congestive heart failure

I was diagnosed with chf, 3rd stage block and a 2 lead pacemaker was installed becuase my heart rate was down to 30. I don't understand why my pulmonologist keeps adding breathing stuff like spiriva and the lastest to add to that, advair. the advair is contraindicated as it may cause asthma, severe reactions, even death. pacer has worked fine for 3 1/2 years. does anyone else use these?

5 Comments

chf

by mikej - 2010-02-12 04:02:42

i have chf and have those exact puffers,but the advair was only temporary i only use spariva now,they give you those for copd.my ef was 28%

Coreg

by Jack - 2010-02-12 10:02:06

My ef was 35% but is now 55% and the drs. attribute it to Coreg. Nothing else seemed to affect it. Might be worth a look.

advair

by justme - 2010-02-12 11:02:11

One of my major "heart" complaints was shotness of breath and lack of oxygen, all the Dr's (not my cardio) put me on advair, singulair and a couple of other inhaled meds prior to doing any breathing testing....I was shocked when I saw that some of the main side effects of taking them was developing asthma (and stopped taking them, shhh don't tell!) I only use the steroid stuff when I absolutely cannot function without it. However, after my last ablation a month ago I have not had any breathing issues whatso ever. I would check with your cardio and if you don't have asthma there may be some heart meds that can help take off some of the swelling and inflamation that leads to difficulty breathing.

CHF and pulmonary issues

by ElectricFrank - 2010-02-13 02:02:02

If CHF is bad enough it can cause fluid in the lungs etc. You didn't mention any respiratory symptoms though which would make me question if you are at that point.

At the very least ask for documented reasons for the treatment. Too often these things are just done as part of a standard treatment plan. I find that asking for justification often eliminates the need for meds with undesirable side effects.

frank

inhaler

by cc49 - 2010-02-14 05:02:21

hi reading about this and having had proventil inhaler & lasix prescribed then having icd put in was i diagnosed with wrong thing or what. i went to dr he said i have copd ended up in hospital with icd and told i had heart attack while back.... right before thanksgiving 2009 this just happened recently jan 12th icd put in...now i don't use inhaler at all knock on wood....wow

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I am 100% pacemaker dependant and have been all my life. I try not to think about how a little metal box keeps me alive - it would drive me crazy. So I lead a very active life.