prayers in need.

[fastwife]

Just asking for prayers for my mother. she had a sudden heart attack yesterday at about 4pm. my step-father went out to start the car--they were going to the pistons game--came back in about two Minutes later and she was lying on the floor unresponsive and not breathing. Thank GOD he works at The Red Cross and knows current CPR. He called 911 immediately and put the phone down to keep doing CPR, it was about 4 minutes till the medics got there, they shocked her heart twice before they got her back. She's in the ICU at the local hospital and there has been no change all night. They don't know what caused it yet, they do know it wasn't anything nuero from the CT scan. Right now it's pretty touch and go, she hasn't been taken off the vent or off sedation yet to see how responsive she is. Once they do that they can see how much damage there was to her brain, and then can begin testing from there. :fish:

[spiritofthewild_06]

Prayers to your mother, let us know what happens.

[michigandeerslayer]

Prayers are coming your way brother

[Falk]

Prayers sent. Hope your mom is okay.

[STEINFISHSKI]

Prayers sent for your mom and family.

[Crusher]

Prayers and thoughts sent for your mother in law and your family

[Backwoods-Savage]

Done.

[fasthunter]

Just an update you guys. Fastwife is my wife and I've been going through this with her. My mother-in-law is concious now, breathing on her own as well. They did a test and she's fortunate enough to not have any brain damage from this. She's kind of out of it, but can at least talk. They know it's something that's related to her heart and they are going to be doing more tests to find out what it was. I'm sure my wife will keep you guys informed. Thank you guys for the prayers that have been coming. It's looking better.

[Ranger Ray]

Will keep your family in my prayers.

[EMoor]

Prayer sent

[fastwife]

my mother is doing better but is not yet out of the woods. the ecocardiogram showed there is something wrong but they don't know what. she is VERY disoriented and angry. she is having trouble understanding what's going on. you see she has a very long history of cancer, however she's been cancer free since 2000 when she had the stem-cell transplant. the cariologist thinks the heart trouble is related to the "deadly dose" of chemo she had in 2000. they are saying right now her heart is operating at 15%. they also said that she was extremely lucky in two senses--one, that she doesn't show and brain damage as of yet; two, that she wasn't dead when her husband found her two mins after she went down. what happened was her heart started beating fast out of the blue and stoped. her husband thankfully knew cpr and kept it fluttering till they were able to shock it a couple of times. we will know more on wed after they do the heart cath. they want her to rest for a day to see if she comes around mentally. tonight was very hard in the sense that she was so angry and kept trying to get out of bed to come home. she's out of it and doesn't believe what we are telling her. she thinks someone hurt her and i can understand why since she went down so quickly. she must have felt like someone pushed her down when it happened. she is very delerious and keeps saying that her heart cannot be fixed. she is mad at me because i had to convince her to take a pill for her heart. she thinks we're trying to poison her. i know she's not thinking right, but it's still hard for me to deal with. please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. i will keep you updated as i find out more.:fish:

[Firecracker]

You, you're Family & youre Mom are in Prayers.
This is gonna be hard, but you must stay strong for you're Mom. She will need you.
Hope she will be able to pull thru and get healthy soon ....

[loweboats]

Prayers sent. Look forward to hearing about her speedy recovery!

[malainse]

Will keep your family in our prayers...

[itchn2fish]

I just prayed for your mom and also for you and your family, hang in there.

[DarkBlue]

Prayers sent, God speed.

[fasthunter]

Thanks you guys. This has been VERY hard on my wife. I really appreciate it.

[fastwife]

well we found out why she was so combative and angry....she is in withdraws from alcohol. they have given her something for that and it seems that she was in a better mood but still confused about where she was and how she got there. we will know more tomorrow. thanks for your thoughts and prayers.:fish:

[Homie]

God will show you the way no matter what the issue is. Keep the faith.

[fasthunter]

God will show you the way no matter what the issue is. Keep the faith.
I agree Homie.:)

[fastwife]

my mother has what's called alcoholic cardiomyopathy. here is some information about it.
Definition

Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/cardiomyopathy) is a disorder in which excessive, habitual use of alcohol weakens the heart muscle so that it cannot pump blood efficiently.

http://www.healthline.com/images/clear.gif Alternative Names

Cardiomyopathy - alcoholic
http://www.healthline.com/images/clear.gif Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Drinking alcohol in large quantities has a toxic effect on heart muscle cells. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy is a form of dilated cardiomyopathy (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/dilated-cardiomyopathy) caused by habitual alcohol abuse.
Alcoholic cardiomyopathy causes the weakened heart muscle to pump inefficiently, leading to heart failure (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/heart-failure). In severe cases, the lack of blood flow affects all parts of the body, damaging multiple tissues and organs.
The disorder is most commonly seen in men ages 35-55 years old, but it may develop in anyone who consumes too much alcohol over a long period of time. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy may be identified as "idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy," if the person's drinking history is not known.

http://www.healthline.com/images/clear.gif Symptoms

Symptoms are usually absent until the disease is in an advanced stage. At that point, the symptoms occur due to heart failure and may include:

