CHF: a new beginning?

(1)

Add Your Vote

I've been diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure -- a shocking diagnosis, to say the least. My once active life has been reduced to fatigue, pain and panic, but I am hopeful that I can rage against this illness and begin a new, although different, life.

It all started Thanksgiving, 2006. During the holidays I had felt horrible, unable to breath and feverish. As the days passed I knew I was in trouble and immediately saw the doctor. The result of that visit and xray was: pneumonia. However, after three rounds of various antibiotics and numerous breathing treatments I wasn't improving and getting worse. It's a bit scary not to have control over health situations, and I was scared.

Then another xray confirmed an enlarged heart. The fact that I could barely walk, well, that was enough to scare me, but 'enlarged heart'. What in the world did that mean?

Within a week, my new doctor, a cardiologist, diagnosed me with congestive heart failure (CHF). My ejection factor is 25-30%. The news hit me like a ton of bricks and I wondered how pneumonia could lead to this?

What I would learn is that sometimes CHF is misdiagnosed as pneumonia. I also learned that there's a wealth of information to be found and read on the Internet concerning my diagnosis and I was not alone. Tragically, 500,000 Americans this year will hear the words I heard: Congestive Heart Failure.

At times it is frightening to think that my heart is not perfect, but its made me realize what's truly important. Yeah, it's a cliche, but I have learned through all the fear to finally stop and smell the roses.



Tags:	congestive-heart-failure, CHF

Posted By:

ItzMeGayle

Posted 4 Years, 10 months, 2 Weeks, 2 days ago

Personal Story

All Votes: 1

Bookmark

Report abuse

Comments (0) | Who voted on this story (1) | Email this story

UnitedProject.org Inc. (c) 2006-2010 All content published on UnitedProject.org is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant to substitute for the advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by your physician or other healthcare professionals. If you think you are experiencing a medical problem or an emergency please contact your physician, local emergency room or call 911. Healthcare benefits and discounts are not insurance and not intended as a substitute for health insurance. Except when other source is cited, all content posted by members is licensed under Creative Commons Public Domain License.

This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information:
verify here.

Site last updated 02/11/12 - loaded in 0.0573 seconds

Website and Case Management Software powered by Paas Cloud Computing Platform