Dorothy FarrarHeart failure
Heart failure (heart failure, heart failure) describes a lack of contractile power of the heart; the blood circulation becomes unstable. Targeted treatments and avoiding risk factors can help prevent or slow heart failure.
What is heart failure (heart failure, heart failure)?
In medicine, the term heart failure describes heart failure or heart failure.
In heart failure, the heart does not have enough strength to supply the body’s circulation with enough blood. That is why heart failure is also referred to as so-called dysfunction of the heart.
Heart failure mainly affects the elderly; in many cases, heart failure develops as a result of coronary heart disease (affecting the coronary arteries).
For example, a distinction is made between acute and chronic heart failure: While chronic heart failure develops over a longer period of time, acute heart failure immediately follows heart disease (e.g. a heart attack).
Causes
While mainly a so-called coronary heart disease (CHD), such as a heart attack, is the cause of heart failure, there are also other diseases that can lead to heart failure. These include, for example, cardiac arrhythmias, inflammation of the heart muscle, heart valve defects, pulmonary hypertension or anemia (a lack of red blood cells).
In addition to the direct causes of heart failure mentioned, there are also various risk factors that increase the risk of developing heart failure. These include, for example, high blood pressure, but also overweight or obesity (also known as obesity).
Other risk factors include alcohol and/or nicotine abuse and elevated cholesterol. And finally, diseases such as diabetes mellitus can also increase the risk of heart failure.
When to see a doctor?
If suddenly stabbing pain in the chest, shortness of breath, sweating or pallor are noticed, a doctor should be consulted immediately. The mentioned symptoms indicate acute heart failure, which must be treated immediately. In case of severe shortness of breath or signs of cardiogenic shock, an emergency doctor must be called immediately. Chronic heart failure manifests itself similarly: by increasing shortness of breath and chest pain, but also by a general feeling of weakness, swollen joints and frequent nighttime urination.
The first signs of heart failure are edema, water retention and rapid fatigue, which gradually increases. Anyone who notices one or more of the symptoms described should urgently consult a doctor. Further contact persons are the cardiologist or a specialist in internal medicine. Whichever doctor is visited: the examination should address the medical history as well as any cases of heart disease in the family. A comprehensive anamnesis makes it easier for the physician to diagnose the disease and thus also enables targeted treatment of heart failure.
Symptoms and course
A typical symptom of heart failure is shortness of breath (also known as dyspnea). If heart failure is present, those affected often suffer without prior physical exertion. This phenomenon is also referred to in medicine as resting dyspnea.
The symptoms of heart failure depend on how advanced the disease already is.
Stage I: hardly any discomfort under normal load
Stage II: Discomfort during moderate physical activity
Stage III : discomfort with little physical activity
Stage IV : Discomfort at rest, severe discomfort even with the slightest physical activity
If heart failure is already advanced, it can lead to water retention in the lungs of the person affected. Severe water retention can lead to pulmonary edema . The insufficient supply of blood can also lead to functional disorders or even failure of other organs.
Severe heart failure can lead to heart failure. The course of heart failure depends on various factors; for example, existing comorbidities, the risk factors mentioned above and also the age of a patient.
Diagnosis
The suspected diagnosis of cardiac insufficiency can already be made in the medical anamnesis interview, through the patient’s description of the symptoms. The symptoms, such as shortness of breath or jugular vein congestion, can already provide a decisive indication of the extent of cardiac muscle weakness. It must be in the diagnosis between the so-called right heart failure , left heart failureor global insufficiency of the heart. In the case of global insufficiency, the heart muscle is affected in its entirety by poor performance, and the symptoms are then also pronounced accordingly. During the physical examination, the doctor also looks for water retention in the legs. In addition to measuring blood pressure, a comprehensive physical examination also includes auscultation and percussion of the chest. These diagnostic techniques give the doctor a first impression of the heart size, rhythm, lung function and any pathological flow noises.
As soon as there is a suspicion of cardiac insufficiency, an extended differential diagnosis can be used in order to be able to narrow down the extent and consequential damage of cardiac insufficiency more precisely. Heart shape and size can be visualized by a chest X-ray . The electrocardiogram gives indications of possible arrhythmias in the heart muscle, because the transmission of stimuli can also be disturbed in the case of cardiac output weakness. An ultrasound examinationof the heart muscle can be used to analyze the extent to which the pumping function of the heart is impaired . Diseases of the coronary arteries as a cause of heart failure are shown by a so-called coronary angiography. Also certain blood testscan finally confirm the suspicion of cardiac insufficiency.
Complications
Heart failure is a very serious disease. In the worst case, this can lead to death if the symptoms are not treated and examined by a doctor in good time. As a rule, heart failure has a very negative effect on the patient’s quality of life and significantly restricts the patient’s everyday life. Those affected suffer from shortness of breath and Chest Pains . The resilience of those affected also decreases significantly and permanent tiredness and exhaustion occur.
Not infrequently, heart failure can also lead to water retention in various parts of the body. Loss of appetite and swelling occur. Inner restlessness and Depressive moods can also occur as a result of cardiac insufficiency, making everyday life difficult for the patient. The heart failure does not heal itself and in most cases it gets worse. In the worst case, the person concerned dies as a result of the complaint. The treatment usually has to be surgical. Unfortunately, it cannot be guaranteed that this will lead to a positive course of the disease.
treatment and therapy
Successful treatment of heart failure depends on various factors. Complete healing is not possible, but the progression of the disease can be slowed down. Initially, a treatment plan is based on the severity of the heart failure. The severity can be determined, for example, using a scale such as that of the New York Heart Association.
According to this scale, patients with heart failure stage III or higher usually require hospital treatment. Stage III is when symptoms occur even after only minor physical exertion.
In addition to the treatment of heart failure, there is also a targeted therapy for the associated symptoms: For example, water retention can be combated with a targeted diet that is primarily low in salt. Losing excess weight is also a possible therapeutic component. Chronic heart failure is often also treated with medication: Corresponding medication is, for example, dehydrating (so-called diuretics).
So-called Beta Blockers (to strengthen the heart’s contraction force) and ACE inhibitors (encourages or slows down the pathological remodeling of the heart muscle vessels and cells) can also be used. ACE inhibitors can, among other things, contribute to an improvement in the shortness of breath associated with heart failure after 1-2 months of therapy.
Prevention
In order to prevent heart failure, it is important, among other things, to have heart problems and diseases treated early and in a targeted manner. It also makes sense to check blood pressure and cholesterol levels regularly. Heart failure can also be prevented by avoiding various risk factors (obesity, nicotine, alcohol, little exercise, etc.) that can promote heart failure.
Hello and welcome to my Health Guide & Encyclopedia! My name is Dorothy Farrar, and I'm the founder and main author of this platform.
My passion for health and wellness started at a young age when I became interested in the connection between the food we eat and the way we feel. This fascination led me to study nutrition and dietetics in college, where I learned about the importance of a balanced diet and the impact of various nutrients on the body.