This is topic Causes of congestive heart failure - (crisis from '05 averted; now a med discussion) in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.
(These events took place and this thread is from a long time ago. My stepbrother is okay, although not unaffected by the experience. Because of the information and the personal events shared here, I am leaving the thread.)
My stepbrother is in the hospital because of a seizure because of lack of oxygen to the brain because of congestive heart failure because of...they don't know. They don't know why his heart is functioning at 10%. No congenital heart defects, no coronary artery disease, no previous heart attacks, he's 33 years old, doesn't smoke or drink and is not overweight.
My dad suggested that it was a virus that had attacked his heart, or else maybe the medications he was taking had that as a side effect. However, those are the precise reasons my mother had CHF, so I'm not sure if he got that from the doctor or from his previous experience.
Does anyone know where to find an exhaustive list of causes?
WebMD was distinctly unhelpful, but I did find the page on the AHA's site here. In other words, I googled for "causes of congestive heart failure" and read the first page, but I was wondering if there is something else out there.
[ August 28, 2007, 12:19 PM: Message edited by: katharina ]
Posted by Theca (Member # 1629) on :
Try googling "cardiomyopathy" that might help. I'll be back later.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
quote:Finally, in many patients, dilated cardiomyopathy has no clear cause. Possible explanations have included chronic viral myocardial infection, autoimmune mechanisms, and genetic factors that directly contribute to development of the disease.
*hands in the air* I don't know. It falls into this category, as far as I can tell. We don't know about his genetic history - he was adopted as a baby.
Posted by Theca (Member # 1629) on :
They ought to know by now a bit about what isn't functioning right, even if they don't know why, like if he has valve problems or a small heart or a big heart. Or fluid around the heart. What are they saying? Large, dilated heart?
The list of causes changes based on his echocardiogram results.
Were his heart symptoms sudden or has he had problems for awhile? Any illnesses lately?
[ May 05, 2005, 01:14 PM: Message edited by: Theca ]
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
No illnesses lately. Family says that he's been kind of slow, though - not actually sick, but exertion was difficult. Apparently his heart was enlarged. They kept him cold - I think they dropped his body temperature so he wouldn't need as much oxygen. I just called the plant, but my dad has gone to the hospital. I think they are warming him up so they can take him in for a CAT scan right now.
From what I read, exertion being difficult is very consistent with CHF. I think...I don't think they knew that he was sick, but I think he's been affected by it for a little while.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
[ May 05, 2005, 02:45 PM: Message edited by: aspectre ]
Posted by Theca (Member # 1629) on :
Rheumatic fever usually causes heart failure by impairing valve function, so that isn't all that likely unless there are indeed bad valves present.
Kat, there is a big difference between a large, dilated heart and a large, thick-walled heart. They are different problems associated with different causes of heart failure. If his is dilated then I'd guess it IS a dilated cardiomyopathy and I could email you some information on the causes.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
I was thinking in terms of leaky heart valves leading to over-exercize of heart muscles to keep the oxygenation levels somewhat near normal. With the constant over-exercize leading to heart enlargement. Posted by Theca (Member # 1629) on :
Sure, I'm just saying, if he doesn't have leaky valves, then it probably isn't from rheumatic fever. They would have seen valves that bad on echocardiogram already and I was assuming that there weren't any since Katharina hasn't mentioned it.
Posted by mothertree (Member # 4999) on :
I think the picture we're coming up with is that Congestive Heart Failure is a symptom and not a specific disease. Much like a fever. It's a very scary and serious symptom. (((kat)))
:Stabs google ads: Who buys an L-VAD because of a google ad, for pete's sake?
[ May 05, 2005, 03:26 PM: Message edited by: mothertree ]
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I talked to my dad.
No heart defects. Heart is dilated, for sure. He had a seizure two years ago, but he came out of it quickly. I don't think they figured out why he had it then. No swelling in legs, no previous symptoms except he told his wife two weeks ago that he felt a little bit light-headed.
They had him on ice so his heart wouldn't have to work as hard, but apparently you can only do that for 24 hours before things like frostbite become a problem. When they warmed him back up, his heart started failing again. The heart's output is 10% of capacity. They doing an ECG this afternoon to find out...I don't know what.
It all leads back to why isn't his heart working, and no one knows at the moment. It isn't ANY of the usual suspects.
