weakening of the heart wall - Heart Disorders Message Board

wheezie_66 · 01-24-2007, 06:47 AM

Hi everyone
Hopefully someone can help me out. My boyfriend had some stress tests a number of months ago that pointed to restricted flow through his arteries.....the heart fills up fine, but drains poorly. The specialist has since done many many tests and has determined that repairing the arteries is not a viable option because the heart wall lining is thin and not stable. He was put on a transplant list. Since then in a few short months the wall lining has deteriorated faster than anticipated. Last week he was booked into surgery to attach mesh to strengthen the wall lining. Due to the overwhelming nature of the information, my boyfriend really did hear or understand all that is going to happen to him. He was told that the survival rate is on 50% for this surgery.
My boyfriend has really tried to isolate himself and deal with this all on his own. I feel left out but I also feel that I lack the knowledge to support him. Can someone make sense of the information he has told me....has anyone else gone through this surgery.......what does it involve, etc.

Please help
Thanks
Elizabeth

started04 · 01-24-2007, 09:09 AM

Hi Elizabeth,

The special material to strengthen the heart wall is stitched to the surrounding tissue. If the tissue is badly damaged, it may present a problem in the short term, but may be sufficient until a heart transplant.

A weak heart wall will not have strong contractions and may not sufficiently pump blood into circulation. It is true filling would not be a problem as relaxation of heart muscle is present.

wheezie_66 · 01-24-2007, 11:21 AM

Thank you so much for your reply.....do you know the name of the procedure?

Thanks
Elizabeth

Pika · 01-24-2007, 04:43 PM

I was told the pacemaker will not help only if the heart is "POP". It means rupture. Someone has done a research and found many documentaries to that case of rupture. One of that is "mesh" and the other one is the "super glue" which is for mended the pin hole rupture at the heart wall. They said once it ruptures, is very hard to rescue. Take care.

wheezie_66 · 01-26-2007, 06:49 PM

Please - can someone name the actual heart defect or the name of the procedure to secure the mesh to the outside wall lining of the left ventrical.....

e.