AR Sponsor
Posted: 6/11/2005 8:02:09 AM EDT
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Friend had a stress test, the doc told her heart is only pumping at 53% . She is sill waiting for doctor appt. to find out the problem. She needs your prayers!! thanks 
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An EF of 53% is not bad. EF = Ejection Fraction. 80% is as high as you can go. I know people with EF's of 10-15% that live with it. You friend just needs to follow up with a cardiologist, and it may be as simple as she has hypertension, and needs to lower her blood pressure with medication. ETA to keep this on AR's: Take her out shooting! |
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My mother had aortic stenosis(sp) basically a leaky valve as I understand it. She had 20% of normal function and was always short of breath and fairly weak. My mother lived for about 8 months in this condition. She was apparently too weak for surgery. The only advice I can give is if they suggest surgery do it early and get it taken care of before it becomes so serious that nothing can be done. Unfortunately my mother passed away in October Dont let your friend wait for fear of what may happen, she has to do what the docs suggest and not play any games with it.
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Sorry to hear about your mom!!!!! |
I am sorry to hear about your Mom. Yes, stenosis of the aortic value is a tough one. We grade those also. Your Mom's heart was working overtime to compensate to get her heart to 20%. |
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Smoking is probably the worst thing someone can do to their heart and lungs. Not only does the smoke contain long-term poisons, nicotine affects the muscular walls of the arteries, making them less capable of moving blood efficiently. The cardiac arteries are particularly sensitive to this affect. Stenosis is a narrowing, so aortic stenosis is a narrowing or constricting of the aorta. Since the aorta is THE artery leaving the heart to distribute oxygenated blood to the rest of the body, a stenosis is a major problem. Further, with a reduced capacity to pass the blood, a stenosed aorta presents a large back pressure problem to the aortic valve, which can mean back-leakage and valve damage as well. STOP SMOKING NOW, and you reduce the chance of smoking-related heart and lung problems almost immediately. Since the vast majority of heart and lung disease in the U.S. today is caused by or seriously contributed to by smoking, we could have a significantly heart-and lung-healthier country in just a few years if the majority of smokers just quit. Sure, smoking is your choice, but think about how your health affects your family and friends. My mother was killed by her long-term smoking, and she's just as dead as if she'd been run over by a truck. But the fact that she was sick for so long, and that she went through many treatments that were supposed to help her but didn't, made her death so much more painful to everyone around her. Please think about this, and I'll step down off my soapbox. |
| My mother was also a lifelong smoker, I sincerely believe it contributed to the problem. I also credit her health for my never smoking. Please try very hard to make your friend quit, it's too late for my mom. I often wonder how she would be today had she never smoked. |
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