Poor heart function and surgery

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Submitted by Dr T on February 16, 2013 – 12:13pm

Question: 
My father(Age 58 yrs) is suffering from Heart disease and his EF is 28%. Now a days he is suffering from pneumonia with more than 20 days. He has diabetics and BP problem also. Doctors here told us that his heart is too week to operate. Please consult me about what should be the best treatment for him. Should EF be improved?

Hi Jaspreet,
You haven’t told me what surgery he needs. He has moderately severe heart failure with an EF=28% that is probably aggravated by the pneumonia. Any surgery should be delayed till he has recovered from that condition.

As you will read in the link there are all sorts of treatments available for patients with a weak heart. While an operation is more risky than in someone with normal function, any procedure depends on weighing the risks against the potential benefits. With that in mind, successful surgery is eminently possible: I have performed many an operation (whether coronary artery bypass or valve surgery) in patients with that level of cardiac dysfunction with excellent results.
Hope this helps,
Dr T

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