Please forgive this long post, but I am in desperate need of advice from health carers out there:
In early January, DH had pneumonia which affected his heart and likely triggered Atrial Fibrillation (we spent New Year's Eve in hospital). He was also having trouble breathing when he lay down flat and could only sleep sitting up.
In hospital, we were told he suffered a very mild heart attack and that there was minimal damage to his heart. He did have a blocked artery that needed a stent.
When they lay him flat in the Cath lab, DH suffered what they referred to as a "flash pulmonary edema" and Cardiologist aborted the procedure altogether. He was in hospital for twelve days after that; first to recover from pneumonia and subsequently to have the stent put in (successfully despite being in A-fib).
During all that time he still couldn't sleep lying down without developing a gurgling/rattling in his chest and trouble breathing. He was sent home (in A-fib) with blood thinners and a prescription for diuretics (water pills) to help dry out the fluid (presumably residual fluid from his bout with pneumonia).
He's since also had two Cardioversions (shock to the heart) and one Ablation (radiofrequency) procedure to get rid of the A-fib. Currently he's out of A-fib, but what is driving us crazy is that he still can't sleep lying down and most nights he can't sleep at all with this chest congestion.
His cardiologist wants him on a water pill even though he doesn't have congestive heart failure...a blood test confirmed it's NOT in chf. X rays confirm his lungs are clear and there's no pneumonia. Our family doctor also reassured us that he doesn't have congestive heart failure.
Issues: Water pill helps but it makes him feel very poorly and could also be affecting his kidneys. A well meaning friend suggested that water pills can affect heart rhythm (dehydration? low potassium?, low blood pressure?) and put him back in A-fib. This new information makes me nervous.
During the day he's fine but he's exhausted from the water pills and lack of sleep (we both don't sleep). The (crackling) congestion in his chest and difficulty breathing seems to happen only at night and only when he lies down. I thought about allergies, but antihistamines like Benadryl don't seem to help.
All I know is that DH manages to sleep only in a chair and very poorly at that. He is miserable to say the least. Most nights, we have lights on and off at all hours. Sleep deprivation is ruining our lives and we need help!
