Profile picture for user clarin
clarin Caregiver

Fainting/Blackouts

My husband has had his VAD for about 6 months. Is anyone else dealing with blackouts and fainting? And if so how is your physician handling it? Early on they blamed it on him not getting enough fluid affecting his flow. Now they say it is a drop in blood pressure upon standing. They prescribed Midodrine and then recently increased the dosage to 10 mg 3x a day but he's still having them. They said there's nothing more that they can do.

Profile picture for user leakfamily7
Sylina L.

My husband was having the same issue. They increased his pump speed and he needed a little more salt in his diet to keep his blood pressure from bottoming out. Now he is doing a lot more better. I hope this helps.

Profile picture for user clarin
clarin

Thanks for your response. They recently increased the pump speed to 9200 which hasn't helped. They want to start him on Florinef which helps hold salt/fluid in the body. He's been told to drink at least 2 liters of fluid a day and move his legs and feet around before standing. We'll see if it makes a difference. Thanks again.

Profile picture for user leakfamily7
Sylina L.

I'm sorry that didn't help. My husbands had to be moved up to 9600. They had to back off on some of the meds too, good luck. I hope u find a balance soon.

Profile picture for user clarin
clarin

My husband is doing better now. I think in part because I'm reminding him to drink more and be consistent as well. The Florinef is beginning to hold onto some fluid as his legs were slightly swollen this morning as they want. Keeping my fingers crossed that this will be the solution. We move to rehab today to help strengthen his leg from a fall. Thanks for your input and support.

Profile picture for user Loreceb
Lorece B.

My dad has the same issue. He has had the lVAD since August 2014(about 8 months) . In the past 30 days he has had 3 fainting episodes. The Drs at Duke tell us that it's because he isn't getting enough fluids. But now that you mention it, it does seem to happen after he stands up. Also we noticed that he gets the "suction call" right before he passes out as well. I hope all is well with your husband. Thank you all for sharing your story.