Brother in law - ruptured heart last night- Corona?

[RMNB]

Get the call last night saying my brother in law, Jon, was bent over on the bathroom floor in shear agony. Rushed to the hospital, docs said Heart attack. He is 54 with no prior history. Apparently he was feeling crappy all week then this. No open heart surgery, no stent, just found fluid around his heart and a valve had torn. Doc said never has he ever seen anyone survive this!

www.livescience.com/coronavirus. Do a search for Ruptured Heart. This might be due to the virus. He had no temperature but shortness of breath. In the article it explains how the body tries to fight off the virus and goes in to a brief explanation.

He is stable now and following commands. Certainly they will test him for Covid so let's see what the docs say later today.

[Rmtt]

That is scary to hear. I wish him the best and please keep us updated!

[Hawkeye]

Sorry to hear, but why not wait on the test before rushing to blame it on something?

[RMNB]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

Sorry to hear, but why not wait on the test before rushing to blame it on something?

He tested negative. Apparently the heart attack happened this past Saturday. Go fig. He is stable right now and they continue to do more testing. EKG , etc. No surgery as of now which is good. Not sure what else as of now.

[NorthCountryGuy]

More commonly a valve ‘gets blown’ due to an infarct (standard blockage in a coronary artery). The chordae tendinae that anchor the valve cusp to the heart muscle itself becomes detached as the heart muscle had died due to the myocardial infarct. Likely had the MI days ago while feeling crappy and this segment of heart muscle died resulting in the valve issue.

[NorthCountryGuy]

Originally Posted by 335xi Beast

He tested negative. Apparently the heart attack happened this past Saturday. Go fig. He is stable right now and they continue to do more testing. EKG , etc. No surgery as of now which is good. Not sure what else as of now.

There it is.
Hope he does well.

[RMNB]

Originally Posted by NorthCountryGuy

More commonly a valve ‘gets blown’ due to an infarct (standard blockage in a coronary artery). The chordae tendinae that anchor the valve cusp to the heart muscle itself becomes detached as the heart muscle had died due to the myocardial infarct. Likely had the MI days ago while feeling crappy and this segment of heart muscle died resulting in the valve issue.

He had a small blockage on RCA but nothing significant.

[9M71]

Best wishes to him and a speedy recovery...

[RMNB]

Thanks everyone! Keep ya posted.

[RMNB]

Update- drove down last Thursday. He was in ICU still, has MI the prior Saturday and he did mention when we spoke that his left arm was numb, shortness of breath, etc so basically he was having a heart attack as he was driving. Bad idea! Couple days later feeling worse ... kept throwing up, on the pot, etc. Thought it was food poisoning.

Finally wife called the ambulance as they couldn't get him up off the bathroom floor. Took 4 EMT's to get him up and out in the ambulance. He is 6 foot and 215 or so but not a big guy really. They spent 20 minutes in the ambulance working on him so apparently he coded 3 times!! Brought him back, CPR , etc. rushed to hospital.

Stable condition now. Docs are blown away he is still with us since he had a tear, bled out, fluid around his heart, intibated, drain tube. No surgery yet as he is waiting for the next step which we don't know what it is yet. Docs cautiously optimistic but nervous. I believe today he is getting out of the ICU but that's all I know right now.

Everyone was there sitting around in the garage hanging out going up to see him from time to time as they only allowed one person. Very strict due to Covid as expected. Very emotional for everyone especially his wife since she was at the same hospital the prior week with what she thought an appendix issue, stomach pain and now this. Also, she just started a new job the prior and has tell her boss she's going to be out indefinitely. Needless to say the stress level is unimaginable. Docs said definitely NOT Covid! Tested negative.

[zx10guy]

This sort of hits home and I guess something I will have to keep in the back of my mind. I have an enlarged aortic root which means the area where the aorta originates from my heart is enlarged. This was first picked up during one of my routine CT scans as follow ups from my cancer history. The issue was confirmed via echocardiogram.

The radiology report from the CT scan mentioned a mild dilation of the aortic root. I thought this was no big deal until the cardiologist said it is. He said I needed to stop weight training immediately as I could drop dead without any warning. Had it not been for the CT scan, I nor any of my docs would have ever known I had this condition.

Anyways, glad your brother in law is recovering.

[NorthCountryGuy]

Incredibly fortunate he is alive.
Good on him.
Best Wishes.

[RMNB]

Went down to NC again and hung out with Jon. He is doing much better! Docs have him on several medications naturally. Still gets tired easily and has to rest so not 100%. His weight is down to 190 from 215. Of course we all think he looks skinny but not the case.

He will need an ablation in the future they say but not sure when. In an out of A fib but not a real concern at the moment. Bottom line he is alive and doing much better.

[detroitm2]

"Ruptured Heart" does not sound like something normally survivable.. Glad he's doing better.

Someone must have been on his side.

[chassis]

All the best for a continued recovery.

[RMNB]

We spoke with him this past weekend and he sounded and felt much stronger. Normal voice, not tired as much he said and feels pretty good except for the harsh reality of how much salt is in the foods we eat. Now his entire diet has changed.

Thanks everyone for the kind concerns.

[detroitm2]

Originally Posted by 335xi Beast

We spoke with him this past weekend and he sounded and felt much stronger. Normal voice, not tired as much he said and feels pretty good except for the harsh reality of how much salt is in the foods we eat. Now his entire diet has changed.

Thanks everyone for the kind concerns.

Careful with cutting salt too much. The body needs iodine. A lot of people run into thyroid issues because they cut salt and do not supliment their iodine intake.

[RMNB]

Originally Posted by detroitm2

Careful with cutting salt too much. The body needs iodine. A lot of people run into thyroid issues because they cut salt and do not supliment their iodine intake.

1500mg should be a good number to shoot for.