Carol's congestive heart failure (CHF) testimony 1/28/19 

UCHEALTH in Colorado Springs documented CHF on my mother’s med record but failed to communicate this new diagnosis to her. She has had SOB for 10 months, significant reduction in quality of life, the doctors/specialists that she’s seen all say it’s “old age”. I insisted on getting a new PCP, first visit the PA told her about the CHF diagnosis now we wait for staging. Thank you for this informative video, someday maybe healthcare in Colorado Springs will be half as good as Denver!

Omgosh!! My story is identical! My EF is 17% I thought I was having anxiety 😟. I could not breathe, feet legs face were so swollen with fluid. My stomach was hard as a rock and I got to a point where I started refusing food. Even at that point starting puking, if I did try to eat. Can not handle large amounts of fluid. Drinking Fluids made my breathing worse. I ignored all these symptoms over a course of a couple months. Until one Day after work, I felt like I was suffocating or downing slowly feeling. Off to the ER, and was diagnosed with Heart failure. I was shocked!! I’m only 49. I am now wearing a life Vest 24-7, and waiting for my Cardiologist to tell me what’s next. In the mean time, I have been put on 4 medications. Still can’t lay flat or on my left side. I do feel better since the hospital got about 20lbs of fluids off me. Exhaustion is still severe. I also have Pernicious Anemia. I felt relief hearing her story. We are definitely not alone ♥️

Im a Christian and I have faith and you and your doctors interview, gives me hope. GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR DOCTORS!!!!!!! 🙏❤

Heart failure happened to me. Intubated twice and then the third time they were going to let me go. I did breathe and stayed in the hospital and then a nursing home/rehabilitation center. Had to learn to walk again. Taking heart meds now will probably the rest of my life. Thank God for the medicines that are saving my life.

God bless you Carol 🙏

Thank you for talking about the fear! --Bonnie Robinson

I can relate to this so much. I was in Jamaica visiting my husband (who lived there at the time) in October. Last night of my vacation before I flew back home, I started coughing up pink foam in the bathroom and could not catch my breath. I had recently overcome bronchitis just prior to my trip so I thought this was just a complication that I would get checked once I was home. I picked up a rescue inhaler from a pharmacy on my way to the airport so I could get home without passing out because I was so short of breath. Went to the ER the next day and spent 8 hours getting a battery of tests, then was sent home without treatment. Several tests were abnormal and the ER doctor noticed a murmur upon auscultation. He referred me to a cardiologist and ordered an echo. Both confirmed severe aortic stenosis. Another month went by and I ended up in ER again with same signs of SOB and foamy substance that I coughed up. During the time between the previous visit and this one, I couldn’t lay flat to sleep because of fluid on my lungs which one could hear just while sitting next to me. Another 8 hours in the ER and doc only gave me a warfarin injection for “asthma.” 🤷‍♀️. Fast forward 5 months of the same SOB, fluid on the lungs and foam when I coughed until I dropped down at home one morning and my husband called 911. Firefighters put me on oxygen and ambulance transferred me to ER where I was admitted and put on injectable lasix (a diuretic). Over the next few hours, I urinated off 35 pounds of fluid and was taken to the cardiac care ward. I stayed there for 2 weeks until my angiogram which revealed a 98% blocked right coronary artery. Surgery for aortic valve replacement and CABG was scheduled thereafter. I’m in healthcare and was in complete denial even though I understood what my healthcare team described to me. My mind couldn’t comprehend this was happening as I felt “fine” other than being SOB and having this annoying cough (which I still attributed to recovering from bronchitis). Now I’m 5 months post open heart surgery and still can’t believe I went through this experience. My new reality is that I have CAD and a weak heart. I am on fluid restriction and a low sodium eating plan. I’m embracing my new diet plan as I’ve been able to recognize how poor my diet was prior to surgery (which likely directly affected my RCA). I don’t know how many years I have left or if I’ll have to undergo this surgery again in future but for now, I’m living one day at a time.

I'm a mental health professional and I let my symptoms go on for 6 weeks before acknowledging that what I was experiencing was not just "anxiety" and accepted that my coping skills were just postponing returning symptoms. I finally drove myself to urgent care. They referred me to the ED because they couldn't rule out that I was having a heart attack. The ED staff was great and I was admitted that night. I came home on Lasix, Spironolactone, Lisinopril, Isosorbide, and 2 other PRN meds. Unfortunately, I ALSO came home on insulin injections 4x/day because my lab showed I am also diabetic with an A1C of 12.2. I'm glad I can breathe now...but I really miss my energy. The fatigue bites! My journey just started. I was just discharged March 24, 2022. No idea what's in store. Thank you for this video.

