Coreg for heart failure
Common Questions and Answers about Coreg for heart failure
coreg
Six years ago I had enlarged (remodeled) left ventricle and an EF 19-29% and hospitalized for heart failure...no symptoms until CHF...thought I was very healthy, and shocked to hear I had had a silent heart attack). I have been taking the same medication as your husband to reduce the heart's workload and today my heart is normal size and pumping adequately.
Normal EF is 55 to 75% and is the amount of blood pumped into circulation with each heartbeat. When the EF gets below 30%, that may indicate heart failure as that may not be enough blood/oxygen to meet the system's demand. This condition will cause shortness of breath, fatigue, etc. Many people live a productive life without much limitation in daily living with an EF in the 40's.
I had a minor heart attack in August 2008 and I had 5 stents put in. I was started on coreg 6.25 two tmes per day. The dr recently reduced me to 3.125 because of weight gain. I am still gaining weight. I decided to stop it altogether and did not tell my dr. My resting pulse is up as well as my pulse rate upon exertion. I just stopped the coreg. Will this regulate itself in a few days.
50 mg is very often prescribed for Cardiomyopathy and Conjestive Heart Failure. Often the dose is bumped up over a period of time. I was inititally prescribed 3.175 mg twice a day, and it made me very tired, but as my body got used to it, I started taking larger and then again larger dosages until I reached 50 mg. It's a very effective medication for many people, but some people just can't tolerated it.
It could be dangerous to stop the Coreg as the heart gets used to it. Stopping beta blockers could cause heart failure. You can talk it over with your doctor to make sure, but I am sure that he or she will wean you off slowing if that is what is decided. Coreg, in my opinion, is one of the best beta blockers.
She has done pretty well except for the fact it caused conjestive heart failure. last februray her heart defibulator started firing alot because of racing heart. At the same time her platelets dropped dramatically to 1700,white cells are up and her stool turned cream colored. She has had a bone marrow biopsy which was negative for cancer. We still dont have any answers.
The medical decision was treat the enlarged left ventricle and occluded vessels with lisinopril and coreg. Currently, my heart is a normal size and EF is 59%, but I still have moderate to severe MVR...the doctors thought if and when the heart returned to normal size the MVR would improve, it didn't. I don't have any symptoms, and if I have shortage of breath, fatigue, chest pain, etc. there would be intervention on the MVR.
My brother who is 69 years old has Type 2 diabetes, have had a stroke, high blood pressure, heart bypass surgery and now he has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He takes 160 mg. of Lasix per day and Potassium 3 times per day. His legs and feet are swelling, he cannot lie down to sleep because he has problem breathing when he lays down. He has major swelling in both sbove and below his waist.
He has me dropping to 12.5 of the Coreg and 50mg of the Tenormin twice a day for 4 days and then 6.25 Coreg and 50 Tenormin twice a day for 4 days, and then only the Tenormin 50 to 75 twice a day depending on BP numbers.
Any one have any knowledge or thoughts about this?
BTW I trust my Cardiologist but am nervous anytime I have to change meds!
My mother has congestive heart failure, pacemaker/defib, stent, only one working valve. They were not able to place a 2nd stent due to blockage. They did not do open heart surgery due to high risk and because her size (very thin). Recently, she was hospitalized for low b.p. , dehydration, and kidney function, low urine output, UTI. They replaced fluids and removed a lot of the b.p. lowering meds, including isosorbide, due to the concern of the low b.p.
This lightens the workload for heart to pump against by dilating the vessels. Coreg also has a component to stabilize heart rate. Do you or is it suspected you may be susceptable to tachyarrhythmia. A TWA and Coreg medication seem to imply.
You can take a stress test, with the injection of a dye substance, to determine the viability of the damaged heart muscle.
I had an MI 4 years ago with an EF29-13% and some heart muscle damage at the distal portion of the heart.
My Dad was diagnosed several years ago with congestive heart failure. We have always found ourselves concerned with keeping his blood pressure from being too high. In the past 8 months he has been hospitalized about a dozen times for fluid overload. He has had to stop working and is basically home bound if not bed ridden some days. His blood pressure has now dropped to anywhere from 110 - 90 on the top and 40-55 on the bottom. Is this a sign that his heart has gotten worse?
Coreg is a very powerful beta blocker, but in my opinion very good at restoring heart function. It usually is started with 3.175mg twice a day dose, and it takes a couple of weeks to get used to it. In my case, it knocked me sideways until my body got used to it. Eventually I was taking 50mg with no side effects, but it was a difficult journey. I have Congestive Heart Failure, and close to 3 1/2 times your age.
I'd talk to your doctor about taking a less invasive Beta Blocker.
On Jan 19th she had a heart attack and went into congestive heart failure. They life flighted her to a bigger hospital. They did a angiogram finding no blockage. Which made them to believe she might of had a blood clot. She was on a respirator for a few days. They tried to take her off but she went into heart failure again. Which caused her lungs to fill up again. a couple days later she was able to be put on a bpap machine and then from there just oxygen. but again her lungs filled up again.
We usually use EECP for uncontrolled angina which is not controlled with medications well. It will do nothing for your heart failure but definitely can help angina. It is safe and does not come with any risks, so if you are on good anti-anginal medications such as beta-blockers (I know you are on Coreg) and nitrates and/or ranexa and you are still having angina then I would recommend EECP if we could not fix anything with another stent.
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