first echo in over a year since stroke

[Jackiesmith7777]

I’m having anxiety worrying about my husbands eco cardiogram on November 20th . He had a stroke last July caused by AF. His echo a month later showed his left ventricular ejection fraction at 33 percent . He s been on all the usual meds for the last 16 months to help strengthen his heart from stage two heart failure . I’m so scared that it hasn’t improved or got worse . I’d love to hear any positive stories relating to this . Thank you .

[123Elizabeth]

Hi

In the hope that it gives you some comfort that improvement can happen, I was diagnosed with stage 3 heart failure 3 months ago with an EF of between 10 & 15%. I have been on multiple medications to support my heart and bed rest for that period and my echo last week has shown an improvement to 40% I am now in stage 1 heart failure - mildly impaired as opposed to the bleak diagnosis before.

I hope that the news for your husband is similarly good and that your worries are alleviated.

Regards

Liz

[Jackiesmith7777 in reply to 123Elizabeth]

Thank you so much . That’s really good news x

[Paulbounce]

Hi Jackie.

I think Elizabeth's post is very inspiring. She wrote...

my echo last week has shown an improvement to 40% I am now in stage 1 heart failure - mildly impaired as opposed to the bleak diagnosis before

Heart failure is not the death sentence the name implies. It simply means the heart is not pumping blood as effectively as it should be. Meds can help with this - Elizabeth is one such example. I'll bet others reply with a similar story

Paul

[Jackiesmith7777 in reply to Paulbounce]

Yes Thankyou for your kind words x

[WhitstableWanderer]

Hi Jackie, just to add some perspective.. I was told I'd suffered 'heart failure' at A & E about 6 years ago - quite a shock to someone who had always been reasonably fit and sporty. Apparently it was brought on by an irregular heart rate - A Fib - and my Ejection Fraction was down to 9%, should be about 60%... your husband's 33% measurement could be a lot worse. This is a measurement of the hearts efficiency and is usually assessed from an ECG. The cardiologists were planning to fit me with a pacemaker as I was well below the 35% parameter where PMs are usually considered. However, my EF improved over a 16 day stay in hospital, creeping up to 22% by the time I was discharged. As I was feeling stronger by the day, we agreed to monitor and retest via ECG a few months later. Via exercise, diet and no caffeine and alcohol, I managed to get the EF up to 32% and we all agreed to just monitor. I was on beta blockers, rate and rhythm control meds plus statins for a long time, along with the essential anticoagulants. Five years on, I have weaned myself off all but the anticoagulants, have an EF of 44% and feel absolutely fine. I play golf two or three times weekly, only getting a little breathless on hot days (when I maybe haven't rehydrated properly) and when climbing up steep hills. Life is pretty good and I have posted this in order to give you and others confidence that heart failure isn't a death sentence and A Fib isn't always debilitating. But we are all different, of course.. Don't let him get down, but do encourage him to improve those simple lifestyle things that we can all do - diet, weight, exercise, sleep, alcohol etc, etc.Good luck

[Jackiesmith7777 in reply to WhitstableWanderer]

Thank you so much for your reassuring words . He hasn’t touched a drop of alcohol since his stroke and is on all the meds you mentioned . He s on 11 a day at the moment . I’ll keep you posted with results . Thank you x

[richardph]

I can add another positive experience to those you've already heard.

I was in a similar position, having had a major stroke in July 22. As a result I was diagnosed with AF and severe heart failure with an EF of 25-30%.

After six months of the usual cocktail of drugs my EF improved to nearly 50%, and then in March 23 I had a successful cardioversion that put my EF up to a completely normal 62%, so effectively I'm not in HF at all now.

I've been in NSR now ever since the cardioversion, and 11 weeks ago this was followed up with an ablation to keep me that way longer term. So far seems to have been successful (no arrhythmia at all noticed).

Now awaiting the follow up meetings with the EP, which sadly isn't scheduled until end of February. Very much hoping that I can then stop some of the drugs (especially bisoprolol), though obviously I'll be on Apixaban and statins for ever now.

[Jackiesmith7777 in reply to richardph]

Thank you . Hubby had a cardioversion which sadly only lasted 10 days and a failed ablation before that . He is in persistent Af so not sure another ablation will be happening . Take care x