I suffer Heart Failure! It's been a year now. My heart is at 47 percent infraction. I started off at a 25 percent

My heart is at 25 percent infraction and with this disease I get terribly scared on top of feeling vulnerable and helpless at times. What really hit home was when she was saying that people look at you like your normal because you look normal but don't understand how difficult normal life is to me and might think im just being lazy and dont want to do anything just because when that definitely is not the case and that bothers me a lot. This story sounds exactly like mine thank you so much for sharing your story.

My story starts off 25 years ago with my first heart attack treated with an angioplasty. Over time I developed angina on exertion but not severe enough to stop me from my activities. 12 years ago I had another heart attack bad enough to require a triple bypass. Once again I bounced back doing pretty good until a few years later when I started developing adema in my feet and lower legs. Over the next few years I started having more severe dyspnea and angina, fatigue and a decreasing ability to get around without extreme difficulty. I have been tended to and medicated through phase 1 and 2 CHF by my doctors. This January I had severe VTAC episodes putting me in the hospital again but this time getting and ICD implanted. Ive had stents, grafts, all the medicine there is and now an ICD installed putting me firmly in phase 3 CHF. It's an up and down rollercoaster of feeling fine and then feeling terrible in a declining spiral right now. At 71 there's not much more that medical science can do for me. I'm doing fine today but tomorrow never knows.

I was diagnosed with congested heart failure am worried, but seeing your testimony am encourage even though I'm from poor family treatment is very difficult for me

Drugs with Mortality benefit in Heart Failure with reduced Ejection fraction are 1. ARNIs/ACEI/ARBs 2. Beta blockers 3. Spironolactone 4. Hydralazine/Nitrate 5. Ivabradine 6. SGLT2 Inhibitors

My symptoms lasted for several months on and off a little bit of swelling and then it got to where I was very swollen and I could not breathe at all I couldn't lay down I thought I was having panic attacks even as I pass out throwing up with my head spinning in a horrible migraine I still played it off like it was something not so serious.. I went have blood work done and they told me the next day go straight to the hospital.. they proceed to tell my heart's at 15 percent EF.. have a clot in a left ventricle and also two blocked arteries.. I went into the hospital weighing 185 lb and came out weighing 115 lb because I had so much fluid on me when I went in.. It was about 9 months ago.. and I actually haven't even seen a cardiologist yet because of insurance issues and some things getting messed up at the hospital with my disability and I was just so patient.. 😂 however I have been seeing a PA at a low-cost clinic since then has had me on spironolactin losartan carvedilol warfarin & furosemide.. and I was admitted to the hospital last month and we were thinking it was hard issues turned out that my kidneys were backed up.. but they did a EKG and a sonogram on my heart and the clots are gone my valves are open and my heart is at 60% EF. I think the main thing I've done was actually helping is I've been exercising frequently.

Thank you so much for sharing your story! It was very informative. God bless.

I am 31 😞 with two kids, my EF was 15-20% and was dealing with chest burning for a couple years. Then my heart burned and congestion built up doing regular things like brushing my teeth. I have CHF because of an aortic valve that needed replacing and I HAD NO IDEA. I went to the hospital a year and a half before they told me it was Anxiety, my regular cardiologist said it was an insignificant heart murmur/ 8 months later it was severe leaky aortic valve 😢

Your story is almost identical to mine. Glad you are doing well!

For those that have high cornary calcium scores! I had a 660 CAC and have been able to reduce it to 458 on the Linus Pauling Heart Protocol in just 20 months. This high dose vitamin C with Lysine and Proline. I also use magnesium glycinate as an assist.

Was your heart enlarged as well or not? 55% heart output that's Awesome!

Thank you for this video. Doctor told me I have heart failure, it's very confusing and I have appt with a cardiologist in a month. To me that seems like a long time, considering how I feel. I have a lot of water I suppose and gained weight like overnight. Its hard to breathe and walk.

why do they make these videos and they don't respond

How are you doing today Carol

I was wondering what causes her congestive heart failure. My doctor is test me for Amyloidosis.

The nurse interrupts too much

Is Carol still alive?

i 50 years old just and my ef is 35-39

Amy Adams eyes

All thanks to doctor Alued on RU-vid who cure me from heart disease thank you #doctoralued

6:09

carol TSA

Everone that us dealing with this as I am here is new innovation: Barostim