Heart failure

Hi Shelley I too have breathlessness and rapid heart rate. Did you just have the normal ECG. The reason I ask is that my first one in the doctors came back normal. I was then getting angina symptoms so was sent off to hospital for a stress ECG. This showed up a few "abnormalities" so I needed further investigation. I had an echocardiogram which showed some left ventricular hypotrophy. I then had an angiogram that was clear. They then diagnosed me as having microvascular angina, otherwise known as cardiac syndrome X. I was then checked out for asthma and found to have that too. It seems that both conditions cause breathlessness, you may need further investigation.
Good luck

shellysexbomb said:

Had a stress ecg a few years ago, due t boobie size they couldnt do the treadmill test so used drugs. Had bad reaction to drugs and had to have a quick shot of something to bring me round but they said my heart performed as it should!! I have got mild asthma so that doesnt help. May just need to improve lung fitness. Hope things are all under control for you now, half the battle is knowing what you are battling!!!

Click to expand...

I did feel better after diagnosis. Just keep taking the tablets and soldiering on. Hope you get sorted soon

diuretics.

Galja said:

There are a couple non drug diuretics. Whenever I get hold of corn silk (only the stuff inside the husk) from organic non GMO corn, I dry it. Store it is glass bottles This, cut up in bits makes a tea (I usually add hibiscus or mint or both to this tea) that is a mild diuretic that doesn't affect anything else

Sometimes enlarged heart can go with COPD. Friend had the same heart lung test (MET test) I had and it showed a pattern that when the asthma is higher, there can be a murmur so he should no avoid his medication and inhaler)) but of course everyone is an individual

Click to expand...

Sorry, but there are no non-drug diuretics, apart from water. The definition of a drug is "a substance which has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body". If a plant extract has a diuretic effect, it is because it contains a drug. If the OP has been advised not to take diuretics, they shouldn't take them even if they are naturally-occurring. If the doctor's advice changes and a small dose of diuretic is permitted, it would be better to take a pharmaceutical product where the dose can be titrated accurately rather than a herbal product where the dose can vary markedly depending on growing conditions and preparation.

Galja said:

In the sense that many of our drugs derive from natural remedies time honored, yes. But, these days one can often look for drug interactions, so to speak, of the natural remedies. And for people who can have furosimides or thiazides, a natural substance might actually be a better alternative

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-140-corn silk.aspx?activeingredientid=140&activeingredientname=corn silk

And, by the way, Dark Horse, the amount of water in a diet often has to be controlled

Click to expand...

Many manufactured drugs, agreed, derive from natural remedies. However, any natural remedies which have a physiological effect, by definition, contain a drug.

I can't see any reason why a "natural" substance would be better than a licensed drug other than price. Licensed drugs tend to have fewer side effects than natural substances - medicinal chemists work hard to reduce the side-effects or improve the efficacy of natural drugs by altering the structure of the original molecule slightly.

I don't think that anyone would disagree that, for some people, particularly those who cannot take diuretics, water intake needs to be controlled.

Galja said:

In this case, I heartily disagree because the natural remedy, as they are usually called instead of drugs, is actually something that has in my case beneficial side effects while I cannot take the prescription alternatives, for example thiazides. In fact, for most diabetics, I would suggest it has beneficial side effects, although, like a low carb diet, we should be aware of lower blood sugars.

Sometimes it is easier, took, to adjust dosage on a natural drug from which pharmaceuticals derive, for example red yeast rice, by stopping at the precise amount beyond which one starts to have side effects rather than suffer something more difficult to adjust with more severe side effects, like statins.

Click to expand...

Sorry, I didn't understand what you just said. The problem with naturally-occurring drugs is that you are never sure what the dosage is, it can vary a lot depending on growing conditions and preparation. If a pharmaceutical tablet is too strong, it can be cut in half, or taken less frequently, but the dosage is exact.

Hi ya and welcome to the forum am type 2 got myself down to respectable readings like yourself.Heart has any one else in family had heart problems.reason i ask is i have cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart ) but was a pre existing problem long before diabetes came along,So given that i would suggest you angle on the posibility that it is not diabetes related . I wont say it isn't i'm not a Doc but could throw a different angle on why you are having problems despite the low readings

Galja said:

That's right, you didn't understand what I said.

Click to expand...

So .... What did you mean?

Galja said:

But, you can experiment with very small quantities. Once whatever it is is bound up in a pill an glued to magnesium stearate or whatever, adjusting is not as easy. And there are time honored things that work gently with fewer side effects.

Click to expand...

Agreed, you can experiment with the quantities whereas pills can be fiendishly difficult to cut accurately. However, that doesn't get over the problem of variability in non-pharmaceutical preparations - today's 1 leaf might contain exactly the same amount of active ingredient as tomorrow's 4 leaves. It's therefore difficult to titrate the dose. Even though it is difficult to cut pills, they are often manufactured in different doses - if a 4mg dose is too high, a 2 mg or a 1 mg dose might be prescribed. Unfortunatelt, this isn't always available. As you say, a weaker (gentler) dose tends to have fewer side-effects but the problem is that ends to be less effective. As side-effects vary between individuals, ifa different drug is tried, it may have fewer side effects.

Galja said:

But, you can experiment with very small quantities. Once whatever it is is bound up in a pill an glued to magnesium stearate or whatever, adjusting is not as easy. And there are time honored things that work gently with fewer side effects.

Click to expand...