Confused

[roger52]

I have just been to the Doctors for an appointment with a Nurse Practitioner, he rang me yesterday to give me my results of a echocardiogram. It appears I am now in heart failure, when I got there he wasn't there due to being ill. So I just saw a nurse who took my blood pressure, it was fine, she said I could go. Yesterday he gave me the impression there was lots to discuss. Feeling a bit flat now. Any thoughts please.

[Hidden]

I am sure you are feeling 'flat'. I assume you have no idea how long your Practitioner will be unavailable. However I also assume that your surgery has more that one health professional qualified to deal with your case e.g. a GP. Can't you make an appointment with one of them? If I was you I would be pushing to see someone who I can talk to soonest, whoever it was, with a view to a long term care plan. I'm afraid that my experience is that you have to be a bit assertive with the medical profession when things don't go as planned to try get what you want (without being rude) or you will just get fobbed off as that is the always easiest option for them. It might not always work but at least you have the satisfaction of knowing you have done your best. I sincerely hope you get sorted soon, whatever that entails.

[Hidden]

Ask to get onto cardiac rehab and you will get plenty of advice.

[Alison_L in reply to Hidden]

An echo by itself doesn't justify a referral to rehab. A referral to a cardiologist is needed first.

[reidmar]

Hi. I too was told almost out of the blue that I had heart failure, I was in hospital after CABG x 4 but at that stage my cardiologist had said that the op went really well and that thankfully no serious muscle damage had been done. (never any mention of heart failure). Anyway I was fast asleep in a side ward only to be woken by a heart nurse and told, whilst still half asleep, that she was up to see me to discuss my way forward with my heart failure. You can imagine my shock at hearing this and for this reason I virtually didn't take in 1 word she said and by the time my wife came to visit I was in pieces as I was starting to think that my op had been for nothing as my heart was now failing. Only when we discussed this with the ward sister was it made clear that the term heart failure is more to be aware that the heart isn't functioning as well or efficiently as it had been but this could be said of most muscles in the body as we get older, due to wear & tear etc and that's where the medication comes in to play by helping the muscle by taking some strain off it.

Once it was put to me in this way I did become more settled and the panic was slowly removed. A number of the health practitioners that I come into contact with, including my GP and cardiologist tend to use the term "level of heart efficiency" when talking to me about it instead of the term heart "Failure" as it rightly can scare the bejeezus out of you, as we say in these parts. I hope you get some satisfaction from whomever you get talking to and as others have said don't let it drag on keep chasing answers and if you think of any questions beforehand, write them down to take with you. Stay healthy and take care.