Expert Answer by Barry M. Massie
Heart failure is a serious condition -- but it's also one that can be treated with considerable success. I don't like the term "end stage" because many patients improve even if their overall heart function is poor. I've had patients who were labeled this way who have done well for years.
Also, heart failure can wax and wane. A person with heart failure can have periods of worsening symptoms that require hospitalization, perhaps as a result of not taking all of the prescribed medications correctly or not following a low-sodium diet. But with increased therapy, she might improve enough to go home.
In some patients, however, the heart may not be able to pump adequate blood to vital organs. This can result in kidney failure, severe shortness of breath after limited activity, and even reduced mental status.
I'd recommend a consultation with a cardiologist to make sure your mother is receiving all of the medications that have proven to be helpful for this condition. And make sure you take the time to talk to your mother about the future. Ask her about what she wants done if her heart failure worsens to the point where treatment is no longer effective.
Answer
It is one of the hardest things I've experienced watching my own mother's health decline. My mom began having depression about 18 months after my dad died. She felt that she had nothing to live for without him. No amount of talking to her to get her to see all the good things she had going, like a loving family and friends and being financially stable mattered. Sometimes it was so frustrating.
When she finally got so bad with her health that she collapsed and ended in the hospital, the doctor's found she was extremely anemic. They ran upper and lower GI tests but found nothing to show she had colon cancer or any other type of internal bleed. No one ever checked her kidney function and it is sad that it was ignored seeing as how my mom has type 2 diabetes. We were told to find mom a Nursing Home for there was nothing more that could be done. It took my mom only 2 1/2 months after the hospital and going to the Nursing Home before she passed and she died of kidney failure.
Now I face congestive heart failure with my husband. It came on suddenly, one day fine, the next shortness of breath and heart pounding. His own primary care doctor chalked it up to stress and anxiety and wrote a script for Ativan and gave him an inhaler. He also sent him for a chest x-ray but then lied to my husband about the results saying everything was ok. We found out otherwise when I had to take my husband to the ER just a few days after seeing his doctor. I am mad that his doctor would with hold such information that my husband has an enlarged heart which the x-ray showed along with some fluid in his lungs. No medication was prescribed just the anxiety med and inhaler. It wasn't until the ER visit that my husband was given the proper diagnosis and medication to help him. After we had last seen my husband's doctor, I wasn't happy and once we got home I called a cardiologist and made an appointment. I had even asked my husband's doctor if my husband's problem could be heart related and I was told, "no, I don't think so.
What an idiot! Once we saw the cardiologist, we found out from an echo that my husband whole heart is weakened and his ejection fraction is only 15%. Not good at all and his lungs had more fluid in them as well.
Since then, I've been making sure my husband gets the prescribed medications that his cardiologist ordered such as, Lasix to remove the excess fluid, Lisinopril to help his kidneys and Coreg for his heart so it doesn't have to work so hard. So far things seem to be working that and I give my husband several supplements. COQ-10 200mgs daily, magnesium 500mgs daily, potassium 99mgs daily, vitamin C 500 mgs daily, vitamin D 1000 mgs daily, hawthorne berry 500 mgs daily and a very good vitamin B complex that has 100% of all the B's. I've read that there is a disease called, Beriberi of the heart all due to a lack of B-1 and B-4. I've been making sure my husband gets these vital nutrients. I even asked the cardiologist about the B vitamins but like most doctor's he hasn't a clue about nutritional things so I got ignored. But I can tell you that at my husband's last check up, the doctor was very happy as he could see an improvement. My husband is scheduled for another echo on Nov. 9th and his doctor feels there will be a big change. I am so happy too. Never think you can't reverse anything concerning the heart. It is after all a muscle that needs proper nutrients and one needs to get some exercise too. My husband goes out each day and walks around the block. It's all he can manage for now but its something. Do look into getting some of these supplements and try them, it has made a big difference for my husband and I am keeping my fingers crossed that within a few months things will be almost back to normal. Hang in there, never give up. Doctors won't tell you about taking supplements so one has to take control of their own health and do research and do what you feel is best. I wish all those who are enduring heart disease the very best of health and I know you will get some good results.
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