CARVEDILOL

[HOLLYANNhopefulanna]

HELLO EVERYONE,I AM ASKING FOR ADVICE FROM YOU,I SAW MY CARDIOLOGIST 2 WEEKS AGO FOR RESULTS OF AN ECHOCARDIOGRAM, HE TOLD ME I HAVE HEART FAILURE,OBVIOUSLY I WAS VERY SHOCKED,UNFORTUNATELY I AM FINDING THIS VERY DIFFICULT TO COPE WITH,I AM NOT USUALLY THE TYPE TO WORRY ,BUT THIS HAS MADE ME VERY ANXIOUS , I CANT SLEEP AND FINDING IT DIFFICULT TO PROCESS,MY CARDIOLOGIST WANTS ME TO HAVE ANOTHER ECHOCARDIOGRAM IN NOVEMBER AND THEN SEE HIM IN DECEMBER FOR THE RESULTS , I AM WONDERING IF I WILL STILL BE AROUND THEN, HE STARTED ME ON DAPAGLIFLOZIN 2 WEEKS AGO AND WANTS ME TO START ON CARVEDILOL NEXT WEEK, MY GP STARTED ME ON DOXASOZIN A FEW MONTHS AGO TO HELP WITH KEEPING MY BP CONTROLLED,WHICH IS WORKING,MY BP IS BETWEEN 120S/ 60S 70S AND 130S/60S 70S ,AFTER READING THE SIDE EFFECTS OF CARVEDILOL, IT HAS MADE ME A LITTLE CONCERNED I HAD A PACEMAKER FITTED 2 YEARS AGO AFTER HAVING FAILED ABLATIONS, I ALSO HAVE CKD STAGE 3B AND MILD ASTHMA, I HAVE BEEN TAKING APIXABAN LISINOPRIL ATORVASTATIN FOR A FEW YEARS, AND SALAMOL WHEN NEEDED,WHICH ISNT VERY OFTEN, SO ANY ADVICE OR INFORMATION WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL, THANKYOU FOR READING MY LONG POST, BEST WISHES TO YOU ALL,

[Taviterry]

Welcome to the Community. You will, I hope, find us a helpful and friendly bunch, but yours is quite a complex situation and I wonder if many of us will be able to offer much informed advice.

That your cardiologist is waiting six months to give you another ECG is in a way reassuring. My GP diagnosed a dodgy heart valve in January 2023 and after various scans I was put on a TAVI (replacement valve implant) waiting list at the end of May.

I'm not familiar with any of the medications you are taking, though all are likely to have various side effects. I'm sure that your cardiologist and GP have your interests at heart - and that the former would have wanted to perform a further ECG sooner than November were it necessary.

[HOLLYANNhopefulanna in reply to Taviterry]

Thankyou taviterry for your reply,I appreciate you taking the time to answer my post,I suppose the words heart failure are frightening for anyone,I will have to wait to see what happens when I get appointment at my local hospital at the heart failure clinic,I wish you all the best for the future,thankyou,

[Qualipop in reply to HOLLYANNhopefulanna]

Heart Failure is a dreadful term. It does NOT meant that your heart is suddenly going to pack up. All it means is that it isn't working quite as well as it should and you need medication to help it. You should be told your ejection fraction ( the amount your heart pumps out round your body) This is normally around 50. The EF can be improved.

The term should be changed to heart insufficiency.

My mother developed heart failure during pregnancy in her 20s. In those days there was no treatment for it at all but she still lived a normal life span and the only time she had any symptoms was when walking up gentle hills when she'd get breathless. She walked miles a day with her dogs and did a full time job in a cotton mill.

[HOLLYANNhopefulanna in reply to Qualipop]

Thankyou so much for your reply I appreciate you taking the time to reply, I will keep you all updated,thankyou

[Vms49 in reply to Taviterry]

Tavi Terry have you had your Tavi yet I’ve been offered it instead of ohs and have my pre op on Thursday ( severe aortic stenosis )

[Taviterry in reply to Vms49]

I had my TAVI last July. For my various comments about my experiences, please right-click on my user name above and then on "Replies".

[Vms49 in reply to Taviterry]

Thanks

[Tlyna in reply to Vms49]

I had one done in January and I felt 100% better the moment I woke up after. I no longer had trouble breathing and had energy to burn. It was a real relief as the cardiologist told m before that he couldn't believe I was still on my feet my aortic stenosis was so bad. I continue to feel great and am still going through cardiac rehab with no problems. My parents had the same valve problem but had to do it by OHS as TAVI was around then. Mom is still here 30+ years later even though she had emphysema at the time of her surgery and is oxygen dependent now. You will do fine with it.

[Vms49 in reply to Tlyna]

Thankyou I am happy I am having TAVI and not ohs

[roy29 in reply to Taviterry]

I took CoQ10 150 mg 3 times a day. My 2D echo went from 49 % to 63% in 3 months.

[cotonh]

My husband's situation is a little similar. He had a pacemaker fitted last September having had a period of occasional blackouts. We thought that was that, heart problem diagnosed and solved. He was really shocked. However he was back in hospital in February and by March he had an two extra diagnoses of cardiac heart failure and cardiac artery blockages. An even bigger shock which disturbed him greatly for about a month.

As you will see in lots of the other posts many people feel that heart failure is such an unhelpful name and is so scary. However it was explained to us that, while it is a permanent situation, medication can bring about improvement and slow down the rate of further damage happening. It seems to take months to optimise these medications.

