9/11 is the day I begin evaluating my heart for a heart transplant at UCLA hospital. I have been seeing my cardiologist in Corona, Dr Tuqan, for the last 11 years. I have congestive heart failure and as time goes by it has gotten worse.
Basically my heart does not pump enough blood coming out, going to the body. For normal people, of the blood that goes into your heart, about 65% comes out going to the body. When I first saw Dr Tuqan back in 2012 mine was about 45%.
Over the years it went down. In 2016 it was at 29%, and now it is at 16%. To help with this issue, the first thing the cardiologist do is put you on medicine. I am on Beta Blockers. They decreases the hearts need for blood and oxygen and therefore reduces the work the heart has to do. It also helps the heart more regularly.
Last year they started giving me Entresto. Entresto work by relaxing blood vessels so that blood can flow more easily, which makes it easier for the heart to pump the blood to your body. Right now I losing breath just walking. If I don’t take Entresto I will lose my breath just laying down. If I take the medicine it makes it easier on my heart.
Last year Dr Tuqan realized that my congestive heart failure was getting too bad and he had to refer me to a Congestive Heart Failure specialist. He knows Dr Cruz from UCLA who specializes in CHF and heart transplants and sent me to him. Over the last year I have been doing tests and trying using medication to help CHF.
I did physical therapy for CHF, MRI on the heart, a stress test on my heart, and finally a Right Heart Catheterization. With the medication not improving my CHF he suggested that I go get an evaluation for a heart transplant. This is what I am doing now. Many blood tests, colonoscopy, and checking to see how my body is. They will have a team together on Friday to see I am able to get on the list for the heart transplant.
Will see how it goes!
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