Systolic heart failure

[Sandrr]

Hi, long story short! 18 months ago, my husband passed out while driving, he was admitted to hospital and fitted with a dual chamber system. This January he was taken into hospital. The next day he had a heart attack where they used the defibrillator. He has now been diagnosed with severe ventricular dysfunction. He has been left unable to do simple tasks, as much as he can do to get up and dresssed. We have been told he needs a. CRT pacemaker, when he is a bit fitter! At the moment I can't see him getting any better, been 5 months now and still no improvement! The heart failure team have told him to just 'rest' should he not be having little walks?

If they fit the CRT pacemaker how will it improve his quality of life, or is the pacemaker just a security blanket in case he has another heart attack . No one seems willing to tell you us, but perhaps they don't know!

Thank you for reading, your thoughts would be appreciated.

[laura_dropstitch Heart Star]

I had a CRT device fitted around 4 years ago and I found it did make a difference to my symptoms. I also saw some improvement (through my regular tests) to my heart function in the year after it was fitted. The main difference with the CRT is that it synchronises the two sides of your heart to work together (as they would in a "normal" heart) so it makes every heartbeat more effective. It hasn't been a miracle cure, but it has been one of the most effective treatments for my heart condition.

All the best to you and your husband. I hope you get the answers you need and see some improvements soon.

[Sandrr in reply to laura_dropstitch]

Thank you for the reply Laura, I thought because the left side is 'severely' damaged it wouldn't get any better. But it sounds like my thoughts are wrong, which is very good news.

I wish you well x

[Philippa_BHF]

Hi, I'm sorry you and your husband have been having such a rough time- going through all this together can really take its toll on both of you.

He could be feeling so tired because of his condition but also the medication he is taking could be adding insult to injury. I would suggest he talk things through with his GP or the heart failure nurses.

What has complicated things is that a pacemaker he had implanted in the first instance works differently to a CRT pacemaker. This aims to improve the heart muscle function and has a defibrillator device in its settings in the event of his heart going into a dangerous fast heart rhythm giving him a controlled 'shock',whereas the pacemaker on its own would only 'kick in' if his heart rate dropped too low.

Please don't hesitate to contact us through our helpline if you want to talk things through in more detail.

I hope everything sorts itself out soon.

Philippa