Q. How important is Lasix after heart surgery? My husband hates to take it because of the frequency of urination, and is starting to consider not taking it, even though he won't see his doctor for another 6 weeks. Please advise.

A. TAKE THE MEDICINE.

OK. Now that he is taking the medicine, he should call his doctor. Often a patient is stuck with the side effect of Lasix, but it may be that the dose can be reduced. However, this should be done under the direction of the doctor!!

The concern is the all the fluid the Lasix is forcing to leave his body is fluid your husband's heart may not be able to handle. This means that a few days to a few weeks after stopping the Lasix, after the fluid has lowly built up in his body, his heart will finally get to the point where it can't handle all the fluid. This is called heart failure. I would not want your husband to go into heart failure while it is treatable (with Lasix), he very well may need to be hospitalized.

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