Ankle, feet, and leg swelling (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/foot-leg-and-ankle-swelling)
Overall swelling (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/swelling)
Loss of appetite
Shortness of breath (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/breathing-difficulty), especially with activity
Breathing difficulty while lying down (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/breathing-difficulty-lying-down)
Fatigue (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/fatigue), weakness, faintness
Decreased alertness (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/consciousness-decreased) or concentration
Cough (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/cough) containing mucus, or pink, frothy material
Decreased urine output (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/urine-output-decreased) (oliguria)
Need to urinate at night (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/urination-excessive-at-night) (nocturia)
Sensation of feeling the heart beat (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/heart-palpitations) (palpitations)
Irregular or rapid pulse (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/pulse)http://www.healthline.com/images/clear.gif Signs and tests

A health care provider will conduct a physical examination (http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/physical-examination-2), which may reveal:

Abnormal heart sounds (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/heart-murmurs-and-other-sounds)
Abnormal lung sounds
Murmurs
Irregular or rapid heartbeat (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/heart-palpitations)
Weight gain (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/weight-gain-unintentional)
Swollen neck veins
Enlarged liver
Ankle swelling
Low blood pressure (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/blood-pressure)Alcoholic cardiomyopathy is usually diagnosed when chronic heavy drinking is discovered as a cause of the heart failure.
The following tests may reveal signs of heart failure:

An echocardiogram may show enlarged heart chambers, leaking valves, or reduced pumping efficiency.
An ECG (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/ecg) may show signs of enlarged heart chambers or rhythm abnormalities (arrhythmias (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/arrhythmias)).
A chest x-ray (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/chest-x-ray) or chest CT may show heart enlargement, fluid accumulation in the lungs (http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/lungs) and valves, and reduced pumping function.
A complete routine laboratory study is performed to measure the hormone B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP).
Cardiac catheterization (http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/cardiac-catheterization-2) and coronary angiography (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/coronary-angiography) may be done to rule out coronary artery blockages as the cause for dilated heart chambers and decreased pumping function.http://www.healthline.com/images/clear.gif Treatment

You may be placed on a low-salt diet, and the amount of liquids you drink may be restricted.
Heart failure may be treated with diuretics (http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/diuretics) (furosemide (http://www.healthline.com/multumcontent/furosemide) and spironolactone (http://www.healthline.com/multumcontent/spironolactone)) to remove excessive fluid from your body, and with ACE inhibitors (http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/angiotensin-converting-enzyme-inhibitors) and beta blockers (http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/beta-blockers).
In people with congestive heart failure (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/heart-failure) and severely weakened pumping functions, an implantable defibrillator (ICD) may help them live longer. In some cases, a biventricular pacemaker improves symptoms and quality of life. A single device that combines a biventricular pacemaker and an ICD may be recommended.
A heart transplant (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/heart-transplant) may be considered when the cardiomyopathy is not reversible.
Eventually, nutritional problems involving thiamine (http://www.healthline.com/multumcontent/thiamine), phosphorus, potassium, or magnesium levels (http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/magnesium-imbalance) may require treatment.

http://www.healthline.com/images/clear.gif Support Groups

For more information on support groups where members share common experiences and problems, see alcoholism support groups (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/alcoholism-resources) and heart disease support groups.

http://www.healthline.com/images/clear.gif Expectations (prognosis)

Total abstinence from alcohol may stop the disease and improve the heart's functioning, although people with severe heart damage may never return to normal.
Once the heart damage and heart failure is irreversible, the outlook is poor.

http://www.healthline.com/images/clear.gif Complications

Congestive heart failure
Heart arrhythmias, including lethal arrhythmiashttp://www.healthline.com/images/clear.gif Calling your health care provider

Call your provider if you have any symptoms of heart failure or cardiomyopathy.
Call your provider if alcoholic cardiomyopathy has been diagnosed and symptoms do not improve with treatment.
Go to the emergency room or call 911 if you have alcoholic cardiomyopathy and experience severe chest pain (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/chest-pain), palpitations, or fainting.

http://www.healthline.com/images/clear.gif Prevention

Alcoholic cardiomyopathy is a consequence of years of excessive alcohol use. Do not use alcohol in excess. If you drink heavily and find that you cannot cut down or stop drinking, seek help.
Control other risk factors for heart disease (http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/heart-disease) by maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly. Eat a generally well-balanced, nutritious diet (http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/diets-1), and avoid smoking.

[wapiti777]

And prayers sent.

[Frantz]

Heather I hope all is well with your mom. You are in our thoughts.

[cointoss]

My prayers sent to your mother and family.

[johnnie-eye-catcher]

prayer sent

[fasthunter]

Just an update you guys. We just saw her yesterday in the hospital and will be seeing her today as well. When we saw her yesterday she was leaps and bounds better than she's been at all. She's completely aware of who's who and can carry on a healthy converstation. The doctor actually said he'd try to just check up on her and not bother her to much because she's doing so well. She's moving around quite well too. They do have to do a test to see if she's allergic to the type of silicone that's in the defibulator though. (She's had an allergic reaction to silicone before.) If she's not allergic to it she will get one put in next week. However, if she does have a reaction to it she's going to have to wait two months for them to custom build one for her. She can't leave the hospital until she has something, so if they have to go that route they are going to give her a vest that has one built in it for now. Just giving an update. Also, thank you guys very much for your prayers.:)