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Old 09-12-2013, 04:05 PM
 
155 posts, read 375,450 times
Reputation: 35

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Hello. After reading this forum, I learned two things: (1) Be thankful that I am caring for an overall healthy mom (2) The more I take care of my mom's health and make sure she eats and exercises the better of both of us will be in life.

This Wednesday, I brought my mom to my doctor and let her leave the strictly "traditional" doctors who are not holistic. My doctor in Rockwall, Texas is the best! He explained to my mom how to address all her aliments such as osteoporosis, arthritis and pancreatic cysts with BOTH natural and traditional medical solutions.

During the evaluation, the doctor discovered my mom who is 73 has heart arrhythmia.

Does any one know what this is and what is best to ask the Cardiologist at the appointment? Where on the forum or other forums is best to put the heart question?

(Note: I just started bringing my mom to my doctor because her insurance is not accepted at his office. This week I made a decision to pay the extra money and the doctor gave my mom first class service.)

Thanks in advance.
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Old 09-12-2013, 06:04 PM
 
155 posts, read 375,450 times
Reputation: 35
Note my mom is 73 1/2 almost 74. Not that it makes much difference.
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Old 09-12-2013, 06:32 PM
 
Location: Location: Location
6,727 posts, read 9,903,274 times
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jbless, I'm 78. A pretty healthy 78, considering they put an artificial valve in my aorta eight years ago and took out part of my cancerous colon almost five years ago. I live in my own house, do my own chores, shop, cook, mow the lawn, just not as fast as I used to.

Back in October I had a frightening episode of chest and arm discomfort and thought I was having The Big One. Went to hospital and after a Thallium Stress Test and a cardiac catherization, they could find no specific reason for the arrythmia and called it "idiopathic", which just means "they could find no specific reason for the arrythmia."

Take good care of Mom and I hope that all her testing is out-patient and just remember - just because they can't find a reason doesn't mean they have to keep looking! Sometimes, you just gotta be satisfied that they did what they could and spit happens. Blessings to you both.
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Old 09-12-2013, 07:54 PM
 
155 posts, read 375,450 times
Reputation: 35
Quote:
Originally Posted by theatergypsy View Post
jbless, I'm 78. A pretty healthy 78, considering they put an artificial valve in my aorta eight years ago and took out part of my cancerous colon almost five years ago. I live in my own house, do my own chores, shop, cook, mow the lawn, just not as fast as I used to.

Back in October I had a frightening episode of chest and arm discomfort and thought I was having The Big One. Went to hospital and after a Thallium Stress Test and a cardiac catherization, they could find no specific reason for the arrythmia and called it "idiopathic", which just means "they could find no specific reason for the arrythmia."

Take good care of Mom and I hope that all her testing is out-patient and just remember - just because they can't find a reason doesn't mean they have to keep looking! Sometimes, you just gotta be satisfied that they did what they could and spit happens. Blessings to you both.
Great! You are awesome! God Bless!
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Old 09-12-2013, 08:24 PM
 
Location: Hot Springs, Arkansas
389 posts, read 1,215,505 times
Reputation: 460
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbless View Post
Hello. After reading this forum, I learned two things: (1) Be thankful that I am caring for an overall healthy mom (2) The more I take care of my mom's health and make sure she eats and exercises the better of both of us will be in life.

This Wednesday, I brought my mom to my doctor and let her leave the strictly "traditional" doctors who are not holistic. My doctor in Rockwall, Texas is the best! He explained to my mom how to address all her aliments such as osteoporosis, arthritis and pancreatic cysts with BOTH natural and traditional medical solutions.

During the evaluation, the doctor discovered my mom who is 73 has heart arrhythmia.

Does any one know what this is and what is best to ask the Cardiologist at the appointment? Where on the forum or other forums is best to put the heart question?

(Note: I just started bringing my mom to my doctor because her insurance is not accepted at his office. This week I made a decision to pay the extra money and the doctor gave my mom first class service.)

Thanks in advance.
In all probability she has a common problem especially linked to advancing age called Atrial Fibrillation. The doctor should have specified the exact condition as it is an easily diagnosed condition best described as an irregular irregular heartbeat. Some people don't realize that they have it. I've had this condition since 1994 and am on meds. Otherwise my heart is reasonably normal and I do regular cardio at the Y.

Mine is easily known because it is like having a sack full of squirrels in my chest. Yet some people don't realize they have it.

Undoubtedly they did an ECG which would trace the electrical patterns and the machine will even tell the technician if it is "afib." Another test I would want to have done is an echo cardiogram. That will tell how well the heart is functioning. One would like the "ejection fraction" (amount of blood pumped out of the left ventricle) to be above 50%. 65% would be the upper range.

