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Heart failure low ejection fraction, suggestions on defibrillator
Pacemaker & ICDs | Last Active: 1 day ago | Replies (14)Comment receiving replies
I have heart failure with 30% EF. After a heart attack in 2018, I was advised to have a defibrillator inserted. It went off maybe three times over a little over a year. But it was also infected with staph bacteria. When it was removed, the surgeon remarked that it was covered in staph like moss on a tree. Did I want another one? Nope.
I was given a 2-5 year estimate of continued life after the heart attack. But a cardiologist, and friend, told me to buy a treadmill (my least favorit exercise machine but at least done in a/c). It's very hot here. Outdoor exercise is only possible maybe a month or so a year. I miss my bike and skates. I've been using the mill for 10 years now, so I guess it helped. I worked up to full slope and 7.0 km/hr, done every other day, alternating with light weights and other exercises. I had my heart attack doing pushups, which I still do, but only 50 on hands and 45 on stands. Not perfect form, but my back stays straight and my elbows bend 90%. I stop if I feel anything unusal. I aslo do burpees and side straddle hops (what they were called 60 years ago, I have no idea now) to get my heart rate up. I have to do the same with the treadmill to get the aerobic effect, which I attribute to my being alive. As for the defibrillator, it did activevate three times before I had it removed, but now my heart rate is so low (usually 45-60 resting), that it would be useless and possibly dangerous considering previous experience. I was not far from checking out when I traveled 10,000 miles and 40 hours to reach my hospital. O2 was in the 70's, taxi driver carried me in, couldn't find a wheelchair. Recovery a week in intesive with a lot of transfusions, another three weeks in the hospital, then a month at a friend's house with an array of PICC lines stuck in my arm. I know defibrillators save lives, and may have saved mine a few times, but I don't know that I would ever want another one.
Replies to "@bbnx2010 I have heart failure with 30% EF. After a heart attack in 2018, I was..."
I moved to a rural area in SE Asia as it is inexpensive to live here and the people I see every day are friendly and helpful.
I was a pilot and went to see my parents after being away for a month or so. My sainted mum had fallen head first into the Alzheimer's well. She was still abulatory but didn't have a clue who was looking back at her in the mirror. I am an only child, and Medicare does not pay squat for long term care for this type of thing, so I quit working to care for her and my dad. My mum lived another nine years (92) and my dad a few months longer (96), finally succumbing to his 4th bout of cancer over 35 years. Alzheimer's care is extremely expensive. Since I was no longer working, and also single, my parents' and my savings picked up the bills. After they were gone, most of my money was too. So I looked for a place I had traveled as a more affordable place to spend the rest of my life. The country I chose was one where I had spent time before and enjoyed myself while I was there. Like most of this part of the world, the heat was a challenge. Most of the people who live near me have no a/c. Fortunately I do. Only a month or so out of each year gives me a break from the heat. But that's coming up shortly and I will be able to spend more time outdoors.
I may be replying to someone else about this, but the watch I wear is to keep me aware of my heart rate. It hooks up to a chest band when I exercise and gives reasonably reliable readings. I try to get my heart rate over 115 for 45-50 minutes each day, and I can download the watch data into my laptop to let me know if I've met my goal. I do have a blood pressure tester as well and check my blood pressure several times a day. I recently started a new drug which has tanked my systolic and diastolic, 80-85 systolic and 50-55 diastolic, but my heart rate has been low for years now, 45-60, except when intentionally raising it when I exercise. My last EKG was pretty awful looking, but I feel as good as I guess someone with heart failure can expect to, and I have not had to quit many of the things I like to do. My leg balance seems a little off, so I quit inline skating. I had to do it at night to escape the heat, but with blinking lights strapped on a hockey stick to ward off a mowdown. I only had one close call and had the stick knocked out of my hand. The guy who hit me came back to see what he had hit, and he apologized and helped me pick up the lights that had been knocked off and get my stick working and visable again. Otherwise I would have been walkng the last 4 km. Nice guy.
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@william66 You have posted many times in the past, you live in SE Asia, I believe that I suggested that you seek medical health for your situation elsewhere. Your health is very important to you and those who care about you - even us - supportive strangers!
You wrote "I traveled 10,000 miles and 40 hours to reach my hospital. " Please elaborate where you went? A notable heart facility is just about the only place to receive top notch care.