Hypoxia in congestive heart failure

[timeistight]

Does anyone know anything about this?

MIL is increasingly confused and a friend who was a nurse has suggested this as a possible cause to investigate before we assume she has dementia.

I just wondered if anyone has any experience of it.

Thanks

No-one?

Hypoxia is not a likely cause of confusion in someone who's able to walk around outside of hospital. There are lots of reversible causes of confusion and I agree with your friend that you shouldn't assume this to be the case unless/until an active diagnosis has been made. If she hasn't seen a doctor about this (and received a diagnosis of "dementia") already then she should do so.

MIL is housebound and virtually immobile. Part of the reason for her immobility is massively swollen feet and ankles which we assume are because of the heart failure, which was diagnosed five years ago. The confusion started subsequent to diagnosis.

She has not seen a doctor about the heart failure since diagnosis because she refuses to see her GP and he won't come out to her anyway because he does not see her as a medical emergency. She is too confused to be able to agree to change to a GP who would look after her properly and she has not had any sort of dementia assessment.

Her long term memory is completely shot and she no longer knows me.