While this condition is not seen as normally fatal unless there are other problems. it has the propensity to cause blood clots in the upper left atrium where it can travel to the brain and cause a stroke. I take a blood thinner since I have had it for extensive durations lasting up to seven weeks at one occasion. That reduces the chance of this happening but it typically causes easy bruising and will also lead to more bleeding than on normally experiences. Some people can get by with a baby aspirin a day but it is less potent. It also thins the blood. I take both.

Oddly enough this problem is about five times greater in aging endurance athletes.

Note: if the problem is due to valve problems special care will need to be taken with respect to blood thinners. I'd get the full skinny from the doctor's office so you know what you are actually dealing with. And I would want to know the ejection fraction right up front. If he doesn't know that your mother should be seen by a cardiologist who can order this test.

Occasionally this problem is treated with catheter ablation and there are more extensive operations that cut the abnormal signal paths. What one wants in a heart beat is a steady "ker plunk, ker plunk" rather than a fast steady beat. This could be also a condition known as atrial flutter and are sometimes diagnosed simultaneously.

Does her regular doctor not accept Medicare? Some are not accepting new patients but continue to treat their established patients.
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Old 09-13-2013, 03:00 AM
 
Location: The Great State of Arkansas
5,981 posts, read 18,221,291 times
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jbless -

If you want more info you might try posting in the Health forum:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/health-wellness/

rmissourimule has made a great post. The only thing I would add is if finances are a concern, and with medical costs these days they certainly can become a big concern in a hurry, is to ask her doctor's office for a referral. Now, that may be a referral to a great doc or the guy the PCP played golf with last weekend, so you'll have to do your research on that one...also, if you are close to a medical center you may find they take any and every kind of insurance that comes down the pike.

My dad is 81 and has a-fib as well, just found on his last cardiac checkup. He did have a heart attack in his early 50's but nothing since and is actually the picture of physical health for his age. He's now taking Xarelto, which causes significant bruising if you even touch him. Be aware that many of the meds for this condition can cause bruising, as missourimule stated. Other than that, he's got a regular exercise and walking program going on with emphasis on cardio training, and that's probably something your mom should look into just to keep her heart muscles strong. You indicate she is exercising, which is great.

Overall, it sounds like she is doing well - and yes, we have much to be thankful for when our aging parents are doing so rather easily. My dad went through a rough patch right after he moved near me after a huge life event but now pretty much does his own thing - and after watching some of my friends care for aging parents and observing my other aging relatives I realize that actually I do very little....and for these things we are grateful, AMEN!
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Old 09-13-2013, 03:44 AM
 
Location: Location: Location
6,727 posts, read 9,903,274 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jbless View Post
Great! You are awesome! God Bless!
jbless, thanks for the compliment, but I'm just average. Awesome is what I got from my ancestors - good genes; and awesome is the care that I get from my doctors.

There are millions of people who have no one to care for them, so I think it's great that your Mom has you to look out for her. You're a little bit of awesome right there.
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Old 09-13-2013, 05:03 AM
 
Location: Long Neck,De
4,792 posts, read 8,155,331 times
Reputation: 4839
I see your mom does have some type of insurance. From my own experience I would say don't let the "specialists" go crazy with tests. The big practicies with all the testing equipment plan on using it. I left a cardiologist years ago and went back to my GP. We visit every 4 months. The specialist always had mandatory tests that just had to be done.
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Old 09-13-2013, 10:50 PM
 
2,234 posts, read 3,886,145 times
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Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat. Common among elderly. The patient is usually prescribed a blood thinner. I believe the most common and cheapest medication prescribed is Coumadin. It's rat poison. In powder form, it is spread on food. The rat eats the food and, as a result, bleeds out from thinning of the blood. Of course, if your mother is prescribed Coumadin, she'll have to have her blood monitored pretty regularly to ensure that her blood isn't too thick or too thin.
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Old 09-14-2013, 01:18 PM
 
155 posts, read 375,450 times
Reputation: 35
Default Rat poison?????

Quote:
Originally Posted by NJ2MDdude View Post
Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat. Common among elderly. The patient is usually prescribed a blood thinner. I believe the most common and cheapest medication prescribed is Coumadin. It's rat poison. In powder form, it is spread on food. The rat eats the food and, as a result, bleeds out from thinning of the blood. Of course, if your mother is prescribed Coumadin, she'll have to have her blood monitored pretty regularly to ensure that her blood isn't too thick or too thin.
How could this be rat poison? I will research. We will reject the medication if prescribed.
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