On top of everything else, that's downright unsettling.
Posted by ludosti (Member # 1772) on :
Being curious creatures, we like the word "why" a lot. Unfortunately, there sometimes is no better answer than "just because". I'll be praying for you guys, kat.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
I hope they can figure it out and help him soon!
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
No change. That's not promising. My dad thinks he is gone, but I don't know how much of that is the doctors and how much of that is my dad's previous experience.
I found out more information. He has been having regular checkups, and they never found anything. They could have missed something, or there could have been nothing there to find. He's has early arthritis for a long time and sometimes takes pain medicine for it. I wonder if that's it?
Theca and pharmasists - do some pain medications have this as a risk factor? It's just so completely out of nowhere.
He definitely had a seizure, and the doctors said the seizure was caused by a lack of oxygen.
Does anyone know how a lack of oxygen causes seizures? Or, where can I look to read about it?
Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
Oh Kat, I'm really sorry that I can't hug you in real. ((((((((((Kat))))))))))
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
This is so terribly sad.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Kat, I'm so sorry you're going through this. I'm sending hugs and prayers your way.
Posted by Theca (Member # 1629) on :
Kat, seizures can be caused by any sort of brain damage. Somehow even small damages can sometimes create a situation in which seizures can be easily started/triggered. Strokes, brain hemorrhage, trauma can all cause seizures. In fact, if part of the brain got very little oxygen due to the heart failure, then that would be very similar to certain kinds of strokes where a vessel gets blocked.
Posted by Theca (Member # 1629) on :
Does that link work? It's a chart of causes of dilated cardiomyapathy including drugs. As you can see there are a lot of things listed but not too many drugs. I never heard of pain meds causing this.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
Arthritis is also a rheumatic fever symptom.
I'm surprised that the doctors aren't talking about implanting a left ventricular heart pump/booster. The percentage of favorable outcomes and the degree of improvement in circulation is rather astonishing. Though less tested, heart reduction surgery also seems to be gaining favor in treating enlarged hearts.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Not to, ah, rain on anyone's parade, but in the condition he's in, I wouldn't think they are considering surgery now for good reasons. Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
The heart booster/pump was first tested on the most difficult to treat, elderly patients with end-stage congestive heart failure. And they are currently being tested on children as young as six years old: not merely to bridge the time while awaiting transplant but also in hopes that lessening the circulation load will allow the heart to repair itself.
[ May 06, 2005, 01:06 PM: Message edited by: aspectre ]
Posted by Theca (Member # 1629) on :
I agree, there are some simple assist devices that do not involve, say, open heart surgery. Minor surgery. I kind of assumed maybe they were using one already. Or at least considered the pros and cons of it. If they have been resorting to measures such as cooling the body down, etc, then I assume they are using all the resources available that would be indicated in life-threatening failure.
[ May 06, 2005, 01:13 PM: Message edited by: Theca ]
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
Added a link to my previous posting. I think living with a permanent battery-powered implant for 1815days / 4years&2months -- as of 16August2004, the last report I could easily find on the Web -- is a good outcome for a 67year old who had entered end-stage cardiomyopathy. It was memories of very recently watching an interview with him -- praising the device for allowing him to do things that he hadn't been able to do for many years -- which prompted me to write about it. Peter Houghton also told an amusing anecdote about a snatch&run thief running off with his battery...
[ May 06, 2005, 01:27 PM: Message edited by: aspectre ]
Posted by Olivetta (Member # 6456) on :
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
*nods* Thank you for the information. I'm looking at the causes of cardiomyopathy list, and it's quite a list. I guess it could be lots of different things.
The thyroid one was interesting, because my mom had trouble with her thyroid. In fact, my mom had three or four disparate things on that list.
Posted by Wendybird (Member # 84) on :
I'm sorry katharina. They suspect Stephens dilated cardiomyopathy was virus related but said they can never be 100%. I sure hope they figure out what is going on. Its a tough situation for sure.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
"He's has early arthritis for a long time and sometimes takes pain medicine...do some pain medications have this as a risk factor?"
The new COX-2 inhibitors Vioxx and Bextra are implicated in causing heart problems -- they've recently been pulled from the market -- as well as the still available COX-2 Celebrex, and the NSAID naproxen sodium (Aleve) to a less-sure extent.
