Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Right-sided heart failure & CAD
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
Right-sided heart failure & CAD
by ruth__0__0, Jan 01, 1995 12:00AM
Posted By ruth on December 22, 1998 at 18:35:11:
I referred to your August 20, 1998 posting in the archives regarding a definition of right-sided heart failure. Your definition and diagnostic procedures agree with that of several physicians regarding my condition during the past year. My medications are atenolol, isordil, valsartan, furosemide, aspirin, premarin, and a multivitamin. On Thanksgiving morning I awoke to symptoms of very rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, extreme fatigue and more fluid retension than usual although I had been monitoring my salt intake very carefully. The symptoms resolved in about 4 hours; however since then the least exertion causes rapid heart beat and shortness of breath. My family physician diagnosed right-sided heart failure with hepatimegaly and referred me to a cardiologist. Since I am new in this city and don't know the reputation of the cardiologists here, I took my physician's word that this person was the very best the city had to offer.
When I went to see him, though, I became very confused. After listening to my heart (which has a murmur, by the way) and ordering an echo, the cardiologist told me that my bicuspid valve was leaking, my EF was 55%, I did not have "conventional" heart failure, my heart was essentially normal, and that if I had heart failure at all it was "ischemic." I also do not have any signs of pulmonary hypertension. Then he went on to say that I had CAD (which I already knew). He ordered a heart cath to be done in a couple of weeks and said that if he was right, a blocked artery was causing my heart failure. When it was repaired I would never have trouble with heart failure again.
With all my reading here, on the internet, and some material from my physicians in the past year, I was led to believe that heart failure was irreversible. So here are my confused questions: Whom do I believe? How can a blocked artery cause heart failure no matter which side it is on? Do I really have an excellent prognosis? Is it as simple as repairing a blocked artery, or is it more involved than that? Please help me. I don't know what to think anymore. I feel so stupid.
I referred to your August 20, 1998 posting in the archives regarding a definition of right-sided heart failure. Your definition and diagnostic procedures agree with that of several physicians regarding my condition during the past year. My medications are atenolol, isordil, valsartan, furosemide, aspirin, premarin, and a multivitamin. On Thanksgiving morning I awoke to symptoms of very rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, extreme fatigue and more fluid retension than usual although I had been monitoring my salt intake very carefully. The symptoms resolved in about 4 hours; however since then the least exertion causes rapid heart beat and shortness of breath. My family physician diagnosed right-sided heart failure with hepatimegaly and referred me to a cardiologist. Since I am new in this city and don't know the reputation of the cardiologists here, I took my physician's word that this person was the very best the city had to offer.
When I went to see him, though, I became very confused. After listening to my heart (which has a murmur, by the way) and ordering an echo, the cardiologist told me that my bicuspid valve was leaking, my EF was 55%, I did not have "conventional" heart failure, my heart was essentially normal, and that if I had heart failure at all it was "ischemic." I also do not have any signs of pulmonary hypertension. Then he went on to say that I had CAD (which I already knew). He ordered a heart cath to be done in a couple of weeks and said that if he was right, a blocked artery was causing my heart failure. When it was repaired I would never have trouble with heart failure again.
With all my reading here, on the internet, and some material from my physicians in the past year, I was led to believe that heart failure was irreversible. So here are my confused questions: Whom do I believe? How can a blocked artery cause heart failure no matter which side it is on? Do I really have an excellent prognosis? Is it as simple as repairing a blocked artery, or is it more involved than that? Please help me. I don't know what to think anymore. I feel so stupid.
