Yes frustrating maybe cardiologist will have suggestions keep me posted

I haven't had any heart attacks, but having chemo 2 different times now has damaged my heart. When I bend over for even a moment, like when I put my dogs food bowl down on the floor for him, I will stand up and I'm huffing and puffing and short of breath. This started the first time I had chemo and has gotten worse since the 2nd time I had chemo. The chemo also had a negative effect on my stamina and nowadays I get out of breath pretty quickly if I'm doing something physical like vacuuming or walking more than 100 feet or so. I know some heart problems, like congestive heart failure, can cause feet and ankles to swell, but chemo can cause foot and ankle swelling too. I wanted to respond because both times I had chemo I would end up with swollen feet and ankles if I was on my feet too much or sitting with my feet on the ground too much, like when I was driving or being a passenger on long trips. To avoid having my feet and ankles swell I sit on my couch with my feet on a footrest. Although it's not as bad as when actively having chemo, I still have issues now with the swelling and the stamina and I've learned to pace myself around the house. I'll be active for 10-30 minutes depending on what I'm doing and then I need to sit down with my feet up and rest for a while. I've found that when I'm able to pace myself and put my feet up I don't have the swelling issues, but if I'm not able to take my breaks cause I'm out and about doing errands or making the 6 hour round trip drive to my doctors in Orlando I can expect to be swollen for about 24 hours afterwards.

Yes I have had a heart attack almost 8 years ago, Afib and having regular echos and ECG with my heart. Hav had some ankle swelling but thinking it might be after chemo recovery see my oncologist next week will check in and know more
It is a journey but careful monitoring should be the key

Thank you very much y'all. I am 64 and have A fibs plus other inherited heart problems plus a history of heart attacks and strokes. I've been wondering since this is all new to me and I have my first treatments today just how I could go through them and still make it through the treatments.
This really is encouraging to know since I dont know anyone personally who has g o me through the treatments with these kinds of other health issues. Thank you again my friend 🎀💖🌷

@A MyBCTeam Member....No, it doesn't make any difference. I usually stop 3 times each direction at the rest stops I pass when going to and from Orlando. I get out of my truck, walk around a little bit, use the restroom if I need to. I've narrowed it down to one thing, my feet being on the ground, either walking or sitting, for too many hours in a 24 hour period. The swelling is more severe when I'm going through chemo and taking steroids. Then I will get full on cankles and they're so swollen they hurt to the touch. When not on chemo they will still swell, but my ankles still have an ankle like shape. The only thing that makes a difference and controls the swelling or makes it go away when it's flaring up is sitting with my feet up. It's less stress on the heart and circulation when you elevate your feet. My doctor did give me a prescription for Lasix to use as needed, but I haven't taken it. I'm allergic to sulpha drugs and all the diuretic pills contain a little bit of sulpha. I know that it's related to heart damage from the chemo, but they haven't found anything wrong with my heart despite multiple echocardiagrams which all showed completely different issues (leaky valves and an aortic aneurism) and those were followed by a CAT scan, both with and without contrast, that ruled out everything that they thought they saw on the echocardiagrams. It's not an issue when I'm at home and have the ability to buzz around the house/yard and do stuff and take frequent breaks to sit down and relax on the couch with my feet up. I'm seeing a new cardiologist next week to go over the CAT scan I had a couple months ago, but the test results were good so I don't think he'll have any answers for me. It's just frustrating knowing there's something wrong, but nobody can accurately or adequately diagnosis the problem.

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