two months out and short of breath...

[jbrown413]

hi everyone. long time no speak. i am doing fine one year after ascending aorta graft and 13 years after aorta valve replacement. i am writing about my father-in-law. he is 80 years old. at the beginning of december he had his aorta valve replaced with a porcine one at nyu, under the care of a pioneer in less invasive surgery (so he has a much smaller scar.) He had some significant problems immediately, including flat-lining, and needed a pacemaker installed. upon discharge he was doing quite well, walking around the neighborhood, and even considering returning to work (yup, he still works!) then quite suddenly he started feeling quite short of breath. it has progressively gotten worse, and now even a walk from the dining room to the adjacent living room leaves him winded. the docs seem to be at a loss. an echo showed the valve to be functioning fine. ekg is fine. he was dehydrated, and a saline iv helped for a day. since the surgery he has had trouble urinating, and currently has to catherize himself at home. he is going for a cat scan on wed. any ideas? anyone have similar issues in the past? any ideas welcome, and thanks -- joe

 

[Bina]

Joe, I hope that your FIL is getting a complete check over....everything from lungs to kidneys. At his age symptoms can come on rapidly and progress before a diagnosis is made. Best wishes.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

I agree that a thorough workup is called for.
Hopefully the CAT scan (of the chest?) will clarify the issue.

Fluid around the heart is a fairly common cause of such problems, but that should have been seen on the Echo (by a knowledgable technician).

'AL Capshaw'