Heart pumping rate

[iamnickname]

Hi,

My father is 60 years old. He had difficulty in swallowing hard food ( the intake of soft and liquid food is not a problem). Also he gets cough suddenly. He also has swelling of legs. We consulted the doctor and the blood tests, scanning , X-ray, Eco, ECG were done. The doctors say that the lungs is filled with water, and the creatinine content in kidney is 2.2. The oxygen pumping rate is 32%. However my father has not suffered from any heart attack, neither he smokes or drinks. The doctor say the heart pumping rate is the main cause of fluid in his body. And once the pumping rate increases, all the other problems like difficulty in swallowing, coughing, swelling of legs will no longer be present.

His apitite has reduced from past one month, and he has become weak. Is there a way to improve his heart pumping rate?  Are there any risk with this pumping rate. Can the pumping rate be improved by intake of medicine?

Please help out. Thanks in advance.

[iamnickname]

Thank you :)

[iamnickname]

Hmmm. Thanks for the answer :)

[tacolino]

Hi. Good to hear the Edema is being controlled. It will improve slowly, so please be a bit patient. Its going the right way though, thank god.

[iamnickname]

Thanks for the reply. His BP and sugar are normal. The oxygen flow to the body is a little less. Can this be improved by just taking tablets? (Want my dad to be treated by medicines, so asking this question.)

[iamnickname]

Thanks for the reply. Yes the fluid intake is limited to 1 litre/day. Almost 8ltrs of fluid is removed from his body. He is improving. However, cough still persists. Will cough reduce, once the fluid in the lungs get cleared? The doc is giving tablets to improve his EF.

[Ger57]

A cough is a common side effect of the edema, so there is a good chance that it will go away, once the amount of body fluids is normalized again.

1 liter/day is very low. It will take quite some discipline to stick to that, but it is probably necessary.
Lets hope that the medication improves the EF so in time his fluid intake may be set higher than the 1liter.


  

[tacolino]

Hi there. It seems like your father may benefit from Diuretic medication. These help clear fluid from the body. The 32% is his EF i think. It measures how effectively the heart is pumping. When it reduces like this, it can be responsible for the symptoms you list. Of course its very important that its identified whats causing it. How is his BP? As high BP over a long period can cause reduced EF. If its controlled  the EF can improve. I think its important to realise that most Heart Meds need time to start working. Its possible for it to seem worse before it gets better. Also the meds do have side effects. These may make the patient feel worse than before they started! Generally things improve with time. I know its hard to be patient in these circumstances!! Your doctors are best placed to offer their profession advice to your father.

[Ger57]

The 32% you mention is the ejection fraction of the heart which is normally between 55 and 70%. When this EF is low, swelling (edema) can occur as well as shortness of breath, tiredness etc.

Your doctor is right that the goal is to increase EF.
How this can be done depends on the cause of the low EF.
Medication can in some cases increase EF.

The edema can perhaps be better managed by limiting the salt intake and the fluid intake. You should discuss this with your doctor if not already discussed.

If the EF does not increase again, your father may benefit from a medical device called an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD).