I have a brother who was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and has a history of opiate addiction (painkillers). ?

Question by Rob M: I have a brother who was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and has a history of opiate addiction (painkillers). ?
He has been at Rochester Strong Memorial for awhile. He is 24 years old and has slowly gotten worse. He was able to walk and talk last week, and sat went thru cardiac arrest and they placed a balloon in his heart to pump it for him, They took the balloon out a couple of days ago and replaced it with a mechanical pump. Last night he was able to talk a lil on the phone and walk a little, but today out of nowhere, he is not talking or responding to commands. Sometimes he squeezes my hand when I ask, opens his eyes, itches his nose, but for some odd reason he is unable to speak now. They did not find anything wrong with his brain in the catscan but will need more scans and an eeg. I’m scared for my little brother and any advise or ideals on what may be happening….can help us out a little. He will need a heart transplant to live a somewhat normal life after this (as per the doctors), but they have strict guidelines and rules he will need to follow when he is released and will have to adhere to it for 6 months to qualify for the transplant he will need. Essentially, he will have his life in his own hands, but right now we are just doing everything to keep him alive. What would cause him to not speak today?????

Best answer:

Answer by misoma5
A drop in cardiac output may do that but there are other things that can also cause this. Pump failure caused by cardiomyopathy makes one extremely tired, it is a huge effort to do some of the simplest things. Also, one may develop pulmonary edema where it is difficult to breathe, peripheral edema (swelling of the legs and other places). The doctors will have to keep his heart pumping enough blood to feed all his organs through medication and assist devices. When the heart cannot pump enough blood, the blood collects in places causing the edema, the tissues and organs get ischemic (inadequate blood supply and oxygen) and other problems develop. For example, if his brain is not getting enough blood, it will be hard for him to stay conscious.

BTW, I don’t think the cardiomyopathy is related to the opiate addiction. If he was injecting drugs, he will have a greater risk of developping endocarditis, but I don’t think it increases the risk of cardiomyopathy, drinking a kot of alcohol has been known to cause cardiomyopathy as well as other causes.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!