hereditary?

[leesa61]

My parents both died from conjestive heart failure. I suffered rhumatic fever at 5, and reacurrance with chorea at 12. I was told I suffered a stroke affect to my right side of brain and that my joints would be affected. I have a constant tremor to my hands and I do have a drunken gait at times when I get tired. Is this going to worsen with age? can I be suseptable to other medical problems? I do have a murmur, and I do get chest pains. I have in the 40 some years just overlooked them, but now I am afraid I may be suffering small attacks. Can this be true? Why is there no information for sufferers of this disease for adults that suffered them in childhood. What can we expect in our adult life and what should we be looking for. When I had these illnesses, I was a child and now when I ask a Dr. they dont know enough to answer me with a response. Are there no medical information logs that can be used to see what happens to the sufferers after we hit adulthood? I know I suffered many difficult problems during my illness, and there had to be some permanent damage.

[Dr Santos]

Hi,

Cardiomyopathy may be an outcome of heart valve problems or heart tissue damage from a previous heart attack, as well as from other causes.There are three main types of cardiomyopathy: dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive, all of which affect the heart's muscle leading to difficult of pumping blood and delivering it to the rest of the body.

The outcome of heart failure is worse than that of most diseases, however, new therapeutic interventions using stem and other cell-based therapies are succeeding in the fight against it. Old drugs, with added potency are now being used again with success. There are plenty of researches done in the last few years that makes us more prepared of the expected outcome. This link may be helpful:
http://www.jci.org/articles/view/24477

Take care and regards.

[Encephalomalcia]

Sadly to say heart disease runs in the family and if both your parents had CHF you should be keeping a close eye on your heart.  Stress test, Echocardiograms especially with the heart murmur.  If you are a woman, the signs of a heart attack are different than men.  Signs to look for are indigestion, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, weakness, fatigue, pain between shoulder blades, chest discomfort, shortness of breath. Sometimes the only sign is shortness of breath.  For CHF right side heart failure swelling in legs and abdomen.  Left side heart failure fluid backs up in the lungs producing either a dry cough or a white phelm production.  My mom's mom and dad both had heart failure and all of her 10 brothers and sisters all have heart failure along with a lot of cousins.  

Hope this helps.  Take care and talk to your doctor.

Deb