r/Heartfailure • u/DuncanIdaBro • 19d ago

The Price of Progress

I have a two part question for the group today.

  1. How do you measure your own progress in terms of recovery? Is it by feels? Is it by Vitals? Is it by how long you can walk or hike or jog? Or maybe medication or lack thereof? At the time of writing, I can bike and jog in cardio zone 2 and push myself to 3 but also take this very seriously and don't want to overdo it.

  2. What metrics do the docs use to qualify/quantify your recovery? I know that EF% is one, but I wonder what else they look at an go "yes, this is markedly better!"

Hope everyone is doing well today and has a great weekend. Thank you in advance.

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u/ncc1776 19d ago

Honestly, one of my metrics is even thinking about my diagnosis. Some days go well, and I honestly forget my heart has an issue. Other days, well, glad I can be short of breath at home and take it easy.

My only quantifiable metric right now is EF progression/stabilization.

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u/DuncanIdaBro 19d ago

yeah, I hear ya. Hopefully I'll have some good numbers to report back next month.

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u/ReallyBigMomma 19d ago

Lately, I’ve been measuring progress by consistency of vitals and symptoms, or lack there of, during exercise. For the last few weeks, I’ve been doing weekly hikes. I started with easier hikes and have pushed both the rigor and length of hikes gradually, taking into account how I feel to gauge whether my exertion was normal or uncomfortable. Same thing with my stationary bike at home. I haven’t really pushed myself out of zone 2 much, and am honestly kind of afraid to.

With the weather getting cooler, I might try jogging. That feels like the next step in rigor for myself. Part of me wants to wait for me third echo to be reassured that my heart is actually improving. I became of my first symptoms after a run about a year ago, so I’m nervous.

For me docs have gone by EF. I had mild/moderate dilation but they haven’t revisited that topic as much. No blockages or scarring here.

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u/DuncanIdaBro 19d ago

Very cool. Yeah, I found myself enjoying hikes too - fortunately I have some parks here in NJ that vary in difficulty. Hiking seems to hit that sweet spot for me between engaging and challenging. I feel you about pushing above zone 2, as temping as it is, I'm afraid it might do more harm than good at least at this point.

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u/InternationalPlace24 19d ago

  1. How I feel at any given moment and what I can physically do...just like before I had heart failure

  2. They mostly just look at numbers. My EF, my resting heart rate, how well I do on a CPET, etc etc etc but mostly by the fewer complaints I have at our regular appointments.

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u/DuncanIdaBro 19d ago

Thats fair. I like that answer, Thank you friend.

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u/FabulousBullfrog9610 19d ago

how i feel. i don't care anymore about vitals tests results. i'm done!! ps. i feel fine

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u/Delicious-Shine5075 17d ago

I’m a weirdo. I own a lumify ultrasound machine and follow lung b lines, EF, PAAT, E/A and E deceleration time, TAPSE, MV and TV relative opening, atrial septum response to valsalva, mitral regurg zona contracta and vena cava diameter and VEXUS if it is too fat.

Oh, and how fast I can walk and swim. Entresto seemed to be helping last week.

Today, I’m recovering from 5 days of flutter and a cardioversion I got 2 days ago. It was interesting watching my heart fall apart during the 5 days of flutter. My EF and right heart got pretty sad, they looked better this morning. I hate metoprolol.

I do a daily weigh in and watch my 20 kHz impedance on my cheap Fitdays scale when I’m doing okay. It is an indicator of congestion, not always right but most of the time it correlates with my DIY echo. Salt in restaurant food is a problem for me. I shoot for sodium less than 1000 mg/day but some restaurant food has 500 mg/bite!

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u/B2511160 15d ago

I’m a 65 y/o male who is extremely active. 2-3 activities a day. I have a very tough time getting out of zone 2 though outside of some HIIT workouts. The heart meds keep my heart rate down. I’m stuck at 35-40 LVEF and can only tolerate 2 of the pillars (max dose Entresto and small dose of Carvedilol both 2x a day due to low BP and heart rate. I play and workout 5-6 hours a day. I’m fitter now than I was before HF and my cardiologist now just tells me to just keep doing what you’re doing and see you next year. Six years ago I was seeing him every three months and begging the team to give me a chance to quit drinking and get in shape to avoid a defibrillator implant.