My Dad, who is in his mid 70s, had a heart attack on Monday (5 days ago) whilst in hospital for another significant issue. He was making a good recovery from the other issue, but the heart attack has been quite serious.
He’s in HDU, they say the damage to his heart is extensive. He didn’t lose consciousness etc, has been sitting up in bed doing his crossword but lots of other things going wrong that require treating (blood sugars etc) He’s still on oxygen and insulin for his blood sugars, and has a chest infection. He also has fluid in his lungs which they say is due to the heart damage.
It’s hard to know what to expect. They’ve told us that they can’t fit a stent or do a bypass because his arteries are in too bad a way (he was being treated for angina prior to this and had had a previous (mild) stroke 4 years ago).
They’ve basically told us we need to wait and see. I’m struggling to understand how much someone can recover in his position when they can’t operate.
We obviously know what the worst case scenario is, and they have warned us of that.
Does anyone have any experience of this that they could share?
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Earlydarkdays
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I am not a medic but want to say his mid 70's is not old these days. Ithink I would want a full break down of exactly what is wrong with your dads heart. What is the echocardiogram saying?If you can see it they can point out what is wrong and why they think they cannot fix it. There are numerous drugs that can help with fluid.I have had it on thighs, around my heart and in my lungs...not all at the same time but drugs eliminated the fluid in all the cases. The doc needs to match the drug to suit the patients condition. If he has high blood pressure(did this cause his earliar stroke?)is it controlled with meds now to try and prevent another stroke?If he has atrial fribrulation he needs to be on an anticoagulant to prevent a stroke or at least reduce the risk. Als perhaps speak to one of the Brit. Heart. Found nurses for further advice. They are very helpful.
He has high blood pressure (which he has been treated for with meds for a number of years and this has generally worked well), type 2 diabetes, diverticula disease and high cholesterol I think. Yes, the previous stroke was due to a clot from what I understood.
The Drs tell us there has been some improvement over the last few days in that he now needs a bit less oxygen, less fluid on his lungs but he is still needing a lot of diuretics and they say those are working less well than a few days ago so he needs more now. It’s hard to know what to make of the whole situation.
We know he doesn’t want to be resuscitated should he have another heart attack, but beyond that haven’t really had enough information to discuss treatment fully with him. It seems to be a matter of them telling us to take it one day at a time and see how things go.
Its a hard time for you all. I'm sorry. As your tag says it's early days. From what you've posted I think the medics are being honest with you , your father's condition is still in a state of flux and taking one day at a time is all you can do especially until infections are cleared.
First I am sure most on here will extend their sympathy to you and your family for the situation you now have regarding your father's ongoing health. I have no direct comparison to make except to say that my father-in-law was certainly ambivalent about wanting to continue due to serious health issues at the end of his life. So it might be appropriate if a close family member has a quiet, gentle, understanding and respectful word with your father to see what he feels about his situation so that you can all respond according to his wishes, both in the short term and perhaps beyond. You should in any case be acting for him as an advocate when dealing with the medical staff if it is appropriate, especially if he is not in a particularly good place when dealing with them. And it goes without saying that I am sure he is pleased and grateful that you are all concerned for him and have his best interests at heart.
If your dad is like mine was it was sheer will power and bloody mindedness that keep him going. Dad didn't realise he was having a heart attack in 1995 he just had trouble breathing . This was in the early hours of the morning they where on holiday in Bude. So they got dressed to find a telephone box but found a policeman instead and he called for an ambulance. They didn't have mobile phones they nor for that matter a house phone at home . They used the call box at the top of the hill.
Dad was quickly seen to and hard another heart attack but dad didn't feel anything it's the machine that recorded it.
He was in hospital for a week . Found mom a b&b to stay at by the hospital as the chalet they where staying at was to far away mom didn't drive.
He's lungs where full of fluids plus he had a chest infection. He did make me laugh on the table was a line of urinals and because they wanted to get rid of the fluid quickly he was on a drip to make him wee. Or in my dad's words pissing like a bloody horse. That was my dad . He's heart was damaged and told no point putting in stents or any operation . But put on Warfin and a heart tablet nothing was needed for blood pressure. He couldn't have aspirin as he had had an ulcer removed. Told to cut out salt so he did.
We fetched him and my brother fetched his car . But he lived his life as if nothing happened. He had to have a hernia op on this groin with spinal block and sleep through the operation. He didn't slow down but his last year his heart was failing and my dad's weight dropped off him from 15st to 10st. And he hated the sight of his own body . He died in 2007 aged 80.
After his heart attack they went on holiday via coach as Mom wouldn't let him drive long distance and they had a landline put in . But still wouldn't have a mobile .
My dad wouldn't let himself slow down and told my mom for watching him all the time . Before the heart attack he snores loud enough to raise the roof after he died snore . Mom used wake to check he was still breathing .
No idea if this has helped but this was what happened to my dad. Stubborn to the end .
Hospital doctors, in my experience, will do all they can to help a patient to be as well as possible. I’m sure that is what your Dad’s doctors are doing. They have said ‘the damage to his heart is extensive’ so the heart attack caused some of the heart muscle (essentially that is what the heart is) to die. Therefore they cannot replace or repair that heart muscle. What they are doing is using drugs to reduce his symptoms. Your Dad seems to have a greater awareness of his situation as he has decided he does not want to be resuscitated should his heart stop. I had a friend in a similar situation to your Dad, minus the diabetes, and her heart muscle was severely damaged. She passed away peacefully. Doctors do what they are trained to do. Ultimately God decides. I do feel for you as what comes across in your letter is that you are close to your Dad and therefore worried. He may recover enough to come home. The doctors can’t say for sure hence them saying ‘wait and see’. Wishing and praying for all the best for you and your Dad.
