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Question about Congestive Heart Failure?
My husband's grandmother is 85 years old and we living in a nursing home due to severe confusion and dementia. We live in TN and she lives in OH so we aren't there to talk to the doctors. Her son sends us emails very frequently to update us on her condition and we just recently found out that she has fluid around her heart and lungs and is in the later stages of congestive heart failure. Her son has called hospice in along with her care at the nursing home. He said she is currently on medication for the fluid but it will eventually quit working and there will be nothing that they can do for her! We are very close to her and my husband and I are beside ourselves worrying how long she has left but we do not have the heart to ask his uncle how long they think she has left. Does anyone have any experience with this? Or how long she may have left? Thank you so much!!!
She is on daily supplements due to weight loss but they are not working, she is rapidly losing weight.
3 Answers
- photoguy_ryanLv 61 decade agoFavorite Answer
I have had CHF for 6 years. I got it, and other things, when I was 42.
The big thing is 2 take off fluid, with diuretics if possible, or by limiting the amount she drinks in a day. Being older and infirm, if she is always in bed, it could exacerbate the condition. I have to often sleep sitting up still.
Is she overweight? IS her weightloss from fluid removal, or is it because of not eating?
Ask specific questions, otherwise her other son and doctors may not give you as much info as you like. Doctors generally suck at dispensing info, so go talk to a nurse that is caring for her. They will usually take more time explaining things.
- J BLv 71 decade ago
There is no answer to your question because with good medical management which is monitoring for daily weight gain and taking medications which increase the strength of the heart contractions plus a daily diuretic, this can be managed for a long, long time. And, if there is ANY health question about your loved ones, "not having the heart to ask" is foolish. You need this information on a regular basis so that, in the case that she might suddenly get worse, you can then decide to make a rapid trip to see her. And, to understand what this is, you can go to WebMd.com and type in congestive heart failure in the search line and read up on this condition.
Source(s): Health care provider - Anonymous1 decade ago
Elizabeth Taylor died from congestive heart failure after spending two months in the hospital. She was diagnosed in 2004.
Source(s): http://www.theheart.org/article/1201555.do
