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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Diagnosed With Pulmonary Fibrosis After A Quadruple By Pass, On Amioderin. Why Dry Cough?

My husband has recently been diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis after he had quadruple by-pass surgery. He went into AFib and they gave him a drug known as Amioderon, sorry about the spelling. They said one of the reactions to this medication could be, Pulmonary Fibrosis. He is 76 yrs old...never had any lung issues in the past that we are aware of. We have a local Pulmonary doctor but she did not give him a very good prognosis . Would it be to our advantage to get in to see specialist in this field at Duke Hospital here in North Carolina. We live approx. 3 hrs away. His doctor stated there is nothing that can be done and gave him 2 to 3 yrs. He is on 2 to 3 liter of continuous oxygen when at rest, but with any activity he needs at least 4 liters and still gets tired very easily and gets a dry cough very frequently. He was very active prior to his diagnosis, he did have some shortness of breath, but the cardiac doctor after running lots of test and procedures,ruled that this was due to his blockages in his heart. Can you shed any light on this situation. I am very frustated and not sure which way to turn. Thank you so very much for taking the time to read my comments.
Wed, 16 Jan 2013
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Cardiologist 's  Response
Hi friend,
Welcome to Health Care Magic

Obviously, breathlessness is not due to heart failure.
It is due to lung fibrosis.
Fibrosis is from amiodarone.
It may not be reversible at this stage. Reducing the dose may not help - it is not always dose related / the arrhythmia may worsen and need a change of drug and so on.

Pulmonologist could offer some help - management for the present / prevention of progression...

For what it is worth, it sounds sensible to give the benefit of doubt and admit him in multi-speciality tertiary care super-speciality hospital - Dukes is a reputed institution. If they conclude nothing much can be done - at least we are convinced, satisfied that the best has been done for him.

Take care
Wishing speedy recovery
God bless
Good luck
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Diagnosed With Pulmonary Fibrosis After A Quadruple By Pass, On Amioderin. Why Dry Cough?

Hi friend, Welcome to Health Care Magic Obviously, breathlessness is not due to heart failure. It is due to lung fibrosis. Fibrosis is from amiodarone. It may not be reversible at this stage. Reducing the dose may not help - it is not always dose related / the arrhythmia may worsen and need a change of drug and so on. Pulmonologist could offer some help - management for the present / prevention of progression... For what it is worth, it sounds sensible to give the benefit of doubt and admit him in multi-speciality tertiary care super-speciality hospital - Dukes is a reputed institution. If they conclude nothing much can be done - at least we are convinced, satisfied that the best has been done for him. Take care Wishing speedy recovery God bless Good luck