not able to breath well

[bethann53]

my father was inthe hospital in 2005 with congestive heart failure . they put in a pace mker and difiberilater that same year' in 2007 in he had triple bypass surgery.  now he is having a had time breathing. they say it is his heart. i live in another state not close so i can't go to the doctor with them . they give him some inhalers to see if this will help him . i don't understand if the heart is not pumping like it's should whats and inhaler going to do?

[kenkeith]

Correct.  Different etiology, same treatment.

[gmachris518]

You said, "inhalers are usually used in asthmatics "

You are right, except when a patient comes to the ER presenting with difficulty breathing.  The treatment is the same whether it's asthma or fluid buildup from congestive heart failure.

I know this to be true because I've ended up in the ER twice, unable to breathe and they gave me the same treatment as they would an asthmatic.  I also carry an inhaler for those occassions where it's difficult to breathe, and it goes a long way in helping.  

I have stage 4 congestive heart failure, and stage 5 renal failure, and the inhaler saves trips to the hospital.

[kenkeith]

Technically, cardiac asthma is not pulmonary asthma, it has similar symptoms and treated for the wheezing, etc. in conjunction with heart meds....ACE inhibitor, beta blocker, diuretic is the usual protocol for heart patients depending on what stage of heart failure.

[kay2486]

heart failure is when the heart doesnt pump as well as it should so this results in breathlessness and other symptoms, inhalers are usually used in asthmatics to open the airway more, is he on any meds for the heart problems?

[feinyabs]

helloo left  heart failure  sometimes present with wheezing,coughing this we can make a diagnosis of cardiac asthma where mnx is the same as asthmatic attact but in this case if its cardiac asthma  you add lasix

[gmachris518]

An inhaler can help with the fluid in the lungs, to a certain extent.  However, the underlying cause of the fluid in the lungs needs to be addressed.

It sounds like the doctor isn't doing a very good job of treating your father, and your father needs to seek out a second opinion.

He should be taking a diuretic, along with other medications to help his heart beat better, and to remove the fluid from his system.  The proper medications won't cure him, but they will go a long way to make him feel better, and be able to breathe again.

JFYI....I take 25 mg. Coreg 2 x day, 90 mgs Diltiaziem 3 x a day, and 120 mgs Lasix 1 x a day....Lasix being the most important for removing the fluid  in the system.

I hope this helps.

[neil_a]

You said:

"they give him some inhalers to see if this will help him"

Has the inhaler - helped him?

Please find out what diuretic he is on and how much - and be very suspect that lack of the proper amount of a diuretic will cause shortness of breath - vis a vis - fluid retention.

Does he weight himself daily?

[kenkeith]

Sometimes their is wheezing, etc. with CHF and the condition is medically referred to as cardiac asthma.  Treatments for heart failure, including medications, can help improve the symptoms for both the heart failure and the cardiac asthma.  A combination of bronchodilators, supplementary oxygen is generally effective in controlling the asthmatic symptoms in addition to treating heart failure in such patients. Thanks for sharing. Hope this helps.