Heart Case

[kcallen2]

This is my father so it's hard for me to treat. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Sunday morning walking to the store he only made it a half block when he had to turn home because of an inability to breath. "I couldn't breath in, I couldn't breath out". Got home. Much better after stool (3). Went to the hospital.

Diagnosis: pulmonary edema, stenosis of mitral valve and aortic valve, atrial fibrillation

"I've been feeling as if my lungs were congested for many days (weeks?) now." Worse laying down.

For months he's noticed an unusual scraping sound in the lower left chest/axilla area "it's like a bow being drawn across a violin string" with each beat of the heart and the heart beats very loudly. I can feel it myself when I put my hand there. This occurs when he is laying on his left side in bed. My mother says she can feel the pounding when they are in bed if he's laying on his left side and she has her ear to the bed. Very disturbing for her!

Although he has had this scraping and pounding for months and told his doctors about it, the doctors have always said his heart sounds healthy during his appointments with them.

His pulse is very irregular and slow. It beats a few times at one speed, then slows down, then stops!! for a short time, then goes on to present an amazingly varied pattern. When I took his pulse in the hospital it slowed down to 30 bpm and the nurse came in to ask if he was feeling light headed and take his blood pressure because the monitor had given her a warning signal. Interesting that it slowed down just as I was taking his pulse.

There is no pain with this complaint. He does have a history of angina which is worse with exertion and deep breathing - a bursting sensation. But there is no angina at this time.

He has been feeling very tired lately. Sleeping in the afternoon which is very unusual for him. Worse over the past few days, but going on for months now. "I have no get up and go, no motivation" especially on "dull days". If it's sunny he is motivated to walk his usual 5 miles. But in cloudy/rainy weather he doesn't want to go out. "I don't feel comfortable in the cold." Normally he putters around the house doing all sorts of maintenance but on these kind of days lately "I just sit". Coldness is a major, life-long problem for him. He never gets hot even on the hottest days. Icy cold hands have bothered him his whole life and they become very painful after even a short time in the winter weather. Also, he never perspires. With the current complaint he had a cold sweat at one point (location unknown -- I forgot to ask).

He jokes around with the hospital staff. Each person who comes in gets a dose of humor and they all love his jesting. The occupational therapist who was in the room when I arrived to visit him said he had really made her day. He has a very positive outlook despite the seriousness of the problem. "I'll be OK once I get past this". Always the optimist. Always looks on the bright side.

Wakes mornings around 3 am (his whole life). Better from chamomile tea (3). "If I wake before 3 I can get back to sleep but any later and I'm up for the day"

I've attempted to find the strange scraping sound in the chest in the repertory to no avail (there is a rubric regarding "purring" or a "thrill" but only a few remedies in it none of which seem to fit the rest of the case. Digitalis sounds good because of the pulse. I've also thought of Ammonium Carbonicum and a few other remedies but nothing seems to fit well enough.

I would write more if I could think but I'm short on time and need to send this off.

Thanks for any help.

Karen

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