Since they seem to cause platelet clumping -- which could cause blood clots leading to narrowing of veins and arteries, and blocked capillaries* -- and do cause high blood pressure, it is plausible that the combination of lessened blood flow to heart muscles and high blood pressure from venous and arterial congestion could cause the heart to work harder leading to enlargement.
Aleve was marketed as a drug which could allow longer periods between dosages, ie more convenient for those who used pain relievers for chronic conditions such as arthritis.
Celebrex, then Vioxx and Bextra were marketed as less likely to cause ulcers in chronic users such as arthritis sufferers -- which was pure marketing scam from the start -- than conventional NSAIDs such as aspirin and ibuprofen. Merck is now known to have been deliberately disinforming physicians about Vioxx's possible bad side-effects on the heart. I would be very surprised if the makers of Bextra and Celebrex weren't equally aware, or deliberately chose not to know by carefully designing/limiting their studies so that bad side-effects -- not necessarily to the heart -- were unlikely to appear in clinical trial submissions to the FDA for marketing approval.
* Capillaries are the vessels in which the oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange occurs between the circulatory system and other body tissues. Lessened capillary capacity causes a lessening of ability to make that exchange, causing the tissues served by those capillaries to signal that they have too much carbon dioxide build-up, and hence not enough oxygen. Which in turn causes the heart to pump harder to raise blood pressure to try to force more red blood cells through those capillaries.
[ May 06, 2005, 05:26 PM: Message edited by: aspectre ]
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
*nods* Thank you. That's very informative. Hmm...
I knew I forgot something from earlier - he did not have high blood pressure. Or low blood pressure. Because of the arthritis and back problems, he had regular checkups, so they know his blood pressure was normal.
Posted by Theca (Member # 1629) on :
Aspectre's suggestions fall under the "ischemic" cause of cardiomyopathy. Very unlikely in someone his age, unless he WAS taking nsaids daily for 2 years or longer. Then it would be slightly more likely. Of course, he could have a terrible family history which would make this chain of events much more likely, but since he was adopted you don't know his family history. No way to tell if his coronary arteries are bad unless they do a cardiac catheterization.
[ May 06, 2005, 03:34 PM: Message edited by: Theca ]
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
*googles ischemic*
Okay, so that's the same thing that causes most of the strokes we hear about. The cardiac swelling would come from the heart having to work so much harder because blockages in various places would trigger the "more oxygen needed" mechanisms.
To me (FWIW), it seems less likely for two reasons: blood pressure was normal at all previous (frequent) checkups, and there was no swelling. When capilaries get clogged, you get swelling in places, right? Legs, especially? He didn't have that at all before the seizure.
[ May 06, 2005, 03:31 PM: Message edited by: katharina ]
Posted by Theca (Member # 1629) on :
I'm have having trouble interpreting your post, Kat. Until you know for sure whether he has dilated cardiomyopathy or whether it is some other type of heart failure it is going to be impossible to figure anything out.
Ischemia means lack of oxygen, yes. If the vessels of the heart were narrow for some reason that can cause ischemia which causes death to some heart tissue which can lead to the abnormally shaped, weak heart. I wouldn't say the heart is swollen, though. If his heart is indeed dilated that suggests to me that the wall of the heart is thin from loss of tissue for whatever reason and therefore it balloons out more than normal hearts, if that makes sense. (If it is big but not dilated, that would be hypertrophy of the heart tissue, often causes by the heart having to work too hard for some reason)
I wouldn't say capillaries cause swelling. Swelling in the legs is caused by poor return of blood to the heart. Right now your brother's symptoms are related to the weak heart not pumping arterial blood out and around to the tissues of the body. Many people with heart failure suffer more with problems of the venous blood returning to the heart. That is when you see swelling. Why he isn't having swelling I don't know.
[ May 06, 2005, 04:12 PM: Message edited by: Theca ]
Posted by Theca (Member # 1629) on :
quote:The cardiac swelling would come from the heart having to work so much harder because blockages in various places would trigger the "more oxygen needed" mechanisms.
That isn't the way it works, if my previous post leaves you with questions just let me know. Or email me.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I've been getting the information from my dad, and he hasn't used medical terms at all. I know that his heart is enlarged, I think it is dilated, and that it is still working, but just far below capacity.
