Question: My 79 yr old husband has had Afib for many years successfully treated with Coumadin UNTIL Feb '12. Following 3 weeks with severe diarrhea he went into CHF. After weeks of great care he recovered and most meds were revised. He had been given Diltiazem at 360mg/day which has never been changed altho the bp is usually in mid 120 and 70's. He has no angina, no sensations, and according to ecg's and scans his heart is essentially the same as prior to the incident. Not to say it was perfect (with a little valve leakage, some enlargement, but regular irregular and no problems). His Dr does not want to reduce the it because near completion of incident, Coumadin was stopped in order of do scope do determine cause of diarrhea and a left occipital lobe stroke which limits vision. It was not caused by the heart. At as an assessment at Mayo in April '12 they suggested decr Diltiazem and incr simvastatin some as he had swelling in legs and ankles and some dizziness. Both have subsided now. Now he has incr problems remembering and thinking.
After this period of time do the veins and arteries have any flexibility left, or are they so placid that they can no longer help move the blood? Is there a reason to not try to find out how much is needed to keep the heart as healthy as possible, and how much is just more. He has recently been put on Aricept for memory. He does not have Alzheimer's. Could part of this is caused by other meds?My husband changed from Coumadin to Eliquis about 2months ago.