreg supposedly helps the the heart to beat more efficiently, and over time increases the EF of the heart for most people. It hasn't worked that way for me, but it does help my heart to keep beating at 15% EF.
The next medication is Lasix, 120mg per day, spread out at 80 mg in the morning, 40 mg before bedtime. Lasix is a high power diurectic, and works well to help reduce the swelling from CHF.
There are other BP medications that can be used to lower the BP substantially, which is supposed to help reduce discomfort with CHF, and help the body to work more efficiently. The goal BP for most people is less than 100 over 50, unless a patient becomes systematic and is unable to function with the low BP. The reason to lower the BP is to help the heart to not to have to work so hard.
The problem with diabetics are many, and CHF is one of them. Diabetics struggle with CHF, as well as kidney failure and there is no cure for the problems, but rather control of the symtoms. I'm not diabetic, but I have most of the symptoms, and am constantly asked if I'm diabetic, and am tested frequently. I have stage 4 heart failure(CHF), stage 5 kidney failure, and am now on dialysis. Your brother might benefit from dialysis to help clear the fluid from his body. The bottom line is, he needs to follow his diet and take the medication he needs religously.
Your brother needs to be on a strict diet, including no sodium. He also needs to be anal about sticking to his diabetic diet as per his physician.
In any event, about the only thing you can do for him is to insist he see a doctor who will prescribe the medications he needs, and help him with his dietary needs(such as sending him to a dietician for a special diet write up)
If nothing is done, your brother could drown in his own body fluid, and at this point I would recommend taking him to the local ER and having him checked out. In the ER they can give him breathing treatments to help reduce the fliud in his lungs, and then refer him to a specialist to give him the care he desperately needs right now. Don't be surprised if they stick him in the hospital for a few days, though. It's pretty normal protocol in his condition.
Hope some of this helps.
The first medication is Coreg, taken 25mg, twice a day. Coreg supposedly helps the the heart to beat more efficiently, and over time increases the EF of the heart for most people. It hasn't worked that way for me, but it does help my heart to keep beating at 15% EF.
The next medication is Lasix, 120mg per day, spread out at 80 mg in the morning, 40 mg before bedtime. Lasix is a high power diurectic, and works well to help reduce the swelling from CHF.
There are other BP medications that can be used to lower the BP substantially, which is supposed to help reduce discomfort with CHF, and help the body to work more efficiently. The goal BP for most people is less than 100 over 50, unless a patient becomes systematic and is unable to function with the low BP. The reason to lower the BP is to help the heart to not to have to work so hard.
The problem with diabetics are many, and CHF is one of them. Diabetics struggle with CHF, as well as kidney failure and there is no cure for the problems, but rather control of the symtoms. I'm not diabetic, but I have most of the symptoms, and am constantly asked if I'm diabetic, and am tested frequently. I have stage 4 heart failure(CHF), stage 5 kidney failure, and am now on dialysis. Your brother might benefit from dialysis to help clear the fluid from his body. The bottom line is, he needs to follow his diet and take the medication he needs religously.
Your brother needs to be on a strict diet, including no sodium. He also needs to be anal about sticking to his diabetic diet as per his physician.
In any event, about the only thing you can do for him is to insist he see a doctor who will prescribe the medications he needs, and help him with his dietary needs(such as sending him to a dietician for a special diet write up)
If nothing is done, your brother could drown in his own body fluid, and at this point I would recommend taking him to the local ER and having him checked out. In the ER they can give him breathing treatments to help reduce the fliud in his lungs, and then refer him to a specialist to give him the care he desperately needs right now. Don't be surprised if they stick him in the hospital for a few days, though. It's pretty normal protocol in his condition.
Hope some of this helps.
Your brother is in heart failure mode indicating the heart fails to pump the amount of blood received from the lungs. This condition causes the blood to backup into body tissues and lungs. I had that problem 6 years ago, and I was in ICU for several days to restore the proper level of oxygen in the system and reduce fluids.
I'm sorry to hear of your brother's condition, but there isn't much one can do to help. The teatment would be to reduce fluids, and possibly medication to lower the heart's need to pump oxygenated to the system and dilate vessels to ease the heart's workload by reducing the resistance the blood pumps against.
I'm sorry to hear of your brother's condition, but there isn't much one can do to help. The teatment would be to reduce fluids, and possibly medication to lower the heart's need to pump oxygenated to the system and dilate vessels to ease the heart's workload by reducing the resistance the blood pumps against.
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