I have Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and I have had it for 2 years now. I am 34 and the mother of 5 kids. Since getting it it was worsened. My ejection fraction was @ 11%. I am on a diet, have lost 47 pounds and my EF is now at 24%. My question is will it still get worse and will my life expectency still be limited to 5 to 8 years? Or is there ever a case where people can live with CHF for 20 years or more? Thanks.
Every patient is different. There are many different causes of heart failure and each has its own course and life expectancy. It is very difficult to predict outcomes in heart failure patients and it depends on the cause of heart failure and whether it can be corrected. I do not know the details of your heart failure or its cause so it is difficult to answer your question. Some patients with heart failure may have improvement and potentially reversal of their heart failure with appropriate therapy, such as medications, surgery if needed such as for a leaky valve, etc. For example, heavy alcohol use can lead to heart failure in some patients. If these patients stop drinking alcohol, then their heart failure may potentially reverse. I am not saying this is your situation, but just an example. I have a patient who was diagnosed with heart failure and very sick at the time of diagnosis. We started him on good heart failure medications, and now he is doing excellent and his ejection fraction is normal. Yes, it is possible to have CHF and live > 20 years. You really should discuss this with your doctor who knows all the details of your disease. There are many medications available for heart failure that have been shown to prolong survival, reduce symptoms and in some cases reverse the cardiac dysfunction.
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