Best Wishes from the USA

[pauljusa]

I found this great site while researching a medication – Entresto. I was actually born in the UK but moved to the USA in the 1980’s after something known as ‘the winter of discontent’. Now I’ve been a US citizen for longer than I was a British subject. I’m fortunate to live in glorious Iowa, youtube.com/watch?v=u726YCm...(Not working as expected?) just a short drive from the Mayo Clinic Minnesota, where I’m being treated for stiff left atrium syndrome, which was caused by overly aggressive afib treatment,

[BeKind28-]

Hello

Welcome to the Community and I hope you will find all the support you need on here x

[RufusScamp]

Welcome. All I know of Iowa is from Bill Bryson, saying he came from Iowa - somebody had to!

I'm on Entresto, and it has greatly improved my condition. I hope it has for you. I'm so grateful for our health service that means I don't have to pay for it.

[pauljusa in reply to RufusScamp]

Thanks Rufus, lots of good people here in Iowa, specially in Cedar Rapids where I live. I suspect that Bill was joking when he said that. It's great that you get Entresto gratis. It's not covered by my medical insurance and will cost me $2,400 per year. On the upside it may be worth it. Like many of us on this site I keep daily medical stats - BP, pulse, weight, etc. Since I started Entresto on September 17th I've been doing daily 6 minute walk tests (you measure how far you can walk in 6 minutes and score it based on a standard for your age and build). During my latest official pre-Entresto test at Mayo, September 12th, I scored 82.5%. yesterday I scored 103.4% and I'm still only on the 49-51 mg twice daily dose. I hope that you continue to improve and get to do a lot more scamping. 👍

[devonian186 in reply to pauljusa]

I have not heard of this walk test. Where are the guidelines by which you can determine your score?

[Larneybuds in reply to devonian186]

Hi Devonian....I did my walk stress tests as part of my cardio rehab which I didn't get until many months after my OHS. I've just been signed off because my walking has improved by 70yards in the time measured from when I originally did it. My walk tests consisted of walking for 6 minutes at a comfortable pace with the physiotherapist walking and talking to me.... apparently they do this to see if you are getting breathless whilst talking and walking. Bp and heart rates etc are measured each time....with the aim I believe that you improve with each timed test or that you are least don't have any problems doing it. I don't know what the significance is of the 6 minutes lol so can't answer that. 😁

[pauljusa in reply to devonian186]

Hey Devonian, there's a good overview here: youtu.be/kwdlFN8BeLE?si=5zo...(Not working as expected?) These guys use a measured distance, I use a treadmill, it works out the same.

If you want to score it, here are the formulas they to calculate the normal healthy adult distance (NHAD):

MEN: distance = (7.57 × height cm) - (5.02 × age) - (1.76 × weight kg) - 309

WOMEN: distance = (2.11 × height cm) - (2.29 × weight kg) - (5.78 × age) + 66

Once you calculate the NHAD then your score is (Your Distance / NHAD) x 100%.

You measure your distance in meters.

There's also some fine tuning based on height and stride length for exceptionally tall people like me (6' 7" or 2 m in the UK 😀) but the formulas above work for most people.

All the best - Paul

[Hidden in reply to RufusScamp]

Well Rufus, we DO pay for it just not on receipt! We pay through our tax system all our working lives! Nothing in this life is free!!

[RufusScamp in reply to Hidden]

I know we pay for the NHS through taxes, the same as we pay for roads, police, schools and other public services. It is free at the point of delivery, so nobody is bankrupted by sudden medical bills!

[cappachina]

As a singer I really appreciate the music as well as the the scenery Thanks and welcome to the forum

[pauljusa]

Cappachina, Handel was amazing. I took those shots for a video project but when I saw them 'the rising world' just kept playing in my head so I couldn't resist making that little video. When I posted my hello message, I thought that some of folks here could use the inspiration.

I appreciate your kind comments - Paul ❤️

[Loobycare]

Welcome from the UK (Scotland) Paul.This is a great forum from which I have learned so much.

Visited the USA several times, mainly California and up the coast - loved it!

Can't comment re the Entresto, I'm afraid but so sorry that your illness was a consequence of a medical procedure.

[pauljusa in reply to Loobycare]

Thanks, Looby, Scotland is grand, actually a little like a cooler California geographically. I love Edinburgh – great place for an early morning run in summer. We honeymooned at the Caledonian (now Waldorf Astoria) – awesome – our first grand hotel experience.

My current problem wasn’t caused by a single procedure but by a succession of treatments.

Back in 2000 I visited my GP about sudden loss of energy while running – he diagnosed afib, and we reviewed treatment options, mostly medications with multiple side effects. I did my own research and found that a Dr. Cox had developed a ‘maze’ procedure that involved scarring the walls of the left atrium in a way that stopped the propagation of afib signals. Back then it was an open chest procedure but looked like it could be effective. So I contacted him, and had one. It worked great and I was afib free for 10 years. During that period I also had a pacemaker installed for ‘chronotropic incompetence’ – yes I was actually diagnosed incompetent 😀 .

When afib returned, I had a series of catheter ablations in the left atrium that generally lasted a year of two. Finally in 2017 I developed a mitral valve problem so I did more research and hired a celebrity surgeon in Chicago to do a catheter replacement. Unfortunately, he also did a catheter cryo-maze procedure – his practice for people with an afib history, and that, on top of all the other stuff, crippled my left atrium. Since then, things have improved thanks to some great treatment at Mayo.

Whit’s fur ye’ll no go past ye - Paul

[Smitty1956]

Hi, Paul,

Welcome to this forum, and I hope that you find great counsel and support. I am also American, but I live in West Virginia. I lived for about 10 years in Texas, and I spent a few weeks in Southern California, North Carolina and Connecticut, and I have traveled through most of the US states—-but not yours. 😃

I did look at the video that you posted on the six-minute walk. I wanted to mention that if someone has an Apple Watch, they can view and track their own six-minute walk data in the Health app.

Best wishes to you, and I hope that you are having a lovely day. ❤️

[pauljusa]

Hey Smitty! Thanks for the tip. It's real nice here right now 72 and sunny - I expect that you'll be getting some nice fall color coming in soon. Just checked out your posts - great poem, just about sums up where we're at.

Best wishes back at you - Paul

[Cee-Cee1]

And a very 'hearty' welcome from County Antrim here in Northern Ireland, Paul. We're quite a diverse bunch in terms of localities aren't we - but I've always found the forum to be incredibly welcoming, friendly and, very importantly - educational! Carol (ps - loved the Handel, thank you for sharing!).

[pauljusa]

Carol thanks for the punny welcome! Yes, we're from everywhere united against common adversaries. If we don't win, at least we'll have a damn good try. I'm glad you liked the Handel, how about some Purcell and Thomas Arne?😊 Best Wishes - Paul

youtu.be/S9YOoaManbA?si=8ag...(Not working as expected?)