ICD

My husband had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator implanted last week. He was put on tikosyn for 3 days but was changed to amiodoaron  on Monday. The A fib was fairly well controlled by the tikosyn but he was having pvc's     He is still so weak and short of breath. Does it seem like a pvc ablation would be a possibility. His diagnosis , by the way is cardiomyopathy, atrial fib and copd. He was diagnosed with the A fib with some v tach in July and was told he had evidently had a silent heart attack at some point in the past. Any info would be appreciated.

[maggiemag]

Well it's late, so I can't post anything lengthy.  But I will say that the treatment he will get for the cardiomyopathy will help the heart get back more towards normal, which will mean that the arrhythmias should lessen over time.  It can take months, but dramatic improvements can be made.   He should be on an ACE inhibitor and a beta blocker, usually Coreg.  It takes some time also to adjust to the meds.  You don't mention how old he is.  What is his ejection fraction?  It does sound like he is in good hands.

[nancyb966]

I tried posting earlier and it didn't go through. Thank you for your comments. After posting yesterday we went to the defib clinic and they reset it twice and did two ekgs. He is still having a lot of pvc's. I guess we are too eager for results.Your comments were very helpful and encouraging , He is 68 years old but we haven't been told the ejection fraction. We are new to this. I guess that is question we should ask. Thanks again

[FLBrat]

Nancy, maggie knows a lot more than I do about these things, but I will say that it will take some recovery time for your  husband.  Doctors told me it would be like a roller coaster ride getting used to the meds.  I understand why maggie asked about the EF, but make sure that the number does not rule you, let his body decide.  Some people on here say they feel horrid at 40some EF.  I am finally at 36 (2 1/2 yr after ICD implant) and have felt pretty darn good since the high 20#s.    

[nancyb966]

Thank you for taking the time to anwer my post. My husband wanted me to ask you or Maggie if you experienced shortness of breath. His is fairly severe. He is also dizzy at times and also weak (he thinks because of the shortness of breath). Since he has copd we were wondereing if the heart problem alone could be the cause of all this. His copd  is treated with albuterol and advair. He is not on oxygen. We are hoping that when his heart gets better those symptoms will lessen. Just wondering what you think about that.

[FLBrat]

my cardio is not too fond of the albuterol with heart disease.  I quit smoking about three years back, but had smoked for so long that I of course damaged my lungs.  The pulmonary care  dr switched me off of albuterol this past monday to levabuterol.  i had more shortness of breath before the implant.  only shortness now is after some pretty good exercise.  sometimes I would feel dizzy after the albuterol treatments, guess that is why cardio didnt like it.  tell Mr husband to give recovery some more time, be calm and enjoy knowing that he will feel better as time passes.

[maggiemag]

Yep, tell hubby that I was very short of breath for quite a while.  Some of it was due to the left heart dysfunction which can cause elevated pulmonary pressures, kind of like back up into the lungs.  As the left heart improves, which is the main pumping chamber of the heart, this will lessen.  It does take time.  He may continue to have significant SOB though due to his COPD.    I felt very weak for months also.  I tired to plan only one main activity for the day.  Dizziness can be from low blood pressure.  Usually they want our BP as low as we can tolerate.  One other thing I don't think we've mentioned is a low sodium diet which is critical.  Many times the physician fails to mention this.  I could go on and on about this, but he needs to watch it very carefully, count all sodium at first, and try to keep under 2000 mg./day.  Even lower would be better.  It isn't hard, really!  Get a food nutrition book that lists the amounts in all foods, and of course READ all labels religiously!  After 5 years I still spend a loooong time at the grocery store since I still read labels.  (maybe it's now an obsession??? ;-))

[FLBrat]

It's not an obsession maggie, it's a necessity.  Easiest way to shop is not to purchase if product is boxed or canned.  Fresh foods win every time. Fresh produce is the boss!  Season with herbs, you will get to a point that salty foods are not that appetizing.  Surprise surprise, they inject sodium in meat, so if possible check the labels there too.  I am ashamed I forgot to mention this key issue.

[nancyb966]

You guys have really been a lot help. Thanks so much. Now another question sort of off this topic but would like your input. Long Story: My husband' s heart  problem was discovered in July while in the surgeons office for a consultation about getting a colonoscopy for rectal bleeding. The dr would go no further with the discussion after noting a heart rate of 180 and sent him immediately to primary care dr and he ended up in the hospital that night. Fast forward to present. The bleeding problem is still occurring and he needs the colonoscopy. We have an appointment with the dr that is supposed to do the colomoscopy on the 23rd and have a call in to the cardio but have not heard back yet. The surgeon's nurse said they will deactivate the device during the procedure. I am worried that just the prep for the procedure would be hard on him not to mention the procedure itself. Our daughter in law is an RN and is cautioning us vigorously to be really careful before doing this now. I'm sure the cardio will give us good advice but have worried all weekend about this and just wanted an opinion from you. Thaks again,Nancy
P.S. I am taking your advice to heart about the salt. We really haven't been given very much info regarding diet. I'm sure they think we should already know not to use too much salt but.... He has switched to the no salt stuff but I'm sure he is getting a lot of sodium in other foods. I really appreciate you help

[FLBrat]

Wow.  Your husband sure is going through alot these days!   Makes me think of the old Sat Night Live line:  If its not one thing, its another.  I am not well versed about medical procedures after an implant.  You say you have a call into the cardio, but make sure the dr doing the procedure communicates with the cardio.  Even my dentist contacted the main cario doc for complex dental procedures.  Funny how much more they communicate when the letters DR are used.   Good luck and hang in there.  Sometimes being the caregiver is as overwhelming as being the patient.

[nancyb966]

Thanks for your response. We will see the cardio Friday morning so maybe we can get some answers and hopefully some help.