PairoDocs
Well-known member
Hello All,
A quick summary: On 12/9/07 I felt a series of peculiar PVCs--previously had diagnosis of mild MVP with mild regurgitation since 1997--which was followed by a fluttery feeling in my left carotid artery. My wife, a family practice physician, felt it may have been a heart attack, so by that evening I went to a local ER. Heart enzymes normal, EKG normal, but X-ray of lungs showed shadows suggestive of pulmonary fibrosis; I was then sent home. Difficulty catching breath during the night kept me up. Then I started coughing up blood. Next visit to ER I was diagnosed with pneumonia (102° fever and elevated white blood cell count) and admitted to the hospital, but I had extra symptoms that puzzled the doctors, until my wife and another doctor who used to be my primary care physician back before I even met my wife (was a college chemistry professor at the time) both concluded that there was a heart component. I was admitted and went into cardiogenic shock the next day (12/11) and was aggressively diuresed by the on call cardiologist until I was stable (barely) enough for Life Flight (helicopter ambulance) to Boise, where I was in critical condition and was in surgery 40 minutes after arrival. I'll tell the rest of the story in the appropriate posting area.
Diagnosis was flail mitral valve. I was opened by medial sternotomy and my mitral valve was repaired with annuloplasty and reinforced with a Dacron ring. My heart was otherwise given a clean bill of health including absolutely no sign of even incipient atherosclerosis and completely normal other valves. I was so sick with the pneumonia combined with the pulmonary edema from the cardiogenic shock I was given 15% chance of dying despite the surgery and about 50% chance of lasting brain damage or other disability. I beat those odds by the grace of God.
I was left intubated an extra day due to the lung problems, but thanks to a good cough (yes used the coughing pillow bear) I was able to clear my lungs and was breathing room air within three days. Was able to ascend and descend stairs on the fourth day much to the delight of the physical therapist.
Got a "Sir-Koff-Alot" teddy bear for use during coughing and sneezing--I carefully avoided sneezing by pressing fingers in my nostrils in a certain way for six weeks. At first the progress was good, but my heart rate, which was in the low 80s in the hospital, gradually rose through the 90s and stabilized near 100 bpm. At first I could walk several miles and eagerly looked forward to full resumption of normal activities, but lately my endurance has fallen way off. My bpm briefly reached 115 minimum resting pulse a few days ago and we switched from Troprol to Cardiazem, and now I'm experiencing possible symptoms of pericardial effusion--dry cough, narrow BP readings: 110/90, and many episodes of moderate shortness of breath. My belly is also bulging outward in an uncharacteristic way. Strangely, I don't seem to have as much trouble with shortness of breath when carrying buckets of water for my chickens, feed sacks, or my kids, as I do when I have normal conversations. If anything makes me anxious for some reason I tend to become really short of breath and have to sit down wherever I am. I'm afraid to pursue aerobic exercise now. I had tried a piece of aerobic exercise equipment when my resting pulse was about 100 and went to 152, but the rate did not go below 120 for two days after this (three days ago). Since then it has gone down to high 90s with Cardiazem, but the other symptoms I mentioned have gotten worse.
I hope this type of post is okay for this forum, as I'm depressed, but my wife is frequently in tears about me. She, as a trained physician with ER experience, had seen my very critical readings both before and shortly after surgery. In her experience (18 years) she had never seen anyone recover from the telemetry she saw on me, but the ICU doctor told her I was actually improving. I was unconscious of course, but she saw it all. Every time I get even a slightly bad day she falls to pieces and cries a lot. She's not normally a weepy person, but since the surgery it seems that she, not I, has developed PTSD and has flashbacks. How do I help her, and are my pericardial effusion symptoms severe enough to go to the ER or wait for a scheduled appointment with the cardiologist this Monday?
Is it okay to try to do aerobic workouts, such as running or using a Health-Glider clone exerciser or trampoline? Or should I cautiously sit it out? I need to take down two display cases full of precious opal Sunday night, and am wondering if it's safe for me to do so. Lifting restrictions are off and I experienced no pain during the table and case setups--I assembled 15 cases and about 5 tables for the show and was able to drive 18 miles back home afterward. I slept over 10 hours last night and was weak and somewhat short of breath all day today--the reduced BP range started today, too.
How bad is the procedure for draining the pericardium if it's necessary to do so?
Thanks ahead of time for any tips or pointers you may have to help with the recovery issues.
