Congestive Heart Failure
By: Robert NamTotal Views: 215, Word Count: 728,
Congestive heart failure can also be simply called as heart failure. It is a condition, which occurs when the heart is unable to pump enough amount of blood to meet the requirement of the body tissues. Generally, it occurs because of other heart diseases too.
Congestive heart failure can be a result of two problems.
- In the condition when the heart fails to pump out all the blood which enters into the chambers or
- When the heart chambers are too stiff and cannot even relax to fill with blood.
When the congestive failure occurs in the large chambers on the left side of heart, the blood gets accumulated into the lungs resulting in filling the lung tissue with fluids. This congestion of fluid also results in shortness of breath and fatigue. Whereas when the congestive failure occurs on the right side of heart, the blood is accumulated in other tissues. It results in swelling in areas such as the liver and the legs.
Causes of Congestive Heart Failure
Generally, the congestive heart failure result due to the other heart disease. The causes of congestive heart failure are as follows.
1. Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
The most common cause of congestive heart failure is coronary artery disease. In coronary artery disease, the arteries which supply blood to the heart becomes clogged, cutting off the blood supply to heart muscles. This results in congestive heart failure
2. High Blood Pressure
Uncontrolled high blood pressure is another important cause of heart failure. High blood pressure thickens the heart muscles and tends the heart to work harder. This situation leads to weakening of the heart’s ability to contract and relax which prevents it from filling blood properly.
3. Diabetes
People suffering with diabetes also have a higher risk for obesity, high blood pressure, and CAD, which contribute to congestive heart failure.
4. Valvular Heart Disease
When heart does not work properly, the heart muscles have to work much harder to compensate with the abnormal blood flow. This excessive blood flow causes the heart muscle to fail.
5. Cardiomyopathies
Cardiomyopathy means the disease of the heart muscles. Some of them develops inherit and some do not. The progressive deterioration of heart muscle, which results from cardiomypathy, leads to congestive heart failure.
6. Viral Infections
Some of the viral infections of the heart muscles such as acute myocardiatis lead to congestive heart failure.
Signs and Symptoms of Heart Failure
Many symptoms of congestive heart failure result from the congestion, which develops as fluid, backs up into the lungs, and leaks into the tissue.
Symptoms of the left side heart failure may include.
1. Fatigue
2. shortness of breath,
3. Unintended loss of Weight
4. Difficulty in breathing at night
5. Asthma
Symptoms of right side heart failure are.
1. Fatigue
2. Accumulation of fluid in the feet, ankles, legs and abdomen
3. Enlargement of liver
4. Weight gain
If you experience any of the below symptoms, consult your doctor right away.
1. A cough which produces a pinkish froth,
2. Wheezing and a sensation of bubbling in the lungs
3. Feeling of drowning
4. Pale, clammy or blue tinged skin
Diagnosis of Congestive Heart Failure
Doctors can diagnosis the congestive heart failure using the following test
1. A electrocardiogram and chest x-ray
2. An echocardiogram , which is one of the best way to diagnose the congestive heart failure
3. Thallium scan , which uses a radioactive tracer to show the flow of blood through the coronary artery
4. Cardiac catheterization with angiography, a special substance is injected into the blood vessel which reveals the inside portion of the artery
Treatments for Congestive Heart Failure
The treatment of the congestive heart failure mainly depends on the causes of the heart failure. The various treatment of congestive heart failure focuses on the treating the underlying disorder which many cause the heart failure. It tries to control the elements, which can cause the congestive heart failure and treating the heart failure itself. Some of the treatment options are drugs, biventricular pacing, surgery, heart transplant, VAD and lifestyle changes.
Congestive heart failure is a very serious condition and should be treated in a hospital on the emergency priority.
About the Author
Dr. Robert Nam is a well known heart specialist and has done postgraduate training in cardiology at the national heart hospital, the London chest hospital and UCL hospital, London. He was also engaged in research at the national heart and lung institute. Nowadays he is working as a consultant cardiologist at UCL hospital, London.
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