Recently diagnosed with CHF, EF at 12%- Scared and

[cmhornsbee]

I'm 32 years old and I was diagnosed with CHF last month, I spent a week in ICU where I lost 30 pounds (water weight I was told)- my EF is or was 12% It's hard to distinguish that I'm even sick because I feel so much better then I did for a long time leading up to my diagnosis. Many factors in my life undoubtedly led to my condition. For example smoking cigarettes and abusing drugs since I was 16 years old, avoiding going to the doctors and getting regular check ups, and staying true to eating poorly. Im happy to say that I've been clean and sober from any and all recreational drugs since June 14th. I still smoke cigarettes but in moderation but i do plan to set a quit date soon. My main thing is my diet- i dont eat greasy burgers in excess anymore (I don't eat fastfood at all really) but the doctors have me on a 2000 mg sodium diet and a fluid restriction of no more then a 2liter of fluids a day- I without a doubt exceed both of these requirements daily....but the thing is I weigh myself every morning and I'm either the same weight or slightly lighter in weight. Which leads me wondering why? I'm not swelling up or retaining water as far as i can see. Like I said before I feel so much better then I did before my hospital stay and my diagnosis. I guess what my question Is it dangerous of me to be so naive or blind to what is going on with my heart? How long should I expect to live with my EF being at 12% and can I expect to raise these numbers with certain medicines or does it mainly increase or decrease with lifestyle changes. Once again thank you for your time. I'd appreciate any feedback or advise.

Cody

[uush]

Are you taking medicine for the CHF? My ef is very low, it was around 15 but I have decided not to take medications & I do not have much longer. On the other hand my father was dx w/CHF in 2001 with an ef of 17. He also was dx with Graves disease which complicated things. But even with that, he worked with his Drs, took all of his meds & is still alive today 16yrs later. So basically if you take your meds & listen to your Drs then you can still live for a while.