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Is Oversleep And Other Signs Lead To Congestive Heart Failure?
My mother is 99 years old. Recently she has been short of breath and the O2 levels are going down, from 98 to 91---measured by a visiting nurse. She sleeps a lot and her ankles are swollen at night. She is a petite woman and was always active. I read about the signs/symptoms of congestive heart failure because I thought she might have that condition, and her symptoms do fit the description. Should the nurse call a doctor?
Tue, 17 Jun 2014
The doctor should definitely be involved if this is a recent change. If she does have worsening heart failure then there are dietary modifications (low salt and moderate fluid intake) that could help her remain less short of breath, and with less ankle swelling. However, there are multiple other causes for these symptoms which would need to be evaluated by her doctor. At age 99, we are usually pretty conservative in starting new therapies, but there are certainly may ways your mother could suffer less from her current symptoms (eg: low flow oxygen)
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