Vasotec (ic enalapril maleate)

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K

Kym

Hi friends!
(i have a bicuoid aortic valve. last echo showed 3+ leak)

I just had my appt w/ my new cardiologist. He was excellent!
he did however say that the mumor "was not subtle". that surprised me because drs. usually have a hard time hearing it if they do at all. Is that an indication that i am steadly approaching the need for surgey? he did an echo to take a look, I should have that back next week. He also put me on vasotec. this is my first time taking any heart medication and i am nervous about it. Any insight?

thanks!
Kym
 
Hi Kym,

Doesn't sound like you necessarily need surgery right away, depending on the echo results, but, even if not, you are evidently going down the same road to surgery that many of us have already traversed.

Keep in mind, though, that cardiologists vary in how 'aggressive' they are in recommending surgery.

My first recommendation for surgery was over 25 years ago. A second opinion said that I might make it another few years, perhaps 5, 10, or even 20, before needing surgery if I took care of myself and properly managed my condition with meds, etc.

However, my symptoms finally worsened this last year and then I ended up in the ER and admitted to the hospital. Not surprisingly at that point, a number of different cardiologists and surgeons all concurred that my time was up and I should have surgery ASAP, which I did last May.

So, I would suggest not taking just one doctor's advice on when to have surgery unless your symptoms are severe. When a variety of doctors all concur, though, you better do it.

Hope this helps and Good Luck.
 
wow! that is great news that you were able to wait so long for surgery. May i ask were you a moderate leak and lasted 25 years w/o surgery or was it a mild leak? Where you put on Vasotec? i was just put on that and am concerend by taking medication.

thansk so much for your response!
 
hi kym! my husband, joey is finally going in for surgery this wed, 9/12. we've been married just about 18 years and when i met him 19 yrs ago, he told me he would need avr in the future. i consider us to have been soooo lucky to have made it this long before even considering surgery.

about vasotec.... i think joey's cardiologist put him on it about 5 years ago (timehas gone so quickly). he took 5 mg twice a day. it was to make it so his heart would not have to work as hard. he cut back to half this dose about a month ago when we scheduled surgery.

i must tell you that he actually called it a "wonder drug". i don't know if it contributed to this but joey had a cath done today and the cardiologist said that his heart is in great shape, considering how much pressure there is on the left side. also, his right side has compensated for the poor functioning on the left side, but not too much so. it is not enlarged to any major degree.
joey has always worked out up until recently (shortness of breath) and i'm sure that's a big factor. i 'm not sure, but i can't help but believe the vasotec may have helped in easing the workload on his heart.

i can't remember what side effects he had, if any, because he was also taking other meds.
hope this helped.
good luck!
-sylvia
 
The most common side effect of enalapril is a nagging cough with a little tickle in the back of the throat. You hardly ever get phlegm up with this type of cough. If this happens, ask your doctor about switching to another, similar drug.
 
No problem sharing, Kym, since so many others have shared with us too.

My leak was moderate from the time I first noticed symptoms over 25 years ago. I attribute the delay in absoluately needing surgery to living a relatively good life style and good meds.

I was on Procardia/Adalat for about six years before my afib episode that landed me in the hospital, and after that for three months until surgery I was on enalapril (Vasotec) and something else I don't remember the name of right now (one was an ACE inhibitor and the other a beta-blocker; I don't remember which is the enalapril and which the other, pumphead that I am!). The enalapril did cause me the irritating cough that allodwick refers to, but I just tolerated it. If I would have had to take it much longer, though, I think I would have gotten real tired of it.

After surgery, I was on a bunch of meds for about a month, and since then, I have been med-free for the first time in many, many years, and doing just great. So, there's some chance that surgery can actually decrease or eliminate the need for meds, which I think is an awesome outcome.

Good luck and let us know how the echo results go.
 
sylvia-
thank you so much for your reply! that is wonderful that joey was able to hold out for so long. It must have been nerve racking for you to know that getting into the relationship. your email made me feel so much better knowing that people can hold out for so many years and that taking the mediciane is actually helpful! I am slightly over whelmed as I am only 25 and have only know about the leak for a short period of time- I have always been healthy. I am not use to taing medicane.

As far as your husbands surgey on wednesday...GOOD LUCK! what time does he go in? i will say a prayer at that time for him and for you. The wait will be hard i am sure but it sounds like he is in good shape with th dr's saying his heart is in great shape. i have heard of several people on this site and others going in w/ their heart in horrible shape and still coming out on top.

thanks again sylvia. I wish you and your husband a speady recovery! pls. keep me posted.
 
