Donna
My husband was 53 when he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He had 4 stents put in, and his ejection fraction was 15%. 9 months after his stents he had a ICD implanted. Not to mention had to be life flighted to another hospital after they discovered a kidney stone was blocking his flow of urine and backing up into his body. All of this in a span of a little over 2 years. It has been 3 years and 4 months since that November day, and I still constantly worry. I have cried, screamed and wanted to give up so many times. My husband's condition has improved with medication and cardio rehab his ejection fraction is now at 35%. My husband said he wouldn't be where he is now with out my support. It is hard but loving your husband and being there every step of the way is what he needs. Yes I make sure he eats correctly gets enough sleep, takes his medication and give him my undying love everyday, but I don't scream, and I haven't given up. I still cry occasionally but every day is a blessing because he is still with me. That being said it is hard, make sure you take care of yourself as well and be there for him. I hope my journey can help you.

Donna, you have taken the first step asking for help. It is hard not to feel helpless. It is difficult to understand what your husband is going through and he is dealing with all kinds of feelings and challenges that are frustrating for him. The support you have to provide is both emotional and practical. When you receive a diagnosis of heart failure you need to make lots of changes to your lifestyle and those changes are not easy. It is hard being a caregiver because while your husband has a medical team to help him cope, you feel you have no one and that is a really hard place to be. That is why being here is so important for you. You will learn how those of us with heart failure cope ( I have heart failure myself). Be sure to go to the doctor's appointments with your husband and ask the doctor questions if you have them. Exercise together. Start with walking just a little and build up. Try walking in nature when the weather permits. It will help both of you. Also, remember to take care of yourself. Get away and enjoy an activity just for you. Meet some friends for lunch, that kind of thing. I found this article that might help the link is below. Also, if you can we have a support group and we meet once a month. It is a new group so we Meet on Tuesday, January 16th, at 7 PM Eastern time via Zoom. I shared the link with you already and I will repost it on Tuesday for everyone. Feel free to invite your husband too. He might enjoy the meeting too. We will plan some and chat some. Here is the link to the article I mentioned. Hugs 🤗https://www.healthline.com/health/heart-failure...

Barostim device, helped me increased my enjecton fraction 10 points

@A MyHeartDiseaseTeam Member, I just wanted to check on you and see how your husband is doing. I know he was struggling and I have not seen you post in a while so I am just checking in to make sure you are both okay. Hugs🤗

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