I'm not sure this belongs here in a neurotalk forum, but thought I'd throw it out just in case somebody knows something about it. My husband, always healthy and strong, spent a week in the hospital last month after being in stage 4 heart failure for several days (we didn't realize it, of course.) His heart rate was 150 bpm when he first checked in, & the official diagnosis was Atrial Fibrillation with Rapid Ventricular Response. After all the tests and scopings were done, it turns out he had no clots, no blockages, no plaque, no heart disease, everything looked just dandy, but even when they tried shocking his heart 5 times to get it back into normal rhythm, it didn't work.

So, after 2 weeks on a bunch of meds, he went back in for another shock, and this time it worked. However, for the next 3 months he still has to wear a "LifeVest" (with a built-in defibrillator in case his heart stops) and has to keep taking these meds. Don't get me wrong; I'm grateful for the LifeVest for sure, and also grateful for these meds that slowed his heart rate and are keeping his blood thinned to prevent clots in case the Afib returns. He lost 15 pounds of water that were pressing around his lungs.

I'm just a bit concerned. He's taking Xarelto, Digoxen, Fenofibrrate, Carvedilol, Furosemide, Simvastatin, Sotalol & a baby aspirin. I mean... that's enough to gag an elephant. And, that's only the meds. I've been making him take handsfuls of vitamins, minerals and other supplements for years, morning & night. I am, of course, of the opinion that they're what's kept him so healthy & maybe even what kept his heart from stopping last month. I've added an extra fish oil and resveratrol to his regimen. I can't imagine losing him. I mean, I know, we all have to face it some day. But if it can be put off a few extra decades?

So, if it's not out of place to ask about heart meds, does anyone have input on this list? I imagine that the side effects must exist, but at this point I figure the benefits outweigh the risks. Hopefully he can go off them if his heart behaves itself.

Thanks, all.

A good friend who was a great mentor on my alternative healing path just went thru an episode that put her in the Kaiser hospital for 5 days, they ran tons of tests put her out for a day or so, it was wild for this holistic person. She was finally let out and came home with probably 6 drugs from warfarin, lasik blood pressure meds and others. The Kaiser people took her off natural thyroid and now finally she's back on thyroid but they shoved synthroid on her.

She has the afib dx and had been having depression and high anxiety, waking up in a panic attack many mornings. I think a lot of her stuff is losing a friend who moved away and now she feels so alone. She really has no hobbies or interests.

She has gradually gotten back on grape seed extract which she has taken for a month longer than which is 20 yrs.

She was not taking fish oil and very little magnesium if any for many years. I don't know what to say. She's so fearful of going off some of the drugs so she hangs with them. Kaiser checks her viscosity about every week. Blood is thinning now. Grape seed ex is supposed to keep blood cleaner and thin. I guess one needs to go with the meds and see how things go. Cayenne is good for cardio and I worked with cayenne years ago when my BP was elevating. Read the book: Left For Dead. Wish I could help more. She said her heart rate was 222 when she checked in the hospital. C

I would double check everything in these interaction checker sites - even the vits & supps..
Here is a post with links -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post119701-16.html

Caroline2, Thank you so very much for your reply. I have been so overwhelmed these past weeks, I didn't even see it until today. I especially appreciate the mention of grape seed extract and cayenne. We used to take the g.s.e. all the time, but gradually forgot about it over the years, as we got in a regimen that became our habit. Magnesium has always been a part of that, along with calcium and potassium. In fact, the doctor prescribed potassium citrate, & I researched that one right away. Especially because my husband was surprised it was so expensive, even with coupons he could find. I discovered that he could continue taking the potassium gluconate we've always taken, but just had to increase it to 8 a day to equal the amount of the prescription. We parcel it out into several portions throughout the day.

Also, you reminded me of what I used to preach about in my younger days, the cayenne. How could I have forgotten that?? We used to always make a garlic soup if we were coming down with a cold, with a healthy dash of cayenne pepper in it. It worked every time to knock that virus out. But also, I'll always believe in high doses of vitamin C for just about anything that ails you.

I'm sorry about your friend. It sounds like a grief reaction with her. I've wondered some about that with my husband, too. After working for the same company for 44 years, they "let him go" a year ago. I think the stress of that has hit him harder than I realized. He has always been so healthy. To me, you are a very good friend to her, and she is blessed to have somebody who cares so much. I hope she can find her joy again and her heart will heal.

Blessings.

Jo*mar, thank you for the post with the links! I have much more research to do, I can see. My husband's heart was able to get its rhythm back when he returned for another shock, so I'm so grateful for that. He is still wearing the "LifeVest" at night, but I'm "letting" him take it off during the day. I just feel better going to sleep knowing he has that safeguard & that it will let us both know if anything goes wrong during the night. I should have more faith, but that last scare was too much for my heart, so I'm happy for anything that gives me peace of mind at this point.

Anyway, it's great that there are interaction checker sites! Exactly what we need, and I'd'a never known if you hadn't told me. Thanks again.

Good to hear back from you. My friend that I spoke about is now looking into
Dr. Sinatra's 4 awesome heart supports. We've been talking about DRibose here and I mentioned it to her and now she is going to start with DRibose. I know she wants off the meds the kaiser people put her on. DRibose helps with energy including the heart. Our hearts get tired.

http://www.drsinatra.com/best-heart-...s-to-consider/

Unfortunately, that's a pretty normal list for someone with a-fib and CHF. I don't know how educated you are regarding the meds, just in case you're not...the Xarelto is a blood thinner. It's used because when the heart is in atrial fibrillation, the atrium (the upper chamber of the heart) is basically just twitching and is in spasm, rather than contracting like it's supposed to. When it's doing this, you're at a much higher risk for developing blood clots in the heart that can then go to the brain, causing a stroke. Digoxin is used to treat both heart failure and atrial fibrillation. How it works is a little more complicated, but it basically both increases and makes the contractions of the heart more effective. The fenofibrate and the simvastatin are for cholesterol. I'm guessing his was high? Carvedilol is a beta blocker. It helps with heart rate control (and blood pressure if that's an issue), furosemide is a diuretic for the heart failure, sotalol is for ventricular (lower part of the heart) arrhythmias, you said he had a rapid ventricular response?, and a baby aspirin is to prevent clots as well, it inhibits platelets from clumping in the blood vessels, while the xarelto directly interferes with the clotting cascade.

I would also make sure you run the vitamin and supplement list by his cardiologist. Many supplements can interfere with meds. Digoxin especially interacts with a lot.

I hope this helps a little...