Steve-

thanks! 25 years! man, you are a tough one! Now I wish I got put on the med sooner. It seems to have helped you and sylvia's husband. my last cardiologist said it would do me more harm then good bc my blood pressure is on the low side. What a differnece dr's make!

It sounds to me like the cough is well worth the benifts. I think of it like this- I am lucky there is a medicane for me. so many other peple are sick and there is nothing for them, people have cancer and go thru horrible cemo. So have nothing to complain about. I was just feeling overwhelmed. I am only on 2.5mg so i have no cough yet. just an "off"stomach.

did you check your blood presure when you were on it? my dr. has me checking mine. I got a cool wrist one. i doesn;t take much to amuse me.

it is good to know that you are now med free! that must feel great! I hope it stays that way for you!

I will let you know about the echo.

thanks so much!
 
You're very welcome.

I naturally have blood pressure on the low side too. All the meds put me on border line almost too low, so that whenever they did any procedures, like a cardiac cath, I would get faint. Once, I accidentally double dosed before a dental appointment and passed out in the chair!

I was 26 when I first experienced symptoms and was told I needed surgery, close to what you are now. Along with mainstream meds, I took alternative meds for most of the 25 years that I managed to delay the surgery. Whatever you can do to reduce strain on your heart will be very helpful, not only in terms of meds but diet, lifestyle, etc. too.

For the last 6 years, I have worked in a hospital, so always had doctor and nurse friends around to check my blood pressure. Believe me, it's much easier to deal with the lower blood pressure problem than the higher one!

Good luck again and keep in touch.
 
kym,
what steve just said sounds very familiar to me. joey's heart rate is really slow. in fact, he was in a-fib when he went for his cath this past week (he converted on his ownto sinus rhythm though :p and the nurses couldn't find a pulse!!! they ended up marking up his feet when/where they found one.

what symptoms do you have? do you get short of breath? light headed? have you had a cath? it's amazing but joey's valve deteriorated so rapidly over the last 6 months. when they did the cath they said that the opening was no more thatn a pinhole!
it's a good thing that he's doing this sooner than later. as i said, we were really lucky to have had that many years without real worry.

thanks for the prayers. i'll try and post updates when i come home to our girls each night (if i'm not too exhausted).
this forum has been such a wonderful support to us, everyone is so giving of themselves. i truly cannot express our appreciation and gratitude.

thank you all,
sylvia
 
steve,
hi! you mentioned bouts with a-fib.... did you have these frequently or just occasionally? joey has had bouts with a-fib for the last 6-8 years (he might have had 3 incidences in one year and then none for 2 yrs_ totally inconsistent). all times except one did he convert on his own andhe only had one cardioversion. the dr put him on betapace/sotolol prophylactically andit reallyhas helped. last week, 3 days before his cath, he went inot fib. what awful luck!!!! after the cath, knowing he had this upcoming surgery they put him on lovenox. i had to inject him twice a day and i am needle phobic. boy, did we laugh a lot! maybe that's what helped him convert back to sinus rhythm on his own. meanwhile, as a precaution for clots forming, he stayed on the lovenox. to make a long story short, i went to his office today to go over some books,etc. and found him in the bathroom bleeding from his incision! he spent the rest of the day in bed . the bleeding has stopped. the lovenox is history and pre-op is tomorrow morning. then we come home to be with our girls and after they are settled down, we return to nyc to sleep across the street from the hospital and head for surgery at 6 am on sed. i'm glad joey's the first surgery of the day. hopefully, he won;t look as bad when the girls come to see him at night.

sorry to be running off at the mouth, i do this when i 'm nervous (talk a lot).
you too have been so helpful to us in making our decision_thank you so very, very much.
everyone is so wonderful here ; you've all saved my sanity!

i'll be in touch as i can.
-sylvia
 
hi kym!
sorry... a-fib (and don't quote me on this) is an arrhythmia in heartbeat. it can cause lightheadedness and shortness for breath. unlike ventricular fibrillation, atrial fibrillation (a-fib) is less serious. the biggest risk involved with a-fib is that when the area of the heart that is not pumping in rhythm pools blood in that area, clots can form and travel (risk of stroke). that is why they prescribe blood thinners in addition to drugs that will keep your heart in sinus rhythm or convert it back to it.

i'm not sure where i saw it, but i now have joey taking magnesium pills to prevent a-fib. i can't believe they work this fast, but he did convert on his own after a week of being on them.

hope this helps. be well!
-sylvia
 
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