Sleeping on left side

[Cosychair]

Hi, after being told I have EJ of 38 per cent and I had fluid on my lung I find it difficult to sleep on my left side.Every time I turn over I can feel my heart.

Is this normal.

Thanks 😊

[Tos92]

Hi Cosychair,

I don’t have the same heart condition as yours however, I do find sleeping on the left can increase my chest pain. Since having heart problems (2 years) I have found that I sleep more on an incline with lots of pillows for back support in bed. Lying on my side can increase my angina, and my angina often comes on at rest sometimes. I also find lying on my side sets off palpitations so I try to avoid lying on my side where possible. I appreciate sleeping on an incline on your back all night is not always comfortable, but I find that it gives me some relief.

Perhaps try this if you haven’t already to see if it gives you some relief.

I hope others come by with suggestions, though I suspect that the fluid in the lungs is probably causing you some difficulty in sleeping on your side.

All the best.

Tos

[Heartinthehills in reply to Tos92]

Hi Cosychair. I learnt to sleep on my right side soon after my incident 10 yrs ago. EV is 30% and heart seems to have to work harder if on my right side. Sleeping on my back is OK but right side is best and manage with one pillow. Something to get used to with low EF.

[Cosychair in reply to Tos92]

Thanks for your reply, I can sleep on my back a bit now. It's really just when I want to sleep on my right side it bothers me. I can really feel my heart. It's something I will get used to I'm sure.

[Haybel]

Hi.

I’m almost the same EF as you with 39% and I always slept on my left side. I can also feel my heart when I’m trying to get to sleep and it’s a bit disconcerting. If I fall asleep on my back I invariably wake up on my left side and no ill effects so far.

Would be interested to know if it’s better to avoid left side sleeping position though.

[Cosychair in reply to Haybel]

Thanks for reply, how long have you has an EF of 39% . Are you managing ok with it ?

[fishonabike]

i wonder if anyone has explained what your Ejection Fraction (EF) means and why you might have fluid in your lungs?

forgive me if they have but here is a simple summary:

EF is a measure of how efficiently your heart is pumping - between 50 and 70% is the normal range - 100% is not possible

if your EF is lower than normal it usually means that your heart muscle is not working properly and this is commonly called heart failure - this can be treated with medication which helps the heart muscle to work more effectively

the reduced efficiency of the heart muscle causes a variety of symptoms ( see BHF or Cardiomyopathy UK for more info) and one thing which can happen is that you get fluid building up in the lungs (makes you breathless) and other parts of the body like legs/ankles, fingers & abdomen

You don’t say whether or not you are taking medication for this or if you have been diagnosed with heart failure or cardiomyopathy

when you lie flat on your side the contents of your abdomen (all those guts, liver etc) slop around and can press up against your chest cavity - this increases the pressure on your heart and lungs in this cavity, so they might need to work a bit harder - you may notice your heart pumping more and you might have trouble breathing

sleeping with your head and shoulders raised a bit usually helps - you could use extra pillows or raise the head end of your mattress by putting something under it

i hope that helps

[Cosychair in reply to fishonabike]

Thanks, I have been told I have heart failure. Having an mri on Thursday. I am on medication for fluid retention.

[Cosychair]

Thanks for reply 🙂