Dilated cardiomyopathy
Posted , 2 users are following.
Hi all any one has dilated cardiomyopathy and heart eschimia and what did you do to get better.
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Notes on Dilated cardiomyopathy
lyn1951 francois45867
Posted
This is what husband was diagnosed with 7 years ago, his ejection fraction was at 23%, needed help to use the en-suite toilet in the hospital. They discharged him with the comment nothing more they could do for him in the hospital.
Took him home, and he was sooo weak I was frightened, but comment from the Dr as I thanked him for caring for husband was DO NOT let him sit down and become a couch potato, if he does he will not last 3 months.
He was on fluid restriction 1 1/2 litres a day, but he craved oranges, which he ate and still does about 2 a day, I have come to the conclusion that the vitamin C in the oranges may have helped.
Most of all I got him moving, from the couch about 10 - 15 steps to the front door, where I had a chair so he could rest, and then back to couch, before breakfast, before lunch and before dinner, then upped it to before morning and afternoon tea, half a cup.
After about a week I moved another chair out to our letter box, in front of the house, we are in Australia, and down 3 steps, first walk to chair at front door, take a rest if necessary, then walk on to the chair at the letterbox where he rested again, and back to couch, tried for 3 times a day.
We went to cardio rehabilitation where they helped with just how hard he could push himself, diet, watching his blood pressure and heartbeat with our own monitor which I have used a number of times when I have felt he was not well, if his blood pressure is more than about 10-20% off normal I take him to the heart hospital, the specialist has given us what his normal blood pressure and heart rate should be.
take your tablets, watch your fluid intake, especially if Dr has told you too. and monitor yourself or get your partner to do it for you.
keep a school kids note book for blood pressure and heartbeat readings, and daily weight before you get dressed, and write it down, if your weight changes by more than 2 kilos suddenly, get yourself to the hospital and get help immediately, find out where the specialist wants your reading to be at, and take notebook to the hospital when and if you go, Dr's have photocopied my booklet a number of times.
I have saved my husband life or so the Dr's tell me 5 times in the last 7 years by having my little booklet.
The last time was when his heart beat in the morning was at 30bpm, he said to me as he flopped across our bed after using the toilet in the morning, I feel terrible, I got out our Omron, Blood pressure was normal. I decided I could drive him to the heart hospital, rather than be taken to our local hospital, I did the right thing, pacemaker installed, and husband said he could breathe the moment they switched it on, he also made a comment about being able to pee, which he had been also having trouble with, and he was seeing a urologist, but that has all cleared up since pacemaker installed, Dr's just shrug their shoulders when we tell them about unexpected bonus.
He has developed 100% branch bundle block, they have tested it a number of times by switching off his pacemaker in the heart clinic to see if his heart will beat by itself, it seems it will not, so they turn on pacemaker again.
Pacemaker gets a 6 monthly memory download at the heart hospital, and yearly specialist appt with the cardiologist.
lyn1951
Posted
Forgot the mention, while you are walking you should be able to keep up a normal conversation with somebody without being tooo breathless, if not slow down.
The walking regime as mentioned above, by 18months he was walking 5 km's or about 2 1/2 miles, Dr's were astounded that he could walk so far, tested him by doing a lap of the hospital corridors, I don't think they thought he was telling the truth.
About a month ago he had his yearly echocardiogram and his heart ejection fraction had improved back to 56% which is in the normal range.
husband has an advantage as they have investigated why he had dialated cardiomyopathy, cause unknown, but they have found out via angiogram that he does not have plaque blocking his arteries of his heart, believe only about 2% of the population are so blessed, they seemed amazed as they see sooo few with no blockages, does that also explain his ability to get as well as he has, Dr's just do not seem to have answers.