Two weeks ago my father had a heart attack, and they are not sure how long he didn't have oxygen. Since then he has made remarkable improvements; he is breathing on his own his vitals are good. He does sleep a lot, can speak some words but his voice is weak and he does struggle with words.

What seems to be the biggest issue is that he hasn't passed a swallow test yet. He has a feeding tube, but he keeps removing it if he is not restrained. The doctor isn't optomistic and says that he isn't going to do anything more for him medically. Is there some type of physical therapy availabe to help him to be able to swallow again?

Welcome to NeuroTalk Sue, I'm glad you found us, but sorry about your father's heart attack.

Have they tried using thickened liquids? It might just take awhile before he can start swallowing again but I'm not sure. Someone else might see your question and have some information. I hope he'll improve and be able to leave the hospital soon.

Thank you for the post.

I got this 2nd hand from my brother, but he thinks they gave him a teaspoon of pudding and he didn't know what to do with it in his mouth. They did a barium substance with an xray and they said it went in his trachea.

That's very hard to deal with and my heart goes out to you. I went through a similar situation with my mom. She had Alzheimer's for about 6-7 years before she passed away. In the last few years her swallowing started to deteriorate gradually. When I went to see her it was always during lunch or dinner time and I'd feed her in those last years. Sometimes she'd choke on her food, so they started thickening her liquids but she didn't like the taste of them and made faces or pushed it away.

She never got to the point of a feeding tube because in her situation it would be considered life support and she didn't want to live like that.

But maybe your dad has a chance to recover his swallowing ability over time? I don't know much about heart attacks. My sister had a mild one in the springtime when I was out shopping with her but she seems to be doing ok now, though she hasn't lost weight and I'm afraid that will cause another attack if she doesn't.