Five years out and no change

[tabs]

Well, my little girl just turned 5. On May 1, it will be 5 years since I was hospitalized with an ef of 7%. On June 1 it will be 10 years from my initial pg that we think caused this whole thing. My last ef, done in February and just now bothered to get the results, showed that my LV is still midly dilated and my ef is still 43%. The positive note is that my heart is staying the same and I am not worried about it!
Twilah

[Yvonne]

The positive note is that my heart is staying the same and I am not worried about it!

That was absolutely my first thought! We all like to have the 'best numbers', but a stable condition is in my opinion a good sign.
Are you planning a big birthday party for your little lady?

[melissamph]

Way to go! 43% is great! You are holding you ground! Awesome! We have a bday here too on May 2nd! My middle daughter Payton will be 4!!!! Our families will be celebrating!

[momoftwoboys]

Having no change in EF isn't so bad hey? We can deal with no change. As long as you're not having symptoms and it's not going in the other direction, we can be satisfied. I think 43% (up from 7%) are some pretty awesome numbers. Who knows, maybe you will even see higher numbers some day.

[Natasha]

you can live a full and happy life at 43%. Congratulations!

[JAMESFETT]

Good for you! 43 percent represents a huge gain from the 7 percent at diagnosis. The future holds prospect for newer medications or combinations that show how to maximize function of remaining intact cardiomyocytes. Work is being done on the growth of new cardiomyocytes. More information is coming in from biopsies showing presence of virus, and subsequent anti-viral treatment (in IDCM) resulting in gains in EF. More data are accumulating regarding the presence of autoantibodies, identifying those that are actually harmful, and showing that removal also results in gains in EF. Natural healing occurs even late, and in my opinion 5 years is not "too late". So here is hope and prayer for continuing healing.

James