Hhmm...so the swelling thing wouldn't come anyway. Okay.
quote:If the vessels of the heart were narrow for some reason that can cause ischemia which causes death to some heart tissue which can lead to the abnormally shaped, weak heart. I wouldn't say the heart is swollen, though. If his heart is indeed dilated that suggests to me that the wall of the heart is thin from loss of tissue for whatever reason and therefore it balloons out more than normal hearts, if that makes sense.
Yes, that makes perfect sense. You do an ultrasound to figure out if all the heart tissue is still alive, right? I don't know if Ryan's had one, but I remember my mom had one. That's when they figured out that she'd had a virus attack her heart.
Ryan didn't have any swelling before the seizure, but there is swelling now.
Hmm...stil don't know underlying cause, then. I can't keep asking my dad - he keeps giving me the stuff that made my mom sick, and I'm honestly not sure if it's what wrong with Ryan or what was wrong with her.
Posted by Theca (Member # 1629) on :
I still have a hard time with the concept of people dying from heart problems. Especially younger people.
And my family always gives me the nonmedical descriptions of problems and it drives CRAZY. Especially when their descriptions don't make any medical sense.
Posted by Christy (Member # 4397) on :
I know what you're going through. I tried to piece together my father's aortic dissection from my mom's unmedical explanations. It just doesn't work and is extremely frustrating leaving you with more questions and what-ifs than answers. *hug*
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
kat, when this was happening with my dad, it turned out to be this.
They thought his heart was very enlarged but that wasn't it. He had fluid in the pericardial area so there was no room for his heart to pump. This caused his heartbeat to be very fast and faint. The fluid also showed up on x-rays like an enlarged heart, apparently. Because his heart wasn't pumping well, his lungs couldn't clear, and so they got fluid in them and he wasn't able to breathe well either.
They did a pericardial window (cutting a hole in his pericardial sac? so that the fluid could drain into his abdominal? cavity and be absorbed) and his heart and lungs cleared up totally. It was wonderful to see him breathing deeply and easily for the first time in several months. Unfortunately he never came out of the anaesthesia from that surgery and he died 10 days later.
But all along they had been misdiagnosing his heart and lung problems and I don't think anyone ever really understood their mistake and learned from it.
No idea if this could be the same thing, but I hope it helps someone sometime. You are in my prayers. <<<<<<<<<<<<<hugs>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
[ May 06, 2005, 08:44 PM: Message edited by: Tatiana ]
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Kat, you and your falmily are in my thoughts and prayers tonight.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
And yet another one on PeterHouton who is still alive after receiving a booster pump in June2000.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
quote:They thought his heart was very enlarged but that wasn't it. He had fluid in the pericardial area so there was no room for his heart to pump. This caused his heartbeat to be very fast and faint. The fluid also showed up on x-rays like an enlarged heart, apparently.
Eesh, that'd be no good. A dude could be dying of cardiac tamponade and it shows up on x-ray as an enlarged heart.
Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :
kat, you're all in my prayers.
Posted by EmpSquared (Member # 10890) on :
Don't know if this will help at all, but my mother passed away two years ago from CHF-- and while I'm not sure as to the step-by-step degradation, first she got leukemia about a year before that, went into remission, but then got pneumonia because of her damaged immune system.
The pneumonia led to her heart failure-- and then to blood clots popping up in her blood stream. Of course my mother was an extreme case--a hearty little woman who didn't want to give up. It doesn't sound like this really applies to your brother, but I figured I would just lend my experience.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
For those who may not have noticed, this thread originated in May 2005. I don't know what happened with kat's stepbrother, but it is almost certainly not a current issue.
asectre, while I can understand wanting to revive an old thread on a topic instead of starting a new one, the topic of this thread was kat's stepbrother's specific problem, not CHF in general. Resurrecting it like this causes confusion, and could be considered pretty tasteless, depending on what the outcome of kat's stepbrother's heart problems was.
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
That was just what I was thinking, Eljay, but I'm sure I could not have said it as well.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
^ What Olivet said.
Posted by EmpSquared (Member # 10890) on :
Shoot--I didn't notice the times, and just recently came back to the board. I just assumed it was current.
Sorry about that.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Where is kat lately? Is she okay?
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
She's been posting under one of her alts, Javert Hugo. So she's still around.
Posted by Javert Hugo (Member # 3980) on :
I'm here.
