Hello everyone. My little brother is 48 years old and he is right now in a hospital in a semi-coma. He went in on Sept. 9 for stomach problems; he had been vomitting for about a week prior. The doctors gave him a combination of protonix, zofran & reglan. Shortly afterwards, he suffered what they first said was heart failure. Now, a week later, they're saying he had a stroke. The doctors are also saying that they are not sure as to what caused my brother, Tony, to be in a state where he cannot speak, move or possibly see. He opens his eyes, but we don't know if he is really seeing anything. Can heart failure cause a stroke? If so, what could have caused the heart failure? Could it have been the medication?
My family and I are having a lot of trouble figuring out how it is that a person can walk into a hospital for stomach problems and end up in a virtual vegetable state. Something doesn't add up here.
Rich
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Why Did My Little Brother Have A Stroke?
- By richierich
- Posted September 17, 2009 at 12:29 am · 4 replies
- In Getting a diagnosis
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Explore topics in this discussion:
Heart failure Hypertension Protonix Stroke Ehlers-Danlos syndrome Reglan
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- By Ieva
- Posted September 17, 2009 at 5:08 am
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Heart failure is a very general word, but, for example, valve stenosis may cause hypertension which can cause stroke. Also thrombi….And these defects can pass unnoticed for a very long time, especially in men. In addition prolonged vomiting certainly disrupts electrolyte balance. Of course there are special salt solutions, but not everybody administers them and not all patients are able to hold everything….Out of all medicines the most likely to cause any serious health problems is Reglan. But does your brother have phaeochromocytoma? Anyway I do not believe digging in the past is a right thing to do now, since if your brother wakes you will have to help him recover. And then, with hard work and support who knows? I myself remember story of a man with transverse fracture of neck vertebrae. He regained all skills and took up teaching alpinism….
- By aVEDSer
- Posted September 17, 2009 at 9:25 am
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Sounds similar to Vascular, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. The age for one, 48, the stomach issues, the stroke could be caused by a dissection or blockage somewhere, or because of the heart issues in a normal person, a dissection above and below the heart could have caused the heart issues in a person with VEDS.
Strokes are common with people who have issues with the heart valves. Could have been a simple blood clot in the leg that caused the other problems.
A CTA/MRA would have ruled out a dissecting/aneurysm. VEDS is a rare disease so the probability is not high enough to get overly concerned about it. I am sure there are other diseases to consider as well. Right now you are really simply grasping at straws.
There could be a number of causes and if it were something genetic a geneticist would be the best person to ask.
As far as medications, I would ask his regular doc to review the medications your brother was given to find out if the medications caused the heart problem. There is nothing wrong with asking a second opinion and doing so can be very helpful to the patient, who should be everyone's first priority. Don't get concerned about physician's egos, their job is to do what is right for the patient and even they ask consultants.
- By richierich
- Posted September 17, 2009 at 1:22 pm
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Thank you so much, leva, for this info! I will pass it on to my brother's doctors and see what they think. Maybe they can learn something here; maybe they missed something. As we all know, even doctors make mistakes and sometimes need help. Thanks again!
- By richierich
- Posted September 17, 2009 at 1:29 pm
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Thank you so much for your reply, aVEDSer! I will make sure my brother's doctors get this info. Maybe it will help them to figure out what is really wrong with him and why he is in this condition. Thanks a lot!
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