Husband had heart attack on Friday, now in afib - help

Hello everyone - this past Friday night, my 75 year old husband, Doug, had a heart attack. They determined that he had a 95% blockage in his left atery (called the 'widow maker"), and had a stent put in on Monday. His heart enzymes remained high, so they kept a watch to see when those numbers were 'trending down"...which they had by this morning. About 20 minutes after they told him he would be discharged today, he went into afib - for the first time, as far as we know...He didn't and still doesnt' feel it.

They have given him something that sound like Covert? to get him back into NSR....last I spoke to him he was still in afib (the nurse said it looks like his heart is trying to get back in rhythm....)...If he doesn't convert by either tomorrow or within 48 hours, they will do a cardio conversion. I know those are supposed to hurt, and this poor guy just went through tremendous pain with that stent ("the worst pain I've even felt" - and he was a 20 year Marine in 2 wars!)

His cholesterol was great - 127, and LDL and trigylcerides too. BP was high, but not sure if it was because of what happened and being in the hospital, etc. So they are now recommending Plavax and aspirin for the stent (they say this is absolutely necessary), 12.5 mg. of Atenolol (although his heart rate has been slow...except when he went into afib)...low dose Lipitor (which they apparently give to every heart - or stent? patient - he should be able to get off of that....and I'm not sure what else. If he continues to have afib, they mentioned Coumadin and possibly a pacemaker, due to his low and then high heart rate...

Doug hasn't been on one single medication up until now. While I realize that he may have to bite the bullet and take a few due to this situation, I am wondering if anyone has any feedback on a similiar situation. I also was under the impression that a Magnesium drip or high dose can be helpful for afib - but when I mentioned it to the nurse, she said they'd see what his electrolytes were. I believe it doesn't matter in this case, right?

Any suggestions? I feel so badly for him...he says he feels like he's aged overnight..and I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes depressed. He's a pretty tough guy in otherwise good shape, who looks and acts younger than his years....

Back to the hospital now..will check back here later....thanks ~ Barb

Barb, my best wishes for you and your husband. I don't have much to say that will help in this situation because my afib came on its own, but I do know that afib after heart surgery happens a lot. I'm sure someone else on the board will be able to fill you in with more information than that. Keeping you both in my thoughts,
Nancy

Hello Barb,

I am truly sorry to hear about your husband's heart attack. I think it is very important that he gets his intracellular level of magnesium checked (serum level is useless in determining magnesium status in the heart muscle) and takes the necessary action to achieve optimum status. I would also suggest fish oil supplementation as there is abundant evidence of its benefits for heart attack survivors [www.oilofpisces.com] and [www.oilofpisces.com]. Finally, supplementation with vitamin K2 would help prevent further artery blockage and may reverse existing blockage, but I would clear this with his doctor once it has been decided what anticoagulant he needs to be on.

Hans

Barb - so very sorry for your husband and for you. Stenting these days is highly effective so you both should be encouraged. I certainly will keep you both in my thoughts and prayers.
Sincerely,
Jackie

Hello Barb,

I hope your husband is doing well - under the circumstances. You no doubt have other things on your mind than reading the abstracts on [www.oilofpisces.com], but I would like to draw your attention to the following:

It’s fish oil after a heart attack
NEW YORK, NY. In a recent article in the New York Times, attention was drawn to the anomaly that in Europe fish oils are prescribed as part of the treatment protocol after an individual has had a heart attack, but this practice is much rarer in the U.S. The article quotes the chief of cardiology at an Italian hospital as stating that not only is this use of fish oil recommended in international guidelines, but it would be considered tantamount to malpractice to omit giving this “drug.” In fact, there is even available a prescription formulation of purified fish oil called Omacor, but it is not approved by the FDA for use in the U.S. except for very high triglyceride levels and cannot be promoted except for this single indication. Related to this subject is a paper in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine which reported on a survey taken among family physicians in the State of Washington to determine the frequency with which they prescribed fish oil supplements for secondary prevention after a heart attack. While 57% were aware of fish oil’s effectiveness, only 17% actually prescribed it. Only 26.5% of family physicians were even aware of one of the most dramatic effects of fish oil, reducing the risk of sudden cardiac death. This study did not include cardiologists.
Rosenthal, E. In Europe It’s Fish Oil after Heart Attacks, but Not in U.S. New York Times, October 3, 2006
Oh, R. C. et al. The Fish in Secondary Prevention of Heart Disease (FISH) Survey—Primary Care Physicians and Omega-3 Fatty Acid Prescribing Practice. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 2006, Vol 19, No. 5, pp.459-66