We were told in February that a by-pass operation is urgently needed so our next echocardiogram is in June when it is hoped the medication will be helping the heart as much as is possible. As we understand it the results of the echocardiogram do take a while to get processed and sent out. So although his situation is urgent it is going to take many months to get from diagnosis to the operation. Again everyone on this site encourages keeping a diary of your symptoms and getting in contact with GP / cardiologist if you notice things that worries you. GP and cardiologist need to be working together if that is possible. Here in Devon the cardiac nurse writes a letter to the GP making medication recommendations. We get a copy of the letter and check that the GP sets up the medication for the pharmacy.

Pumping Marvellous and the British Heart Foundation websites have a lot of information too.

It is ordinary to feel all the emotions you are feelings, even though they are hard to bear, they are pretty normal. Two weeks is not much time to take on board what you have been told so probably some more bumpy times ahead but be kind to yourself.

[HOLLYANNhopefulanna in reply to cotonh]

Thankyou for your reply I do appreciate it ,my best wishes you you and your husband

[AH31]

Hi

Hopefully you will get more answers after having the second Echocardiogram. My Nan has heart failure and has been diagnosed for many years, she is still here and doing well, taking medication every day and night.

Keep positive, heart failure doesn’t always mean the worst, even though I understand the word is horrible.

[HOLLYANNhopefulanna in reply to AH31]

Thankyou so much ah31 for taking the time to reply,I do appreciate it,even though it is scary ur reply has given me hope, if you don't mind me asking is your nan on medication, everything is so new to me at the moment,I will just have to wait till I get appointment at heart failure clinic to see what's what ,best wishes to you and your nan,thankyou,

[AH31 in reply to HOLLYANNhopefulanna]

My Nan is on a lot of medication, I am not sure what they are all called but I know one is bisoprolol and another is a water tablet.

[Magicmog12 in reply to AH31]

Im on those also the water tablet rids the body of excess fluid so the heart doesnt have to work as hard-very good for sales of Tena lady!

[bluemoon572]

I'm unsure whether you're manifesting signs&symptoms of congestive heart failure or,at this time, your echocardiogram just shows an abnormally low left ventricular ejection fraction without symptoms. I note that you're not on a daily diuretic which also takes a load off a weak left ventricle. Perhaps this is not prescribed because of advanced kidney dysfunction. Years ago heart failure had a very low life expectancy, but with today's medications this is no longer the case and I'm confident you're in good hands and will do very well. I'm sure you've been advised to avoid salty foods and not add salt at the table.

[HOLLYANNhopefulanna in reply to bluemoon572]

Thankyou blue moon for your reply,I will hopefully keep you and everyone updated,best wishes,

[Hawdanoost]

hi Hollyann I was diagnosed with heart failure in 2015 and am still here. I take carvedilol haven’t noticed any side affects. I also have mild asthma. I have a icd which was fitted shortly after my diagnosis. It can take a while to get the medication right but once that is done people with heart failure can live on normally for many years.

[HOLLYANNhopefulanna in reply to Hawdanoost]

Thankyou for the information,you have eased my worry about it,as I have said to the other lovely people on here who have replied ,I will keep you all updated,best wishes and thankyou again,

[Georgeygoose94]

Hiya,

Sorry to hear you’ve been going through it! I’m coming up to a year diagnosed with heart failure now (30 and otherwise healthy so it was quite a shock!) and Carvedilol is one of my pills too. I started on a lot all at once so it’s hard to attribute side effects to each medication accurately, but I’ve been told that my experience of Raynauds and pins and needles are due to the Carvedilol. Essentially I go numb in a finger or a toe if I’m too cold and get pins and needles in my fingers if I’m stood up for too long. More annoying than anything, but completely manageable. Hope that helps

[HOLLYANNhopefulanna in reply to Georgeygoose94]

Thankyou georgeygoose for your reply, I appreciate you taking the time to reply,best wishes to you

[Deejay62]

Hi I was diagnosed 21 yrs ago, but mine is caused by dilated cardiomyopathy. My Ejection fraction is 23%.

I’m on entresto, spironalactone, Bumetanide and bisoprolol and more recently dapagliflozin. I also have other meds Edoxaban, which is an anticoagulant, to prevent clots because my heart failure is severe now and it causes arrhythmias.

I only started on these meds 5 yrs ago when my EF went to 10% and on these meds it climbed back up.

Others have seen their EF climb back to normal which is 50% and above.

Try not to worry, easier said. All the best.

[HOLLYANNhopefulanna in reply to Deejay62]

Thankyou deejay for replying, I will keep everyone updated ,best wishes to you

[revel_runner]

I have been on Carvedilol for about a year for my ectopics. Seems to have made my Reynauds a bit worse and reduced my resting HR to 49. It was about 55 to start with, but I am a runner so that was normal. I have not noticed any other side effects.

[HOLLYANNhopefulanna in reply to revel_runner]

Thankyou for your reply very informative, best wishes to you,

[Ennasti]

I switched from bisoprolol to carvedilol aboit 15 months ago. It’s the best beta blocker I’ve been on so far. I’ve tried a few - metropolol, atenelol, bisoprolol and now carvedilol. I’m very happy with it but we each react differently to different drugs. For me, it works. Yes I have side affects (fatigue and slow metabolism) but it’s less pronounced for me on carvedilol.

[HOLLYANNhopefulanna in reply to Ennasti]

Thanks ennasti for you reply ,will keep you updated,best wishes to you