Heart Failure: Concerns and Questions for Patients - Cardiology

Confusion about Heart Failure

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My father, who is 81 years old, has been suffering from diabetes for nearly forty years.
For the past ten years, he has been taking cardiovascular medications (Berkley) due to shortness of breath while walking.
Two years ago, he started taking (Kankin) as well.
In March of this year, due to severe vascular blockage and calcification, he had two stents implanted.
However, during the stent implantation process, it is suspected that a blood vessel was injured, leading to acute heart failure.
Fortunately, he has since recovered enough to eat and walk, but after walking for ten minutes, he experiences shortness of breath and needs to sit down to rest before he can walk again.
His blood pressure is low, which may be a side effect of the medication and the summer heat, with a systolic pressure in the seventies and a diastolic pressure of 48.
His heart rate is around 60, and he currently has no discomfort.
The medications he is taking include: 1.
Apixaban 2.5 mg twice daily, 2.
Jian Anxin 100 mg twice daily, 3.
Kankin 1.25 mg twice daily, 4.
Lipitor 40 mg once daily, 5.
Shipaotong 25 mg once daily, 6.
Baotong 75 mg once daily, 7.
Tangshunping 25 mg once daily, and 8.
Insulin injection (NovoMix) 30 units in the morning and evening.
I would like to ask the doctor: 1.
Should he receive the AZ vaccine? 2.
Should he wait? 3.
Or should he get a different brand of vaccine? Thank you very much for your previous response.
I am very concerned that any small mistake could lead to serious consequences for my father, so I have decided to postpone the vaccination.
I would like to ask the doctor: 1.
Since my father had a stent implanted and developed arrhythmia, and is taking Apixaban (the discharge diagnosis states acute heart failure), if his condition improves, will he still need to continue taking this medication? 2.
On March 6 of this year, my father had a stent implanted.
The attending physician originally planned to discharge him the next day, but upon performing an ECG before discharge, abnormalities were found, and he was kept for further observation.
After another day, the hospital physician informed us that he needed to lose 2 kg of fluid before discharge, and he was prescribed diuretics.
He struggled for several days with dry mouth, difficulty swallowing, and his limbs felt like dried oranges (due to the separation of care, the hospital physicians were responsible for his post-stent care).
Eventually, he was unable to eat or move and was hospitalized for over ten days before being discharged (he has been on a liquid diet for nearly 20 days at home).
I would like to ask the doctor how heart failure patients are determined to need diuretics for fluid retention? (At that time, my father was not short of breath, and there was no lower limb edema.
During his hospitalization, the hospital physician did not conduct a physical examination or inquiry.) (This has been a long-standing concern for me; I just want to know the answer.) 3.
Given the severe pandemic situation, it is indeed important to get vaccinated for peace of mind.
I would like to ask the doctor if it would be appropriate to get vaccinated after a stable ECG in the future? Is this line of thinking correct? 4.
Can the condition of heart failure patients improve? Is recovery possible? 5.
In fact, the attending physician has never explicitly informed the family that the patient has heart failure; the family learned about it from the medication bag.
Does the physician not clearly communicate this to the family? (The physician just prescribes medication after the consultation.) 6.
My father eats very slowly and sometimes holds the last bite in his mouth for a long time without swallowing.
He has previously been checked by an ENT specialist, who found no issues with his throat, and a traditional Chinese medicine doctor also believes he can swallow, indicating that his swallowing function is intact.
I would like to ask the doctor if heart failure patients can experience difficulty swallowing?

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Xiao Xia Mi, 30~39 year old female. Ask Date: 2021/06/24