new diagnosis

[Tizme]

in 0213 I was diagnosed with ischemic heart disease and was given tablets and monitored by gp. We moved out of area in 2018. My new gp didn't monitor me even after me asking . My symptoms got worse and after a visit to a and e my gp was forced to send me to a cardiologist.

on Thursday I had an echo stress test.my heart is no longer ischemic but I have LVSD severe. And other things are listed in the results bit. I've started the new tablets and am home monitoring blood sugar and blood pressure as I've no faith in gp.

end of story is I'm terrified. It's heart failure, the slow death. I already have depression and anxiety so this worry is no good. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Hidden]

Hello

I am sorry you are suffering so much , I know about been anxious

The word heart failure makes you feel it is all over yet what it does mean is the heart is not working as it should in certain ways

But what they can do today is fantastic they are amazing these Consultants and surgeons

I do hope someone will come along and be able to give you advice on your condition but wanted to let you know you are not on your own and as people log on I am sure they will reply and help you x

[RufusScamp]

Three years ago, I was diagnosed with severe heart failure. Thanks to assorted meds, I am greatly improved. It is a misleading name - it's inefficiency rather than failure, and there are various treatments available.It sounds scary, but it can be dealt with.

[MoyB]

My husband has heart failure and at first we both felt like you do - 'Oh no! He's dying!'.

At his cardiology appointment, he was given some information booklets produced by the British Heart Foundation and these were extremely helpful and reassuring.

He was also referred to the Community Heart Failure Team and the nurses who visited him, or saw him in clinic, were fantastic! Their reassurance was worth millions and their positive attitude and willingness to be contacted at any time proved to be wonderful support. They did regular blood tests and tweaked his meds until he was on the optimum levels of everything and have now handed his care back to our GP. However, his referral to the team remains open and we can contact them at any time if he has a problem.

My advice to you would be to see if you can get hold of the booklets and ask if you have a Community Heart Failure Team you can be referred to.

Something the HF nurses did, which the GPs and cardiologists never do these days, is they came into our home to see my husband - even during the pandemic - and this meant they could make much better judgements about how he was doing. For example, when he told them he was no longer able to mow the lawns, even with a motor mower, they could see for themselves that he was talking about a fairly small garden and not acres and acres! They could see that we live in a small bungalow and so when he said he got puffed out going from the bedroom to the kitchen, they knew he was only talking about a few steps. Also, when we talked about walking to the local shop, they had passed it on their way to us, so they could, again, see how far we were talking about.

All of these things helped them to help my husband.

He is fortunate that he was able to have a heart valve replacement and a pacemaker and has made an excellent recovery from both ops. However, he still has HF which is why he still has the open referral to the HF nurses.

My husband is going to be 80 next week. Since being treated for HF he has regained a lot of his youthful energy and can walk much better than I can. The other day he noticed a friend driving away uphill from a social gathering with no rear lights and, without thinking, he RAN up the hill after the car to try and stop his friend and warn him. He climbs up and down step ladders with no problem and can lift and carry as much now as he could 20 years ago.

Your heart failure is due to a different condition which will require different treatment and so I cannot promise that you will have the same improvement as my husband, but I can tell you that, with the right information and support, you will undoubtedly feel better than you do at the moment.

Please see if you can get hold of the BHF booklets and ask to be referred to the Community Heart Failure team.

I hope that you get the support and treatment that you need and that you have a brighter future to look forward to than you are currently anticipating.

xx Moy

[Tizme]

Ty all so much for your replies. I feel a lot more positive about the future. I realise things might be hard for a while but now I know it's not the end of the world. I am so glad everything is OK for you all. Your replies have given me hope where I had none . Ty.