A quick summary: On 12/9/07 I felt a series of peculiar PVCs--previously had diagnosis of mild MVP with mild regurgitation since 1997--which was followed by a fluttery feeling in my left carotid artery. My wife, a family practice physician, felt it may have been a heart attack, so by that evening I went to a local ER. Heart enzymes normal, EKG normal, but X-ray of lungs showed shadows suggestive of pulmonary fibrosis; I was then sent home. Difficulty catching breath during the night kept me up. Then I started coughing up blood. Next visit to ER I was diagnosed with pneumonia (102° fever and elevated white blood cell count) and admitted to the hospital, but I had extra symptoms that puzzled the doctors, until my wife and another doctor who used to be my primary care physician back before I even met my wife (was a college chemistry professor at the time) both concluded that there was a heart component. I was admitted and went into cardiogenic shock the next day (12/11) and was aggressively diuresed by the on call cardiologist until I was stable (barely) enough for Life Flight (helicopter ambulance) to Boise, where I was in critical condition and was in surgery 40 minutes after arrival. I'll tell the rest of the story in the appropriate posting area.
Diagnosis was flail mitral valve. I was opened by medial sternotomy and my mitral valve was repaired with annuloplasty and reinforced with a Dacron ring. My heart was otherwise given a clean bill of health including absolutely no sign of even incipient atherosclerosis and completely normal other valves. I was so sick with the pneumonia combined with the pulmonary edema from the cardiogenic shock I was given 15% chance of dying despite the surgery and about 50% chance of lasting brain damage or other disability. I beat those odds by the grace of God.
I was left intubated an extra day due to the lung problems, but thanks to a good cough (yes used the coughing pillow bear) I was able to clear my lungs and was breathing room air within three days. Was able to ascend and descend stairs on the fourth day much to the delight of the physical therapist.
Got a "Sir-Koff-Alot" teddy bear for use during coughing and sneezing--I carefully avoided sneezing by pressing fingers in my nostrils in a certain way for six weeks. At first the progress was good, but my heart rate, which was in the low 80s in the hospital, gradually rose through the 90s and stabilized near 100 bpm. At first I could walk several miles and eagerly looked forward to full resumption of normal activities, but lately my endurance has fallen way off. My bpm briefly reached 115 minimum resting pulse a few days ago and we switched from Troprol to Cardiazem, and now I'm experiencing possible symptoms of pericardial effusion--dry cough, narrow BP readings: 110/90, and many episodes of moderate shortness of breath. My belly is also bulging outward in an uncharacteristic way. Strangely, I don't seem to have as much trouble with shortness of breath when carrying buckets of water for my chickens, feed sacks, or my kids, as I do when I have normal conversations. If anything makes me anxious for some reason I tend to become really short of breath and have to sit down wherever I am. I'm afraid to pursue aerobic exercise now. I had tried a piece of aerobic exercise equipment when my resting pulse was about 100 and went to 152, but the rate did not go below 120 for two days after this (three days ago). Since then it has gone down to high 90s with Cardiazem, but the other symptoms I mentioned have gotten worse.
I hope this type of post is okay for this forum, as I'm depressed, but my wife is frequently in tears about me. She, as a trained physician with ER experience, had seen my very critical readings both before and shortly after surgery. In her experience (18 years) she had never seen anyone recover from the telemetry she saw on me, but the ICU doctor told her I was actually improving. I was unconscious of course, but she saw it all. Every time I get even a slightly bad day she falls to pieces and cries a lot. She's not normally a weepy person, but since the surgery it seems that she, not I, has developed PTSD and has flashbacks. How do I help her, and are my pericardial effusion symptoms severe enough to go to the ER or wait for a scheduled appointment with the cardiologist this Monday?
Is it okay to try to do aerobic workouts, such as running or using a Health-Glider clone exerciser or trampoline? Or should I cautiously sit it out? I need to take down two display cases full of precious opal Sunday night, and am wondering if it's safe for me to do so. Lifting restrictions are off and I experienced no pain during the table and case setups--I assembled 15 cases and about 5 tables for the show and was able to drive 18 miles back home afterward. I slept over 10 hours last night and was weak and somewhat short of breath all day today--the reduced BP range started today, too.
How bad is the procedure for draining the pericardium if it's necessary to do so?
Thanks ahead of time for any tips or pointers you may have to help with the recovery issues.
