Heart failure and heart surgery,

Hi everyone,I am new to this so I will give a brief summary my mum has heart failure, nearing stage four her hearts working just below 30 percent,and now my husband is in need of open heart surgery within the next 4 mths to place a mechanical valve and other heart related things,as you can imagine advice and support would be most welcome thanks.

[Sina-6491]

You've picked a great forum here, you'l get loafs of advice & support.

Wishing you well & would like to welcome you to the club, Jo ☺☺

[skid112 Heart Star]

Hello Hidden, I am sorry to hear that must be a very stressful time for you. There are a number of threads on valve issues here, healthunlocked.com/search/m...

also a number of threads on heart failure here, healthunlocked.com/search/h...

My own advice is to make a list of questions as they pop into your head, that way when you see the cardiologist or GP you are prepared and can get answers you seek. As much as its a painful and stressful time for all concerned, the treatment starts and the road to recovery has begun.

There are a lot of willing advisers here, the BHF nurses are fabulous as well, just ask and we will do all we can to reassure and provide help

[Hidden]

Surgical and medical interventions work really well and treatments are improving so there is a great deal of positive things to look forward to. However, when it comes to concerns it is right to share them.

One of the things I have found encouraging is that the Cardiac team recognise that other members of the family are experiencing anxiety and often don't get a full picture so they make time to speak to the whole family when appropriate.

My father's surgeons have said that given age and other conditions further surgical interventions are now unlikely, not that they can't do anything else as my father said but surgery isn't an option.

So don't be afraid to ask the questions, as is suggested write them down, keep your own diary of events and be ready to explain things from your perspective.

This can really help - for example I wondered how my wife and sons knew I was in trouble with my heart when sitting quietly, it turned out that I stopped moving my head to the left, along with other things. This observation helped the GP provide me with additional information and a change in medication dosage.

So two things - this is a great forum and make use of the positive support

Oh and welcome let everyone know how things progress

[laura_dropstitch Heart Star]

Welcome to the group. Like Mark said above, my medical team have always been really happy to include my family in discussions and always make a point of asking my husband if there's anything he wants to know. Hopefully the people working with your mum and your husband will take a similar approach. Also agree it's a great idea to write down questions and concerns to make sure you get all the answers you need.

Hope everything goes well over the coming months.