Hans

Thanks for your replies Doug is back home now and feeling pretty good! He is on quite a few medications, which I came to learn are standard protocol for those who had a heart attack, whether you really need them or not. Case in point, his cholesterol was 127, LDL was low (can't remember the number but I know it was a low one), HDL could be slightly higher, and trigylerides were only 94. Yet they put him on a statin drug. When I raised a question about that, I was told by one of the nurses that they put everyone on that -whether your cholesterol is high, normal or low. One of the nurse practitioners said she thought they would soon come out and say that it isn't so much about the cholesterol as it is about inflammation. From the reading that I've done, I would agree.

I did ask his doctor about fish oil and he was all for it - so we are doing that. Good call, Hans I also asked him about something we have for heart health that is a supplement, and he also OK'd that. So at least he's working with us. Not sure if Doug is still having any afib, but he's on a monitor and we've been doing pulse checks and BP readings at least twice/day. We should know more within a week or two. I will go with whatever Doug decides, but in my opinion, I would not be quick to go on coumadin. His first wife actually died from a hemorrage and she was on that. And with him already on Plavix, aspirin, and the heart supplement we have for keeping your blood from getting 'sticky" and arteries more elastic, I think that's enough.

What's your take on the Coumadin, Hans and Jackie?

~ Barb

You might also want to try some D-Ribose which gets a lot of positive reviews...

D-Ribose thread

Thanks, Phil - that's a good idea too.

tobherd Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for your replies Doug is back home now
> and feeling pretty good! He is on quite a few
> medications, which I came to learn are standard
> protocol for those who had a heart attack, whether
> you really need them or not. Case in point, his
> cholesterol was 127, LDL was low (can't remember
> the number but I know it was a low one), HDL could
> be slightly higher, and trigylerides were only 94.
> Yet they put him on a statin drug. When I raised
> a question about that, I was told by one of the
> nurses that they put everyone on that -whether
> your cholesterol is high, normal or low. One of
> the nurse practitioners said she thought they
> would soon come out and say that it isn't so much
> about the cholesterol as it is about inflammation.
> From the reading that I've done, I would agree.
>
> I did ask his doctor about fish oil and he was all
> for it - so we are doing that. Good call, Hans
> I also asked him about something we have for heart
> health that is a supplement, and he also OK'd
> that. So at least he's working with us. Not sure
> if Doug is still having any afib, but he's on a
> monitor and we've been doing pulse checks and BP
> readings at least twice/day. We should know more
> within a week or two. I will go with whatever
> Doug decides, but in my opinion, I would not be
> quick to go on coumadin. His first wife actually
> died from a hemorrage and she was on that. And
> with him already on Plavix, aspirin, and the heart
> supplement we have for keeping your blood from
> getting 'sticky" and arteries more elastic, I
> think that's enough.
>
> What's your take on the Coumadin, Hans and Jackie?
>
>
> ~ Barb

I am very impressed by Dr John's blog, which confirms what you were told & found out for yourself about statins. It sounds as if they are a really good idea for heart attack survivors.

[www.drjohnm.org]

I share your dislike of the idea of Coumadin, but it is said to be more effective (working in a different way) than aspirin. There are also newer drugs such as Dabigatran (also discussed by Dr John) which are far less restrictive than Coumadin but have other drawbacks, one being much higher cost. Of course he could always go onto Coumadin just til the crisis is behind him - he wouldn't be committed for life. If he were on Coumadin I doubt if he would be allowed to continue the aspirin or the supplement you mention. He needs to weigh up the danger of bleeding against the danger of stroke - not an easy choice. Very best wishes to you both.