water around the heart

All that has happened has just been topped off with water around the heart. It is painful. I hate breathing even. Has anyone else been through this?

lydia

2 Comments

Pericardial Window

by donb - 2012-03-25 12:03:10

Hello Lydia, I just had the above surgery & am recovering from the results of having fluid around my heart. My problem came after having a Lexiscan stress test. As having heart stent I have had regular stress tests without any side effects from the radioactive dye & dialation injection. With my recent Lexiscan stress test I had a severe reaction to the chemicals causing liver & kidney problem along with fluid build up around my heart. I was hospitalized with IV treatment & surgery (pericardial window). I had 400cc fluid drained followed with 600mg Motrin 3 times a day for 6 days to take care of the inflamation in my pericardia.

After 5 days in the hospital it's been almost 2 weeks at home still recovering at home. As I'm 80 years old it's taking longer to recover. I still have Dr. appointments to follow up along with blood work to monitor liver funtion.
Might also mention I reacted to the heavy Motrin treatment as I gained body fluid in my legs & feet which responded to Lasix & also flushed the kidneys. One of my 5 Drs. who attended me also warned me to never have another chemical stress test as it could be fatal. Now, for the disclaimer, Lexiscan claims only a 5% severe side effect.
Lydia, hopefully you're the road of recovery, as I know your pain. In my case there was some feet dragging in getting proper care but it's very important to get on top of this disorder as your heart really can't function with the excess water surrounding it. Good Luck & keep us posted!

donb

its all figured out now

by lvanlue - 2012-03-30 11:03:37

Thankyou for your comments. I'm very glad i'm not alone in all this.

I went for a checkup as by this point i couldnt walk properly or breathe without being in pain. my doc said that i had a bit of water and it would go away by itself .....

5 days later i had enough and admitted myself into a&e. My lungs had water all over them and on my heart also causing inflamation and pain. Apparently I had been with this for over 5 months and the ICD had made it worse. I now am on water tablets perminantly. They were up with me til 2 in the morning doing tests and declared that I was in worse a state than the doctor initially thought. the doctors dismissed it inititally as they couldn't see/hear anything. Be careful! I feel great now that i can walk and breathe but still scared it will come back.

I'm sorry to read about your stories. I never knew about water on the heart before all this happened. I am 22 and never thought i would have to be on water tablets at this age haha! but if it saves me then so be it. :)

Best wishes to you all!

Lydia xx

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