The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: fightingquaker13 on January 28, 2012, 09:17:12 AM
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The reason I haven't been on the board much is that my dad had a heart attack. This surprised the hell out of me. He's only 72 and disgustingly healthy. He doesn't drink or smoke, eats simple foods, including diet soda and the like and works out daily on a rowing machine. (And see what that gets you :o).
Anyway, he's had a quadruple bypass. Things seem to be going well. The surgery was Monday and he was put in a private room yesterday and seems to be doing OK.
My question is this. What do I need to do when he comes home? If any of you have gone through this, or helped a relative who has, I would appreciate any practical advice. Things like "Do I need to put grab rails in the shower", or "What sorts of low sodium foods are actually palatable"? Thanks in advance.
FQ13
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Sorry to hear about your Dad!
Can't give you much empirical knowledge of the subject other than to say that my father in law had a quintuple bypass in his early sixties and lived into his early eighties! He was not a picture of physical fitness either. Hopefully your dad will do fine.
Be careful with adding support rails without proper framing to anchor them into the bath or shower. There is more to the installation than just screwing them into the wall. There's no doubt his cardiologist will suggest a change in diet and probably get you in touch with a dietician.
Good Luck and God Bless...
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Sorry to hear this FQ, but I'm glad to hear he is coming out of it.
The hospital staff - Dr's, dieticians, pt's, etc. will give you plenty of advice and instructions on what you need and what to expect. One aspect often missed is the emotional. Be prepared for your father to go through a grieving process. Loss of the sense youth, health and invincibility is as strong a loss as loss of a life.
If he was healthy when the heart attack happened (seems strange to say, but I always refer to the health of a person when they die) the physical healing will come quick and easy. The biggest challenge will be the emotional scars.
Good luck on the coming days, weeks and months!
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I'll say a prayer for you both.
Take it as it comes, don't show too much fear/concern when he needs help. Be careful to not "baby" him if he's the type who will let someone prevail to avoid conflict...he's got to get it back on his own.
You or someone will likely need to help him early on and not rely on the rails. That being said, it depends on how quickly he recovers because if he comes back quickly (likely since he didn't smoke and did exercise) he won't need them later and may resent them....but ask in a few days after he's home either way.
Everything low sodium is palatable after a couple of months of it. Supplant with other spices. Every case is different and sodium may not be a concern as evidenced by differing studies...prevailing notion is to reduce especially with poor circulation which enhance swelling but that may be negated (at least in my wife's case) with lasix to aid in removing fluid from the body.
Mostly pray for guidance and give it to God.
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So sorry to hear about this, FQ. I have no advice other than to stock-up on patience and love. The loss of independence was the hardest thing for my Dad to handle. He had a real problem accepting help... he was used to being the one dispensing the help. Once he was able to open up and express his feelings things seemed to get quite a bit easier. When your Dad says something, listen for the message the words don't convey.
Prayer sent... may God bless all of you.
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One thing I forgot to mention. For multiple reasons - he was eating right, he was exercising, and he appears to have been living a heart friendly life, your father is about to be introduced to the wonderful world of chemistry. He will be told that "his body just does this stuff no matter how well he does things." Weigh out what they say very carefully before jumping on the drug bandwagon! I'm always leery of concerns about the liver, kidneys, blood sugars, etc. We focus on the heart and brain, but you can't live without a liver or kidneys either.
I won't go to deep into it, because this is the thing that gets people labeled: There are a lot of common sense, old fashioned remedies and cures out there. Balanced diets, cider, cider vinegar, oatmeal, fresh fruits, juices, bran, grapes, etc. that have a scientific base and have been proven to help as well. Do the research, get the opinions, and weigh all forms of treatment the same.
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Don't sweat it to much FQ.
Once the incision and breast bone heal up, about 6 months, he will be good as new.
The first few weeks he will probably need some help at home since he won't be able to lift much.
For a while he will have to replace the rowing with walking since he has to be careful about putting strain on his chest and pectoral area.
This is not as big a deal as it would have been 20 or 30 years ago.
As to the foods, if there is a choice between canned and frozen, get the frozen, they are packaged with almost no salt, don't use salt if you're cooking for him. I assume you already "comparison shop" to get the best deal, just start comparing "sodium" and "cholesterol" quantities as well.
