help and advice for heart failure please!!!!!

[Emzyfred1419]

good morning, I am 50 and have been diagnosed with heart failure with an ejection fraction of 25%, therefore I have lost my LGV license, so I have lost my livelihood. I already have a pacemaker( had it 32 years) so my head is all over the place at the moment. Any help and advice gratefully received!!!!!!!

[IanMK]

Hi

So sorry to hear that. Is this a recent diagnosis? I assume that the cause of your HF has yet to be investigated and there is still the possibility of treatment to improve your EF. Until your outlook is clearer surely your employer should offer an alternative role or sick leave.

[Emzyfred1419 in reply to IanMK]

Hya bud. I am off on sick leave at the moment. I was diagnosed within the last 2 weeks, so it is alla blur to me. My employer are sending me for a private assessment to see if there is any thing I am able to do. Finances are my biggest worry though, as my earning capability has now been reduced, by losing my LGV. Confused!!

[IanMK in reply to Emzyfred1419]

Don’t think that a diagnosis of heart failure is the end of the world. Investigation of the cause may take some time because the doctors usually take one step at a time (because the NHS is under so much pressure). You may need to take a desk job for a while and you may need to reduce your hours for a while - hopefully, your employer will be able to help with this. You can help yourself, too, by taking an honest look at your lifestyle and see if you can make any changes there to make it more healthy. It’s important to keep exercising, too - take advice from your doctors on this. In time, hopefully your doctors will identify a cause and that you will receive appropriate treatment and your condition will improve. Try to keep tight control on your finances so that they don’t get out of control. Try not to worry as this won’t help you at all. Stay positive and keep focussed on getting better and getting your LGV licence back.

Best wishes.

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Hello and welcome to the forum! Hopefully you will get a full diagnosis and treatment in the near future. Sometimes EF improves with treatment. It is my understanding that you can reapply for your licence if in the future you achieve an EF of 40% or greater.

Is there an option of doing route planning for drop offs maybe? Sometimes companies seem very poor at it!

[Emzyfred1419 in reply to MichaelJH]

Me in the office is not something I don't they would enjoy, having been in there before. To this day I am the only person qualifed in the traffic office. Because I do it by the book and not their way, I was removed, so it could interesting what they get me doing.

[benjijen in reply to Emzyfred1419]

I am just about to fully retire from a transport company (over 22 years there) and I'm quite sure they will not want any good driver to leave if there is the potential to get your LGV back! There is a very significant shortage of decent/experienced drivers across the country. Maybe they could put you in as an additional banksman or warehouse? Hopefully you will receive the treatment you need to get you back on track. Good luck.

[Smikra]

My EF was 25% doue Rogers blocked arteries. After my bypass operation it is 48%.

[Smikra]

Due to blocked. sorry auto correct

[MissisF]

EF can improve. Medication can really help. This group is a great resource of support. There is also a charity called Pumping Marvellous pumpingmarvellous.org which focuses on heart failure and produces a number of leaflets to help people understand and manage their condition. They have a website ( & Facebook group) which may help. Good Luck.

[FeetheBookworm]

I was diagnosed with HF 3 yrs ago. At first my EF was 17%, up to 23% within 3 months once all the excess fluid was off my lungs. 16 months on it was up to 43% and has remained at that. I do have an ICD - put in 7 months after diagnosis. I followed the BHF food plan and lost some more weight. (Some has slowly come back on once I took my eye off the ball so back on plan again!).

So there is hope which I realise doesn’t help in the short term.

[dg2024]

Guess what. I've had an ef of 25%. I've been in intensive care and today have just restarted my fitness classes. The heart can recover. The important thing is to understand the cause of the reduced ef. In my case it was myocarditis. Trust the medication. I've taken it for 5 months and my ef has now almost recovered to normal. Don't expect quick fixes. It can take months but allow yourself time. Sometimes we are ill. Be kind to yourself and look after yourself. Take the medicine. You can recover. I did. You can.