Be very optimistic. The interventions and medications are incredible!
Sounds like he needed a cardiac intervention prior, maybe he did not seek help? But stick with hope - he’s quite young and when stronger they can put stents in or bypass graft / he has to change his lifestyle as this may have contributed - if it does not run in your family?
Keep onto the medics and get every piece of info about drugs and what is being done even record any consultations.
I’m not actually sure if it runs in his family. He’s actually my stepdad, but has raised me as his own, and I never met his parents as they died before he married my Mom. I think his father had a heart condition and died in his early 70s but we aren’t sure what the condition was.
Thank you all, it’s useful to hear from people who have some experience of this.
My Dad was previously hospitalised in April for chest pain. They tried an angiogram then but couldn’t fit a stent, they said he would need too many stents - I think it is coronary heart disease if that’s what it’s called. They treated him for angina, and he was on medication for that which was really helping.
This heart attack has likely come about as a result of the stress his body was under due to the previous issue that meant he was hospitalised 2 days before the heart attack. He lost a lot of blood during that issue and that lowered his blood pressure amongst other things.
I think we have to just wait and see how things go. The limbo of this in between stage is awful, but at least we can visit and talk to him. He is fully functioning mentally at this point which is both a blessing and a difficult thing to deal with as he is wondering what might happen. Yes, I’m very close to him. I’m an only child, and my Mom struggles with her mental health so between my Dad and I, we have had to support her a lot in recent years so I am now trying to pick all of that up myself whilst supporting my Dad alongside juggling young children of my own at home.
The hospital are supporting him with any pain and symptoms and I think that is the best we can ask for just now, and hope and pray it gives him space to recover.
thank for the response but it still does not make sense if he needed to many stents why they didn’t bypass instead. It seems odd he was left with angina - it sounds like he has multi vessel dusease.
I hope the cardiologists can come up with some explanations for you and keep checking with BHF that your step father is being treated with the latest knowledge and not palmed off - which is what I’m concerned about, is this a specialist cardiac unit he is in?
Thank you, I will phone BHF on Monday for some input. I think it is multiple vessel damage; his arteries weren’t in good shape when we saw the cardiologist the week before this admission (that was a standard admission). His medication was keeping the angina under control but they also said he wouldn’t be a candidate for a heart bypass at that discussion either. They said the only option would be some form of special drilling technique to get through the arteries, but as he was getting no pain as meds were controlling it, they wouldn’t operate at that point. He has quite complex medical conditions as a combination which I think is particularly why they are reluctant to operate. Now he’s had this heart attack, and the heart muscle is damaged, I took it from the discussion that the combination meant it was unlikely to help. He was originally admitted due to a haemorrhage in which he lost over 2 litres of blood so they were having to balance that with the following heart attack issues when they spoke to us about intervention.
He has been in a general HDU since admission last weekend. He previously wasn’t well enough to be moved to the cardiac specialist unit as he had other things that needed to be treated too. However, he’s been moved to the coronary care unit this evening which is good we think.
I was recently admitted for gallstone removal and gall bladder infection.
I was asked if I wanted resuscitation if I have a cardiac arrest during the procedure. I opted for a running Do Not Resuscitate that I signed for as I do not want to die twice.
I am 70 years old and in good health other than this infection so perhaps it is a new policy for patients over that age.
Perhaps it is a recent policy due to the "assisted dying" petition that is to be discussed at Parliament soon.
I am in favour of it and it will relieve the congestion at the NHS.
I have an 'Advance Decision' which I very carefully put together nearly ten years ago. It defines the conditions where I do not want medical intervention should I become very seriously incapacitated. I discussed this with my family and my GP at the time, and it is independently witnessed and a copy is with my GP. I consider the' Do Not Resuscitate' is too easy to misinterpret. I urge everyone who may be faced with this situation to consider getting an Advance Decision prepared, as I did. It's your life that you may wish to sustain, or conversely allow to slip away if the circumstances dictate, and sometimes the medical profession have a conflict of interest in dealing with some end of life situations, as I found out when my elderly mother, who had several serious health conditions including Alzeimers, was 'saved' after what was possibly a major stroke which caused her to lose consciousness, by a well meaning doctor who though she was doing the right thing when in fact she wasn't, a point of view which I very robustly put forward to those responsible, although in the end my mother never recovered consciousness after several weeks and was allowed to slip away.
Not sue that’s sounds right, I’ve just had 3 cardiac arrests and restored to great health after a stemi - no one asked me if I wanted to die instead of being revived? I’m 70 as well.
I had quad bypass 10 year ago went for angigram 2 month ago told me the same my grafts are blocked and I got angina do changed my tablets but can't operate I'm 51 heart problems in family got to keep smiling hope all goes well
To our surprise, 10 days after the heart attack, my Dad has started to show signs of responding to some of the treatment with diuretics etc. He’s still got fluid on the lungs and needs oxygen, but that has lessened over the last 48 hours and he has been able to get out of bed today and do a bit of physio. The Drs say it is very slow, but his progress is heading in the right direction.
They still say he isn’t strong enough for surgery so it will need to be medical management, and they are still emphasising how ill he is, but he looks more comfortable today which is the best thing. Thank you all for your kind words.
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