Just because it is "name brand" or "lite" doesn't mean it's the lowest in these.
I would not bother with the rails in the shower since the only thing making him "feeble" is having had his chest cut open. You could however put a chair in there for him to hang onto if he feels he needs it.
What M58 said is true, Dr's, dieticians etc will instruct him on foods and exercise until his eyes glaze over, they will also supply stacks of written material about what to eat, (lots of poultry, fish once a week , beef bad, bison and venison good etc. )
Again, YOU need to relax, HIS faulty parts have been replaced with undamaged ones so his major problems are done with, but he does not need to be dealing with you worrying yourself into the hospital.
To put it into perspective for you, it is the equivalent of a valve job for your car, he no longer has to worry about the engine bucking wheezing and stopping unpredictably.
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Holy cow! I'm sory to hear that.
I wish I knew what advice to give medically, but I don't know. I can say that my uncle had a heart attack, actually two, and is doing great now. His geit doesn't seemed to have changed, given i saw him eating chilidogs the last time I was by. He was doing a lot more cardio exercise, but your dad was arleady doing that, so again I don't know.
I have to support M58 and the others when it comes to emotional support. That's gonna be the biggest help possible.
The best thing I can come up with is to have your dad keep moving. Obviously he's going to need some rest, but try to get him up and out of the house as soon as he can. Even a walk in a mall can do good.
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Sorry to hear that. As most have mentioned, his Doc's along with dieticians will give you lots of advice on what he should & shouldn't do, it appears that he was doing cardio exercises and I'm sure they'll want him to continue.
My mom had a quadrouple bypass back in 1972 at age 40 when cardiology was in it's infancy, she is now 89 yrs old, she still walks for 18 holes of golf! I feel that your dad will do fine and will say a few prayers for him and a speedy recovery. ;)
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I hate to say this but I never called my Dad my old man or never called My Old lady and they can do wonders now with heart patients and getting them back on their feet.
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All the best on a fast recovery to your Dad, FQ. The only advice I have is DO NOT start telling your Dick Cheney Heart related jokes until he heals up....
;D
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Sorry to hear about your Dad. My Dad, MIL and wife had BPS...
When they got home they needed help to get up and sit and lay down. They were not supposed to put pressure of any kind to help them get up or down. Food will not taste at all let alone good so they had to be nagged to eat. My wife could eat anything she wanted to help supply enough nutrients (sp) to aid the healing process. They had to be nagged/reminded to take meds. I don't remember about Dad or my MIL but my wife had to sleep on her back only for several days! It will take a while for the heart to settle back in its natural position. They had to be nagged to exercise. My wife had her operation in the winter so she could only walk in the house but that was enough. A shower chair will be a help because balance will be bad sometimes. He will need help with his shower whether he likes it or not, especially getting in and out. Believe it or not, but our local hospital was MORE helpful than the Cleveland Clinic with info needed before my wife could home!!!!!
Hope this helps,
Richard
PS: My wife's recovery was harder on me than it was on her. LOL
PPS: Almost, if not every member of my wife's family except for kids has had some form of HS and/or HA so it runs in her family BIG TIME!!!!!!! FWIW
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I had quad bypass 10 years ago this May. I went in for an angiogram, and they would not let me leave the hospital. I was a couple decades younger than your Dad is.
Here's how it goes. Have a pillow for him to clutch when he cough or sneezes. That will help but it will still hurt like hell for a while (3-4 weeks?).
Unless his doctors say otherwise, they will want him up as much as possible, even if just standing up for a moment, before sitting back down. And he will need to walk - a lot. Within a few weeks it will be very easy for him - I was up to a couple miles within 2 months.
There will be cardiac rehab with stationary bikes, and hand weights to bring full motion back to the arms, back and chest. Remember, your Dad got cracked open like a lobster claw, and they have wired his sternum together.
They took arteries out of my arm since the veins in my leg were too small, and the second worst part was when they removed the arm staples. First was the damn coughing - it feels like the whole rib cage is flapping open at first. The chest incision was closed with steri-strips, so removing those was a piece o'cake.
Surgery in May, clean bill from the doctor to go horseback riding on a wild remote ranch in Wyoming in August.