Fortunately for aspectre, my step-brother is okay. Physically, he's just about fine. However, I think...I think the whole experience shook him up a great deal, as you can imagine, and there's still emotional fallout that his family is dealing with.
I agree with ElJay - you shouldn't have revived this thread, aspectre. It was really tacky, and I think you did it on purpose, knowing how tacky it was. Bad form.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
Nothing good can come of assuming someone does something on purpose, unless you want to provide backup for why you think it's on purpose. I do notice there are posters who wind you up, and I find it rather sad. I guess I could look at aspectre's post history to find out if you have some reason to think he'd do that, but I really don't have the energy.
Anyway, I don't want to blame the victim here but I also think you (and I mean you, JH) might sometimes possibly rise to the bait a bit too quick.
And aspectre, if you did do this on purpose, I'll have you know my first child died of heart failure and I can't think of anything bad enough to call you.
Posted by Wendybird (Member # 84) on :
Kat - did they ever figure out what caused it? Did his heart just heal or what? If I'm out of line I apologize. Its just something I wonder because of all I've gone through with my son.
Posted by Javert Hugo (Member # 3980) on :
I just reread the thread to see if I had said it before, and I realized that I did not update this thread when he woke up.
Ryan was in a coma for about a week when he woke up. I think...man, I don't remember the term for it. What he had, though, is what those high school football players have who fall over dead during practice. I think it's a congenital condition, but it doesn't manifest until it's usually too late. I'm sorry - that's not specific at all. Maybe one of the doctors know what I'm talking about.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
Marfan Syndrome? [It's a connective tissue disorder that is inherited in an Autosomal Dominant fashion. That information really should have been sent along with him, IMO, as not having his heart watched could be fatal (as we all well know now *wince). I trust he is having his eyes checked on a regular basis, too.]
Edited to add link, information, and: I'm so glad he came out of it, katharina.
Posted by Javert Hugo (Member # 3980) on :
Yes, I think that's it, CT. Thank you.
I think he is being taken care of, medically. I hope that includes his eyes.
It was a closed adoption, and I think there were no medical details that were passed along at all.
We are all very, very glad that he woke up. He is not unaffected, though. Being in a coma for a week did have some phsyical consequences, and his personality has changed as well. He was always quiet, but he hardly speaks at all now. My dad thinks he's definitely depressed. It's hard on his marriage, because they are relying mostly on his wife's income and he's so quiet even when he is home that I think she's lonely. He and his mom used to talk once a week or so, but that stopped after then as well. This is from a while ago, so maybe it's gotten better since and I haven't heard. I hope so.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
That is so very sad.
quote:Originally posted by Javert Hugo: It was a closed adoption, and I think there were no medical details that were passed along at all.
I know, but ... this is in most cases a death sentence. I suppose the limits have to be absolute, but it seems fundamentally horrid. (However, I guess it might make some babies near impossible to get adopted, too. )
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Wow, I am so glad that he did wake up - I guess this was during a break from Hatrack for me as I don't remember this, kat, I'm sorry I did not express sympathy during the trying time your family experienced.
As an aside, Marfan was one of the disorders they considered in my son, because he has connective tissue issues, but the geneticist ruled it out.
I hope your stepbrother starts doing better soon, sorry to hear that he is still having issues from the coma. Posted by Tullaan (Member # 5515) on :
Just wanted to add a few things. I am a pharmacist that works at a hospital in Salt Lake. We do many left ventricular assist devices(LVAD), right ventricular assist devices(RVAD), bivad's (both left and right) and PVAD's which is a very temporary device inserted into the ventrical through a large artery in the groin. I work with the doctors, nurses and patients very close. I go on rounds with them on a daily basis.
The device(s) are really quite remarkable and we are learning and developing new ones very quickly. I feel very fortunate to be involved with the mechanical cardiac support team.
To get an LVAD requires that you be in a hospital that provides the service. There are very few in the country. Getting an LVAD is not a simple procedure. Often patients are sedated and intubated (tube down trachea to breath)for prolonged periods of time(sometimes months).
Being young is certainly a positive in the recovery period.
There are two plans for receiving an LVAD. Destination or bridge. Destination just gives you a few extra years of life. We have patients that have had 3 different LVAD's over the last several years. Eventually they get tired of all the hassle and illness and decide not to replace a failing LVAD. Bridge to transplant is used to keep someone alive for a year or two, until a heart for transplant becomes available.
