I doubt there is a recovery to be had. My ex husband was diagnosed in 1998 and he had a few fast rides in an ambulance even after that. Took 20+ pills a day for the rest of his life. Lived until 2015; (guess he was too mean to die). He abused his body for years.

IIRC, the heart stretches out so doesn't pump correctly. Maybe more to it than that but that is all I remember; that and having to totally change the way I cooked.

Sorry to hear about your family member; may he have a long life.

By recovery do you mean cured of the disease? I don't think that happens with CHF other than via transplant. Based on people I know it is more of a maintenance situation with medication to alleviate symptoms like shortness of breath and maximize quality of life as much as possible. My mother died of CHF in her mid 80s - heavy smoker, sedentary lifestyle. Aunt died from it at 91 - healthy lifestyle. I think it's a common condition that gets you if you live long enough without succumbing to something else.

You don't say which kind of CHF he has. There is left-sided or right-sided and then the person can deteriorate and have both. Left-sided presents as increased shortness of breath ( SOB) and a wet sounding cough with fluid in the lungs. It is caused by the heart not pumping adequately and the fluid backs up into the lungs when it can't go forward into the rest of the circulation. Right sided heart failure presents with edema in the legs/feet. The fluid backs up to the central circulation when it can't get into the lungs to get oxygenated. These are very brief definitions. Here is a great article that explains the causes and symptoms. Previous damage from a heart attack can cause this. Otherwise it can simply be a factor of aging heart muscles that are "stiff". There is no cure. Only treatment of the symptoms and a change of diet to reduce sodium to try and lessen the fluid.

Good Luck to your family member. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-failure/basics/causes/con-20029801

My sweet late mother died in 2014 of CHF at age 89. She had had it for many years, and spent some time in the hospital several times in her last years, having fluid drained from her lungs, despite maintaining a very strict diet of low sodium. The folks above are correct in that it doesn't have a cure, and can only be 'managed'.

My FIL died of it (81) and it was only afterward that we put the pieces together and realized he may have had the heart damage from Lyme disease...at that time, the disease was fairly new and little understood.

Thanks, all. It looks like some degree of improvement can be had from diet change/weight loss/exercise plan. Does anyone have experience with cardiac rehabilitation centers/programs?

The one at our local hospital is excellent. It is partnered with the gym that they also own. The patient's MD usually writes the " RX" for the therapy program and they in turn report back to the MD as to progress and needs etc. If managed correctly it can be a big help to get the patient on the road to better health. I urge your family to talk to the MD about an appropriate program.

My Dad had greatly worsening CHF due to a bad heart valve. All of his MD's had written him off due to his weight and eating habits. I encouraged him to see another MD. My Dad at 80 had open heart surgery to replace the valve. He made an amazing recovery and designed and built he and my Mom's forever home and bought a new Lincoln :) He lived a very full life for 12 more years ! All of this is to say that age is definitely an individual thing and just a " number on a page". It in NO WAY indicates what medical treatment a patient is likely to benefit from. I always encourage patients to get another opinion if they are dissatisfied with the care they are getting. The patient is the consumer and it is incumbent upon the medical community to meet the patient's needs to the highest standards. Good Luck !! Your family member is already a step ahead in having you as an advocate. c

Mom died of it (well, complications post surgery, but...). MIL has it. Honestly, at least there's a name for it-before there wasn't the terminology in the zeitgeist.

It's a tough road to hoe. There is no cure, just adjusting lifestyle, losing weight if need be, and taking a cocktail of meds.

But, it can be managed for quite some time!

My uncle has it, got diagnosed at 80 and he's now 94. He had to slow down and that was frustrating for him, still is. But he copes and is aggressive as he can be in managing it.

I just wanted to chime in to say a family member also has this and his doctor seems to see him as just old and isn't being thorough. I'd consider switching doctors or at least getting another opinion.