The meds they will put him on will help considerably with the whole family genetics/chemistry thing, which was part (only part) of my problem. My BP is 130/70, cholesterol in the 115-120 range, HDL/LDL in perfect ranges, etc.
Sorry that this happened, but it is one of the things they do well in medicine these days. Tell your Dad "Welcome to the Zipper Club" for me! ;D
It should give him a whole new lease on life.
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Sorry he had to have it, but like Tom said, he's 'fixed' now...just has to heal up.
My dad had a double valve replacement and a bypass back in 1998 and the cracked him from his goozle to just above the belly button, and now they do the same surgery through a scope in some hospitals.
As to the healing process, Path and Tom pretty much nailed everything my dad went through and was pretty much what I was going to say. Most hospitals will send a special pillow home with them....if they don't offer, ask them about it. I would suggest a shower chair (get them from any pharmacy) as he will tire out quickly at first.
I'll keep y'all in ma prayers.....Take care!!!!
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Sorry to hear about it FQ. My dad had a 7-way bypass and he lived alone. I think my mom went to his place to help out. The only thing I remember for sure was the pillow he had to hug and cough. They actually wanted him to cough. Before the operation the doctor told my dad it was like gutting a trout. :) A sense of humor always helps. The only problem my dad had after he healed up was he couldn't walk far and had a lack of circulation to his legs where they took the veins out. He was still in good health otherwise when he died from complications of surgery on his legs years later. A less extreme bypass shouldn't have that side effect.
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Lots of good experience above.. DON'T PANIC..
One thing I might mention is that heart patients tend to fall in love. If he's not married, don't be suprised if you see something like that..
Prayers sent..
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Lots of good experience above.. DON'T PANIC..
One thing I might mention is that heart patients tend to fall in love. If he's not married, don't be suprised if you see something like that..
Prayers sent..
Where might I have seen that before ? ???
;D
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Glad Dad came through in good shape. Not much to add to what's been said, except to say that be prepared for the wonderful world of Cardiac Rehab.......that's where he'll be put through his exercise paces, under supervision and while wearing a wireless heart monitor, by a sweet-tempered little cardiac nurse with the disposition of R. Lee Ermey on a bad day.
This may well make him take stock of his own mortality.......something that can be a rude slap upside the head when it happens. Be there to help him, but don't feel like you have to baby him or do things for him. That will ROYALLY piss him off.
Again, I'm glad things went well. Now you need to take a deep breath and remember that the scary part is behind you.
Good luck, bud.
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It sure wouldn't hurt to get yourself a stress test in the next few months either. His heart problems didn't happen overnight! You would be well served to get your own ticker checked out as well.
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Prayers for you and your Dad FQ. Now that they have his ticker roto rootered and he is in decent shape, he should have plenty of years ahead of him. Him being in good shape will also help him to recover and heal at a quicker pace. Take care and good luck finding a dietician.
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Glad Dad came through in good shape. Not much to add to what's been said, except to say that be prepared for the wonderful world of Cardiac Rehab.......that's where he'll be put through his exercise paces, under supervision and while wearing a wireless heart monitor, by a sweet-tempered little cardiac nurse with the disposition of R. Lee Ermey on a bad day.
This may well make him take stock of his own mortality.......something that can be a rude slap upside the head when it happens. Be there to help him, but don't feel like you have to baby him or do things for him. That will ROYALLY piss him off.
Again, I'm glad things went well. Now you need to take a deep breath and remember that the scary part is behind you.
Good luck, bud.
^^This^^
The whole diet thing is pretty weak if your genetics predispose you to produce plaque in your arteries.
Like Path said, they will get him walking and working out. Just support him as best you can and he'll probably do fine.
Glad to hear he pulled through OK.
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^^This^^
The whole diet thing is pretty weak if your genetics predispose you to produce plaque in your arteries.
Like Path said, they will get him walking and working out. Just support him as best you can and he'll probably do fine.
Glad to hear he pulled through OK.
While it may seem logical that isn't exactly so.
If you eliminate the materials that produce plaque predisposition or not you will have a far lower risk.
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While it may seem logical that isn't exactly so.
If you eliminate the materials that produce plaque predisposition or not you will have a far lower risk.
