Hi:

I am a 47 year old woman who has rheumatoid arthritis. 5 years ago I took ENBREL, since then I have gone through a medical nightmare. I suddenly developed atrial fib, then congestive heart failure, then endometrial hyperplasia (pre-cancer), then severe anemia, then another bout of congestive heart failure (oh had lots of unsuccessful cardioversions), then more atrial fib, the was diagnosed with stage 3 lymphoma after having a CT in order to do an ablation. Chemo was tough, but successful and I am now in remission for past 6 months. Unfortunately, the adriamycin killed my heart muscle and I was dx with dilated cardiomyopathy. I actually was admitted to the hospital after an unsuccessful cardioversion, and then went into cardiogenic shock. I guess I nearly died a few times that night, but they were able to put in an interaortic balloon pump. A few days later, I had it taken out, and then a few days after than I had an ICD put in. 2 weeks later I had a severe pain in my chest, went to ER and discovered that one of the leads had poked through my heart wall and I was bleeding into my pericardium. Had to have unit taken out, lead replaced and then they put te device back in.

My big question is that now that I have the ICD will my heart stabilize and will I ever have any energy again? Besides the constant worry about a remission of the lymphoma, I also worry about my heart getting worse, and knowing that I would not be eligible for a heart transplant until I am either 3 or 5 years cancer free.

Not really sure how to handle this recovery and how much of my life I will be able to gain back.

Thanks.
Ingrid

 

 

You sure have been through the ringer!!!

Only your doctor can tell you if it will give you more energy and keep your heart from getting worse. I'd like to be able to tell you that the ICD will fix everything but they're not magic cure-alls. The pacemaker part of the device will make sure your heart won't miss beats or go too slowly. The ICD will reset your heart if fibrillation gets out of control or it stops. They're an excellent safety net but neither of them can force your heart muscle to respond. They can help your heart function by synchronizing the beats, but it can't make your heart beat stronger.

Congratulations on your remission, may you stay that way.

 

Ingrid,
According to your bio, you actually have a CRT-D which is cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator. That device is basically the same as a bi-ventricular ICD. The good news is that they've had great success with resynchronization therapy helping cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure patients.

Tracey is right that your doctor will have to answer this question for you, but I'd expect you will see stabilization and perhaps some improvement as well. Typical improvement is seen within 3-6 months if it's going to happen.

You might also enquire about LVAD's with your cardiologist. These are now being implanted like a defibrillator and are intended to negate the need for a transplant. It's a pump that actually cycles the blood for your left ventricle.

 

Ingrid,
According to your bio, you actually have a CRT-D which is cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator. That device is basically the same as a bi-ventricular ICD. The good news is that they've had great success with resynchronization therapy helping cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure patients.

Tracey is right that your doctor will have to answer this question for you, but I'd expect you will see stabilization and perhaps some improvement as well. Typical improvement is seen within 3-6 months if it's going to happen.

You might also enquire about LVAD's with your cardiologist. These are now being implanted like a defibrillator and are intended to negate the need for a transplant. It's a pump that actually cycles the blood for your left ventricle.