I'll also chime in with the push for cardiac rehab. Insurance will pay for it, and many places have an aftercare/maintenance program where the clients can exercise like a regular gym (self-payment is required) but with more supervision and monitoring by the nurses and exercise physiologists.

Thanks, all. I checked in with with DS2, who went with my family member to the appointment, to see if diet changes were recommended. Her response, "The doctor recommended a low sodium diet but she wasn't pushy about it." Good grief!

Kaiser, his health care provider, is known for being as slow as molasses and not offering options unless you push. If anyone has specific experience with Kaiser, I am all ears.

Sheeisback, good luck with your family member!

Find a cardiologist who specializes in heart failure (HF).

DF is one and often gets patients referred to him that were mismanaged by their primary care physicians who were completely unaware of the latest evidence based medical practice for HF.

Many large academic teaching hospitals have HF clinics. What is your nearest large city?

My dad (87) has chf , he's had 3 scary episodes of fluid building up in his lungs and I was with him at the ER for one of those episodes, he was suffering so much until they managed to drain some of the fluids. He's been told to seriously monitor his fluid intake, no more than one liter a day, and that includes everything liquid, soups, drinks etc... He also has to weigh himself everyday and take an extra diuretic pill if his weight changes by more than a pound. There is no cure, you have to try to avoid fluid buildup, my dad said these episodes were so painful, he wanted to die.

I actually took a one liter (33 ounces) container and showed him how much liquid his favorite cup of coffee had, (it's a huge cup) how much liquid one glass of water has, etc... it doesn't take long to fill up a one liter container in the course of one day, having the visual helped him evaluate and curb his fluid intake. Until his first visit at the ER, he had never been told to restrict his liquid intake, and my brothers and I had never heard of this as a preventative measure.

My Father died of CHF. I am not sure the aggressive treatment he had did him any favors.

Maybe your family members physician is incompetent or maybe he is trying to give your relative some quality of life -not just quantity.

I would have loved for my Dad to have passed away in his garden a year or two earlier instead of in the hospital after very hard year.

In this country we spend a load of money on health care in the last years of life. I am not sure it is always a good idea.

I hope everything goes as well as it can for your relative and you get the care that you and he want.

The elderly and their families should receive all of the information necessary for them to make informed decisions. Unfortunately, this piece of healthcare lags far behind.

My father died of CHF -- which itself was a symptom or result of an earlier problem and in turn led to other organs failing. I started to post earlier, but ther real place for the OP to be having a discussion is with her father and family, his doctor and medical staff and possibly other doctors or medical staff. If the only information is coming from the father, it would be appropriate to have a conversation directly with the doctor or other medical staff to see if the father is understanding and retaining what he is being told. In order to have that discussion, you should have a HIPAA release naming you as someone the doctors can release info to. You need to know why this has happened (if known - but may follow a heart attack, history of COPD or other problems) and how severe it if (there are four stages). Then you can talk about how it may be treated or managed and what the prognosis may be. So much depends on the particulars. If you don't feel he is getting appropriate medical treatment, ask more questions of the current doctor and staff and seek a second opinion.

Thanks, all! You guys have really given me great information--way more than Kaiser's given us. I will follow up to see if his cardiologist specializes in heart failure and see about getting a second opinion. I also spoke with him and his wife and urged them to start tracking sodium intake. He eats pretty well but is a sucker for commercial baked goods, which I know can be full of sodium.

auntepetunia, I agree with you that sometimes aggressive treatment is not the best idea.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/heart/disorders/heart-failure-what-is/hftreatement

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hf/treatment

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-failure/basics/treatment/con-20029801

http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/heart-failure/heart-failure-treatment

Above are excellent resources for learning about the management of HF. Treatment can vary greatly depending on the cause, type, and severity of HF - as well as the patients wishes.

It appears that Kaiser has a HF case management program. I would ask for a referral to this.

https://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/ncal/Images/1026-E_tcm75-14741.pdf

"Aggressive" treatment can mean maximizing control of symptoms.