Not so. My doctor is probably still wondering why I had such massive cardiac problems. My renin (the stuff that causes hypertension) was so low as to be almost unmeasurable; hypertension comes when it is high. My cholesterol was never over 170 except for the spike right before I went for the angiogram. The HDL/LDL mix was normal.
However, my Dad had a heart attack at 50, his Dad died relatively young, and his Dad died at 47. It's all genetics in my case, although, yeah, I ate crappy and was sedentary, which didn't help. But, I had none of the significant risk factors - no smoking, no drinking, and the test all showed low-level scores. Just family history, i.e., a genetic predisposition to cardiac issues.
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While it may seem logical that isn't exactly so.
If you eliminate the materials that produce plaque predisposition or not you will have a far lower risk.
You can't eliminate what you body uses to produce plaque unless you found a way to change your DNA.
Some folks live to their 90's eating a 1/2 pound of sausage and 4 eggs for breakfast every day and never have a cholesterol level over 130. Someone else can eat tofu and veggies exclusively and dies at 55 with a cholesterol level that never gets below 250.
Genetics is the ONLY risk factor you can't change and it's the most important.
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No one in my family that I know of has had heart issues. My father's heart stopped because of complications from emphysema after 55 years of smoking three packs a day! My mother died a few years after a stroke but she had a very, very high cholesterol level as I recall. My older brother has a severe cholesterol issue that the rest of us don't share.
He tried eating tree bark and lawn clippings for a few years and it had absolutely no effect on his cholesterol. He now eats like he wants, weighs about 150 pounds soaking wet and is very active, retired and living large at 59!
I have no idea what my current levels are at the moment nor do I care very much. I eat well, get some exercise regularly and don't smoke anymore. When my ticket gets punched, it's punched! I'll probably live longer than my father did but nothing is certain in life.
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No one in my family that I know of has had heart issues. My father's heart stopped because of complications from emphysema after 55 years of smoking three packs a day! My mother died a few years after a stroke but she had a very, very high cholesterol level as I recall. My older brother has a severe cholesterol issue that the rest of us don't share.
He tried eating tree bark and lawn clippings for a few years and it had absolutely no effect on his cholesterol. He now eats like he wants, weighs about 150 pounds soaking wet and is very active, retired and living large at 59!
I have no idea what my current levels are at the moment nor do I care very much. I eat well, get some exercise regularly and don't smoke anymore. When my ticket gets punched, it's punched! I'll probably live longer than my father did but nothing is certain in life.
You said a mouthful there, my friend. I firmly believe that the number of days I would spend on this planet had been determined by my creator before I was born. And while we have no control of duration, we do have SOME control over quality. When my time comes it will matter not one whit whether I'm jumping out of an airplane (like THAT will ever happen), or taking a nap in my recliner (MUCH more likely), when God calls me home I'll be going. Period.
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You said a mouthful there, my friend. I firmly believe that the number of days I would spend on this planet had been determined by my creator before I was born. And while we have no control of duration, we do have SOME control over quality. When my time comes it will matter not one whit whether I'm jumping out of an airplane (like THAT will ever happen), or taking a nap in my recliner (MUCH more likely), when God calls me home I'll be going. Period.
Would that apply to me? Think of all the time I've waited for the light to change before crossing busy streets....and all the times I didn't use my propane heater indoors.
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No one in my family that I know of has had heart issues. My father's heart stopped because of complications from emphysema after 55 years of smoking three packs a day! My mother died a few years after a stroke but she had a very, very high cholesterol level as I recall. My older brother has a severe cholesterol issue that the rest of us don't share.
He tried eating tree bark and lawn clippings for a few years and it had absolutely no effect on his cholesterol. He now eats like he wants, weighs about 150 pounds soaking wet and is very active, retired and living large at 59!
I have no idea what my current levels are at the moment nor do I care very much. I eat well, get some exercise regularly and don't smoke anymore. When my ticket gets punched, it's punched! I'll probably live longer than my father did but nothing is certain in life.
I certainly hope I do, because I'm getting scary close to his expiration age!
If I don't make it I suggest you all stay in touch with tt. He will have my estate sale bill, and that will be one worth attending ... at least that is what my friends tell me :-\ Also, Audrey will be set up for a lifestyle we can't afford today, and my toys may still be around for her next companion >:(