Living with an LVAD is not easy. You are disabled. It is unlikely that you will be able to work and hold a job. You get ill often. You require many, many, many doctor appt., procedures, diagnostic tests etc. You will be on many, many drugs. Sometimes in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 different drugs per day.
That being said, I have seen people have remarkable recovery's over the last few years.
The biggest problem now with LVAD's is that they only last one to three years on average. Friction is the main culprit. Parts just wear out. They are in the process of developing a frictionless pump (one is actually available) that uses magnets to suspend the spinning device that moves the blood. Another challenge is clotting. Whenever you stick a foreign device in the body, blood tends to clot to it. Patients have to be anticoagulated, which is a risk itself.
On to other stuff. When you say his heart is working at 10% that is referred to as ejection fraction(EF). A normal EF is around 60-75%. The heart does not expel all the blood with each beat, a small portion does remain. Having said that, 10% is pretty bad.
In my area of practice we see the sickest of the sick heart failure patients. Other hospitals refer to us. A 10% EF is not a death sentance. Some people do and have recovered. However, not everyone does.
As for causes of heart failure(HF). That's a tough question, especially for someone so young. The number one cause of HF is ischemia, which is unlikely in someone so young. Ischemia is a lack of blood flow to the heart (think heart attack). The second cause is high blood pressure. The third is idiopathic, a big word that means WE DON'T KNOW. Other causes include valve problems, virus, pregnancy and even grief (Tako Tsubo).
Anyway, the third leading cause of heart failure is a big fat "we don't know". It's frustrating, for health care providers and patients to not have an answer.
Just a side note, certain head injuries and strokes can cause a particular type of heart failure. Are you clear which came first? The heart failure or the seizure?
I am by no means an expert but I do have some experience in the area.
If I can answer questions I will do my best. Their are others on the board that give better answers and documentation though.
Tull
Oh man, I just noticed the dates on this. If you want I can delete my post.
[ August 28, 2007, 11:53 AM: Message edited by: Tullaan ]
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
Tullaan, I think it's okay to keep your post up, though I'll defer to [Javert Hugo]'s wishes, of course.
[ August 28, 2007, 12:52 PM: Message edited by: ClaudiaTherese ]
Posted by Javert Hugo (Member # 3980) on :
Tullaan, your information is fascinating, thank you. I should ask how Ryan is doing - I haven't been updated lately and I haven't asked. I don't think he's had surgery since, so now I'm curious what they did for him.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
Something I found interesting about LVADs that gave me a whole new view on what the heart is and is not is how restricting it is to have something that can't speed up and slow down in harmony with your activity rate and respiration.
Oh, good, I'm not going insane. There is something called Long QT wave syndrome. I think that is the one more likely to suddenly kill young athletes. There was a bit of research being done on it with Mormons in the late 90's because of their geneaological research practice (linking cases, not getting heart attacks from research).
Posted by Wendybird (Member # 84) on :
Well I'm glad he is okay now. I can understand his depression. My son suffers from depression due to his illness.
Before his transplant my son had an ejection fraction of around 27%. It probably dipped lower just before transplant but I don't remember now.
I hope your brother continues to improve.
Posted by Tullaan (Member # 5515) on :
Interestingly enough, there are many, many drugs that can proglong the QT wave. Which can lead to lethal arythmia's.
I am a stong proponent of AED's. They need to be far more proflific and more available. If there were AED's in gym's, schools, theatres etc. fewer people would die suddenly.
Tull
Posted by Javert Hugo (Member # 3980) on :
What is an AED?
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
automatic defibrillators
---
Edited to add: They are available in many airports, casinos, etc. A lay person with no training can use them, since the machine talks you through the process with an electronic voice. There are certain automatic doublechecks (e.g., won't fire off if it detects a working heartbeat) inherent to the machines.
---
Edited again to add: Wikipedia AED link Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
quote:A lay person with no training can use them, since the machine talks you through the process with an electronic voice.
![[Dont Know]](graemlins/dontknow.gif)
I was thinking in terms of leaky heart valves leading to over-exercize of heart muscles to keep the oxygenation levels somewhat near normal. With the constant over-exercize leading to heart enlargement. ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
I'll be praying for you guys, kat.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Thank you.