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#96371 - 04/24/08 10:17 AM
Be careful what you ask for
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14tonks
Member
Registered: 10/25/01
Posts: 5931
Loc: Only 3rd world country in US
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and even more careful of what the medical profession feels obligated to give you even though you didn't ask:
Heart Pump Creates Dilemmas
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#96385 - 04/24/08 11:39 AM
Re: Be careful what you ask for
[Re: 14tonks]
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baldymom
Member
Registered: 02/26/04
Posts: 628
Loc: Hampton Roads - Va
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"When you turn off an LVAD, it can make the person worse. You can basically worsen the heart function. So you're not just stopping something and letting nature take its course. You're actually doing harm, potentially."
If I turn off a ventilator, aren't I worsening lung function? This statement makes no sense to me.
_________________________
What would you do with a brain if you had one? -- Dorothy -- Wizard of Oz
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#96392 - 04/24/08 12:05 PM
Re: Be careful what you ask for
[Re: 14tonks]
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Wordcraftr
Junior Member
Registered: 02/11/08
Posts: 80
Loc: Midwest coast
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My initial reaction would be, "Don't put in anything I didn't ask for." Especially true if I knew ahead of time that the possibility existed for being implanted with a device while undergoing surgery for a heart condition.
But it appears that in some cases it was done anyway. I had a friend who was given an emergency hysterectomy after undergoing routine surgery after she had a baby. She had no idea what she was undergoing. Apparently, the doctor asked for permission from her husband, who may not have been that well informed. That was 20 or more years ago. Do they still do that? Well, it appears they do in some instances.
My brother died from complications related to chf. Would he have wanted the implantable device?
I don't know what I'd do if I had a really bad heart. Would I, if I knew it meant death now or a little while later?
I can say at this point that I'm not afraid of death, and I'm even past middle age. But when push comes to shove--to implant or not to implant--how much time would I be allowed to process the implications before making an irrevocable decision?
Really thought-provoking ethical issues. No simple answers.
Thanks for sharing the article.
_________________________
Gravity. It's not Just a good idea. It's the
Law.
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#96419 - 04/24/08 03:29 PM
Re: Be careful what you ask for
[Re: Wordcraftr]
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14tonks
Member
Registered: 10/25/01
Posts: 5931
Loc: Only 3rd world country in US
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My brother died from complications related to chf.
CHF is why I have never understood a lot of the people with cardiomyopathies who want AICDs--lessee, just drop in my tracks while I'm going about my business one day or slowly and miserably drown in my own body fluids when heart failure sets in a few years later? I'll go for drop in my tracks, thank you. I mean, we all have to die of something. Given the option list, what better way than to pass out within seconds and die within a couple of minutes?
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#96422 - 04/24/08 03:57 PM
Re: Be careful what you ask for
[Re: 14tonks]
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tropsicleAfter
Member
Registered: 10/30/06
Posts: 2053
Loc: MS Gulf Coast
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If I have anything implanted, it will be an ON/OFF switch.
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tropsicle
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#96429 - 04/24/08 05:13 PM
Re: Be careful what you ask for
[Re: tropsicleAfter]
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inkyfingers2
Member
Registered: 03/25/03
Posts: 596
Loc: southern California
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If I have anything implanted, it will be an ON/OFF switch.
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inkyfingers
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#96430 - 04/24/08 05:24 PM
Re: Be careful what you ask for
[Re: tropsicleAfter]
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Endiqua
Member
Registered: 04/28/05
Posts: 3399
Loc: At the computer - where else?
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Duuude...that's awesome.  I love it.
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#96437 - 04/24/08 06:21 PM
Re: Be careful what you ask for
[Re: Endiqua]
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Wordcraftr
Junior Member
Registered: 02/11/08
Posts: 80
Loc: Midwest coast
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14tonks, I don't understand. Do you mean you'd rather not have any treatment at all if you had chf? That without the AICD you would have the benefit of that drop-in-your-tracks demise?
My brother didn't have any implant. He didn't have anything, because he was in denial. He had a heart attack right in front of me and dismissed it as "heartburn." In the end, he slowly and miserably drowned in his own fluids.
Yes, I think he would have preferred a more dramatic and swift exit, but it didn't happen that way.
That's not to say that I'm in favor of extended measures. If I had heart disease I wouldn't want a piece of hardware in me. If I had cancer I would prefer not to be cut and burned.
I'm just saying that we never know until we look death in the face what we're going to do.
_________________________
Gravity. It's not Just a good idea. It's the
Law.
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#96450 - 04/24/08 07:24 PM
Re: Be careful what you ask for
[Re: Wordcraftr]
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14tonks
Member
Registered: 10/25/01
Posts: 5931
Loc: Only 3rd world country in US
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I meant that a certain number of people develop cardiac arrhythmias with progressing cardiomyopathies and are convinced to get an AICD so they don't suddenly drop dead--a consummation devoutly to be wished in my book, since if they don't suddenly drop dead from an arrhythmia, they will most likely live to die as your brother did. The problem is that most of them seem to think the choice is between sudden death and long and healthy life, not sudden death and slow and miserable death.
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