left ventricle

Hi Kathy,   it just got me thinking about when sitting down to much, then circulation in legs not so good, constant viewing computer screen gives me a stick neck, wrist carpal tunnel  with mouse for computer, 

     maybe lying on left side makes the heart have to pump harder , just wonder if doctors have ever scanned anyone lying on there left while in CT scanner just to see the action of the heart, or could it be the chest muscle on the left a bit weaker , if like me very right handed , i think i'll try strengthening my left side chest and arm a bit more, in all the time on going to doctors not a one as ever asked about or even suggested about sleeping position but to me it seems obvious ,but it only came to me in the last few days, i think its a bit like cramp when sitting or leaning in a awkward position, thanks for reply kathy  

Anthony - you worry me, are you saying you get extremely swollen ankles as soon as you sit down and stop.

Do you take your weight each and every morning when you first get up, in minimal clothing, and record in a booklet, if your weight changes by more than 2 kilos you need to treat it as emergency, you are retaining tooo much fluid, that's the instruction given to my husband.

has the Dr/cardio got you on frusemide or Lasix for fluid retention, and 2ndly are you on fluid restriction, for a long time husband was not allowed more than 1 1/2 litres a day, that includes all fluids, only change to that was if he had been sweating, had to try and judge how much he had lost and then replace with water.

Couple of times I misjudged just how much he sweated and his blood pressure dropped to 58/40, Dr's amazed he was still conscious, gave him a drip a cup of fluid an hour for the next 8 hours, too much too fast and he would have developed full on congestive heart failure.

Also take your blood pressure and heatbeat a coupe of times a day and record in your weight booklet, ask dr's what is normal range for you, and if 10-20% different from what he should be at I contact our local Dr, we have done this and I keep a booklet especially if he is a little off, and I suspect he is trying to hide from me that he is not well, at the moment he has a virus so am recording where his vitals are at, I also take my booklet to the heart hospital, they have photocopied a number of times, as it shows history of the weeks previous to him having presented at the hospital.

Last time this happened I talked to nurse at local GP, she said for me to bring him in, Dr checked he had no fluid on his lungs or CHF, and said take him to the hospital, I disagreed, and said I can manage him at home, a cup of fluid every hour, and I watched his blood pressure rise slowly over the afternoon, I phoned the local GP back later in the afternoon to tell him husband was back to normal for him, what had he been doing when my back was turned, I was out shopping, mowed the lawn on a really hot and humid morning, and sweated up a storm. DUHHHH!!!!!

Hi Lyn, thanks for replying, if like me he was put on a statin could they cause muscle weakness , statins leave people with calf muscle pains aches , but could they also cause heart muscle problems or the chest muscle ,if he like like me i'm right handed and use that the most ,left arm and chest muscle just that bit weaker,maybe the heart is pressing on the rib cage when lying on the left especially if he  as broad shoulders , wonder if there is a scan on a CT of someone lying on left side and views the action of the heart pumping . youtube here i come .lol

He was put on prendopril, avrostation, bisoporol, frusemide, and aspirin.

After about a year of complaints about pain between joints, more in the bones than the muscle they changed him over to

pravasratin & Irbesartan in place of prendopril and avrostaton, as I understand it the pravasratin & Irbesartan work through the water in your body rather than the fat in your body, has solved the issues he had with joint and muscle pain.

I do know from heart rehab that some others who were there with us, its a group of heart patients, some said bisoporol was a nightmare for them, but husband has had no problems at all with it.

If you have left arm weakness and pain in the bicep you need to talk to your Dr's about branch bundle block, husbands failing branch bundle about 2 years ago went un-diagnosed for about 15 months.  

Cardiologists suggested it was rotator cuff injury, torn muscle in bicep, arthirits of shoulder, and even when his heartbeat was at 30BPM junior cardiologist said to me it was a pinched nerve in his neck.

I saw red and told him at a shout that I knew more about heart failure than he had learn't in seven years of medical school.

Consultant arrived some time later, and I shouted at him as well, and told him about his idiot junior staff, he agreed with me and told me my instincts that something was wrong for the previous 15mths was correct, and arranged for the pacemaker to be installed, he is a VERY SMART man and when we can get to him he makes things work for us.

Our local GP actually found in his cardiology book mention of rotator cuff injury or what looks like a rotator cuff injury, same symptoms, being mentioned only about 3 lines in the book, he said I will never miss another, but that's no help to you, and he was decent enough to apologise.

How do I know so much about heart issues, I never knew that I even had this knowledge until it was pointed out to me by a medical member of the family, you father had heart failure he had it when you were born, so you lived with it your entire life, so when your husband developed the same you recognised it even when your local GP said there was nothing wrong, have also told our consultant this part of our story, and he has said to husband and myself that explains you instincts, wish some of my nurses were as good, have saved my husbands life 5 times now by getting him to the heart hospital when he has been failing, you don't happen to have a nursing degree do you.

Hi Lyn , sorry for delay replying,  no i have no medical training, but i do have brachial plexus nerve problems coming from disc in neck C5,C6,C7, because of being manual labourer ,(or could it be from lying on left side) in bed , It just seems to me that lying on left must effect the pumping action of the heart muscle ( but how to cure it i don't know as yet) It also effects left nasal cavity (keep being blocked ) so don't receive enough oxygen through nose (then sleep with mouth open ) wake up with dry mouth ( oh the snoring as well)according to my wife .lol. I haven't tried or bought one yet , but i have been thinking of buying a Oxygen Generator , just maybe getting some extra Oxygen might just help , even with the heart as well , It just came to me why if you go in hospital with chest pains do they put a oxygen mask on , good luck Lyn