7 weeks after cardiac arrest..confusion

[Maithalouni]

Hi,

Today marks the 7th week for my mom in the hospital after her cardiac arrest. It was estimated that she was found a minute after her collapse and CPR was initiated by family members until the paramedics arrived 5 minutes after to resuscitate and stabilise her over a course of 17 minutes.

The report said that she was waking up upon arrival to the hospital (GCS=9) so they didn't do the hypothermal treatment....... though she really didn't and only started inconsistently following simple commands such as 'squeeze my hand' 2 to 3 days later but said 'suspectible hypoxia based on nature of accident, clinical follow up and MRI recommended'..which didn't happen yet and has really been without a neurologist for over 4 weeks and 4 days ago someone came and put her on risperidone.

She had became more conscious almost 3 weeks ago but until now she cant recognize that shes at a hospital, she cant remember that she been in the town where she is for the past year, memory is so short that she cant remember what happened a minute ago, and VERY confused that she mixes all kind of things up and is often pulling tubes and thinks the nurses to be her siblings....it hasn't been getting any better.

I have posted in numerous places and read things that say things will get better..some other places said that confusion that last for more than 4 weeks indicates a severe injury...though her CT scan was normal 4 days after the arrest and her MRI didn't show major things a week after.

Please let me know if you had an experience with this. How long will this last??? How will she be like after? Noting that the hospital had written a discharge for her and we are expecting her home soon...though she still cant eat, sometimes drinks sips of water, and cant sit up for more than a minute or two.

Best,

M

[Kristin1812 Heart Star]

This all sounds so terribly worrying and upsetting, but I think you need someone to help you through the confusion of detail. Is there anyone medical who can sit down with you and summarise her current state and probable outlook, and answer your questions?

Let us know how it goes,

[Maithalouni in reply to Kristin1812]

Not on the outlook because the last neurologist just said that we would need to find out with time how it goes. We really been having difficulties with the hospital shes in.

We cant visit because of the lockdown and we ask for a call back from her drs but they never do. We only spoke to her neurologist twice in the past 7 weeks...no coordination between drs..cough medicine is being given for an edema...So we are glad that she is being discharged so we can follow up else where - I wouldn't wish that hospital for anyone at all.

[Hidden]

Hi, sorry to hear of your mum's situation.

It sounds as though she may well have collapsed through a major CVA (Stroke) rather than a cardiac event, hence the confusion and loss of memory. Rispiridone is used to help with anxiety; my mum suffers from Alzheimer's dementia and is on it. How long these symptoms will last, or if they will be permanent, is impossible to say; sadly the brain is not very good at repairing itself. Sometimes it will find other neural pathways to replace the damaged areas and things can get better, other times the damage is permanent, sadly. Try and make sure you get to speak to a neurologist. The symptoms you describe are very similar to those of dementia and you may find a lot of advise on how to cope on the Alzheimer Society website, which has a similar forum to this.

One piece of advice I would strongly give is to not allow your Mum to be discharged until you have a proper care package in place to help look after her. She will require a LOT of help which will be demanding and difficult at times.

Sorry to paint a rather bleak picture but I would rather say how it cold be and have it be better than the other way around. I do hope that your Mum does get better. Best wishes.

[Maithalouni in reply to Hidden]

Hi Flutter27. Thank you and I really hope your mom gets better.

The doctors have confirmed moms case as a cardiac arrest and neither the CT scan nor the MRI showed any strokes/CVA. In fact she always had a low blood pressure..its in the family nature.

Though I did say what she cant do/remember..she recognizes all of her sibilings and grand sons/daughters over video call, she often calls them by their nick names too...she can answer and hang up on the video call and sometimes she even calls back after the call, she can use a tooth brush in bed..but yet she is VERY confused.

Does all of this sound familiar?

Best,

M

[evelyn000]

Hello,

My partner underwent surgery for an aortic dissection 7 weeks ago. In his second week in ICU, he had a similar reaction where he was very restless, thought he was on a TV show in Washington in 1965 etc etc. He had to be attached to the bed at night as he was so restless and eventually pulled out his respiratory aid (which was needed following lung failure). He's usually very calm so this was very worrying.

His MRI was also normal and luckily this passed after a few (long) days – it was a matter of adjusting the medication. He is completely fine now in terms of memory/clarity etc.

Im not a doctor nor have they had the same treatment or procedure but perhaps it's helpful to hear a similar experience. Wishing you the very best of luck.

[Maithalouni in reply to evelyn000]

Thank you for sharing Evelyn. I'm glad that your partner is doing well. Yes, my mom also keeps including random things in her answers. We are hopeful that all will pass and she will recover from all of this.

Best,

M

[Loobycare]

Hi MaithalouniHas anyone mentioned delirium? I took very ill in Spain last year with very low blood pressure and suspected sepsis. I was delirious for 4 weeks, and ended up having a heart attack. I'd like to add though that I was extremely well looked after. They implanted a stent.

Delirium can last for a good while after a spell in ICU. It is really very common in elderly patients such as myself and your mum.

I am mentioning this as my family members told me lots of things I had done and said, which I had completely no awareness of. I too was restrained as apparently had not slept for five days.

Forgive me if I am on the wrong track completely but I couldn't help comparing your mum's behaviours being so similar to that which I apparently displayed.