So my mother informs me and my aunt that she has a heart problem now. Shes always been on Coumidin(Sp?)after a heart valve replacement she had 17 yrs ago. She said now they say not enough blood is flowing to her heart, its suppose to be at 55% and hers is 25%, or something like this. She is on a new medicine. I havent gotten the full story yet. My aunt thinks its something serious to worry about. I dont know anything about this. Does anybody have experience with this?
My mom sais that is why she gets tired easily and has to stop and rest.

By Vicki on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 09:14 am:

http://www.chclibrary.org/micromed/00050310.html


I am not sure if this is what your talking about or not. It can be something to be very worried about, but also many people live long lives with it. My grandmother lived for over 8 years with it. Dies recently at the age of 89. I would find out for sure (if you can) the name of what she was told she has.

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 10:56 am:

Are her feet swollen and is she short-of-breath (•••)? Those are usually signs that one is in congestive heart failure (CHF). You get swollen and •••, because the heart isn't pumping very effectively and the fluid starts backing up into the extremities and the lungs.

She could be on Lasix (furosemide) to get rid of extra fluid and Lanoxin (digoxin) to help the heart beat more effectively.

(on the other hand, I'm just guessing here and could be completely wrong. This is the treatment for CHF.)

By Debbie on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 11:04 am:

My grandfather was diagnosed with this a few years ago. He is on medication for it. However, he still tires easily and seems to be more out of it then normal. Yes, it can be serious if left untreated. However, she can live a long time, if she is monitored and taking medication for it.

By Karen~moderator on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 12:01 pm:

Ditto Dawn. Is it possible the valve replacement is causing the problem now? Also, is it possible she has any blocked arteries now?

By Mommmie on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 12:23 pm:

Did she take phen-fen?

By Jackie on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 02:00 pm:

Ok, my aunt told me the rest today. She(my mom) went to the cardioligist to have her heart checked. See about 15 yrs ago she went to have a hip replacement, but they found out she had a heart valve problem. So they didnt do the hip replacement. She had a heart valve replacement. Then about 1 yr later she had the hip replaced. She she needs the other one replaced, so had to go to the cardiologist to get the ok about her heart first. They said the heart valve was fine, and that all the arteries were clear, BUT, now she has this blood flow problem. She is now takening Medicine for this.

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 06:29 pm:

I never noticed that the board didn't like my abbreviation for short of breath (S-O-B)! Sheesh!

Will keep your aunt in my prayers.