Heart Failure And Blood Pressure

An Understanding Of The Basics

So, there are a couple of ways of determining your oxygen level. Your doctor may choose to do the more invasive ABG test. This will get an accurate PaO2 level for one point in time which can be very helpful.

However, the most common and easiest oxygen level to get is your SpO2. This can be checked at every doctor visit. A neat thing about pulse oximeters is they are easily portable. So, now we have devices that allow us to monitor your SpO2 while you are walking, and even while you are sleeping.

Now you understand the basic oxygen levels. You now know what oxygen levels are safe, or at least what oxygen level goals we are seeking.

What Are The Treatments For Heart Failure

There isn’t a cure for heart failure but available treatments can help manage symptoms and improve your quality of life. Your doctor will discuss treatments with you depending on what stage theyve diagnosed you with.

Treatments for heart failure include:

• a pacemaker or ICD – a pacemaker helps control your heart rate to reduce the demand on your heart. An ICD detects and treats dangerous, irregular heartbeats
• heart surgery – done to improve blood flow to your heart or to repair/replace a faulty valve that is putting strain on your heart
• medication – to protect and improve your heart function, improve your symptoms and reduce fluid build-up.

What Causes Heart Failure

Although the risk of heart failure doesnt change as you get older, youre more likely to have heart failure when youre older.

Many medical conditions that damage the heart muscle can cause heart failure. Common conditions include:

• Tobacco and recreational drug use.
• Medications. Some drugs used to fight cancer can lead to heart failure.

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History And Physical Exam

A clinician listens to your heart and lungs and measures your blood pressure and weight. They will also ask about your:

• Familys medical history, especially previous cardiac problems
• Medications, including prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs and supplements
• Personal medical history

Blood tests can measure several things related to heart failure:

• Sodium and potassium levels
• Creatinine, which helps measure how well your kidneys are working
• B-type natriuretic peptide , a hormone released from the ventricles in response to increased wall tension that occurs with heart failure

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Why Are Men Getting More Heart Problems

Men are prone to having heart problems due to extreme stress and poor lifestyle habits.

Job-oriented and family-oriented stress is higher in men which leads to poor concentration towards diet, sleep, and recreational activities. This makes them more vulnerable to the disease.

Also, because of this, men tend to be more obese than women which makes them prone to heart diseases easily.

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Treatment Of Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction

Certain classes of antihypertensivesACE inhibitors, beta blockers, and nondihydropyridine calcium channel blockershave been shown to improve echocardiographic parameters in symptomatic and asymptomatic diastolic dysfunction and the symptomatology of heart failure. Candesartan, an angiotensin receptor blocker , has been shown to decrease hospitalization in patients with diastolic heart failure.

Use diuretics and nitrates with caution in patients with heart failure due to diastolic dysfunction. These drugs may cause severe hypotension by inappropriately decreasing the preload, which is required for adequate LV filling pressures. If diuretics are indicated, delicate titration is necessary. Hydralazine has been shown to cause severe hypotension in patients with heart failure due to diastolic dysfunction.

By increasing the intracellular calcium level, digoxin can worsen LV stiffness. However, a large, randomized trial has not shown any increase in mortality rate.

Are There Obvious Symptoms Of High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is known as a silent killer because most people experience no symptoms, which means this condition can wreak havoc on your heart for yearsand you might not learn about it until the heart is significantly damaged and youre diagnosed with a serious condition like heart attack, stroke, or heart failure.

Thats why regular screening is so important. A good guideline, according to Mayo Clinic, is to have a blood pressure reading at least every two years starting at age 18. If you are over 40, or youre between the ages of 18 to 39 and have a high risk of hypertension, yearly readings are a must.

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Pacemakers And Other Devices

The heart has its own electrical system that regulates the heartbeat. With every heartbeat, there’s an electrical signal that travels through your heart, causing it to contract and pump blood around the body.

For some people with heart failure, the electrical system doesnt work properly. People with heart failure have an increased risk of abnormal heart rhythms , like atrial fibrillation. If you have an abnormal heart rhythm, you may need a pacemaker or device to regulate the heart rate and rhythm.

How Does Hypertension Cause A Heart Attack

The excess strain and damage from high blood pressure may cause the coronary arteries to become narrowed with time, primarily from the build-up of fat and cholesterol. Blood clots may start forming as the arteries harden with fat and cholesterol.

The blood clots in the arteries interrupt the flow of the blood through the heart muscle, starving the muscle of crucial oxygen and nutrients. This eventually leads to a heart attack.

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How Do I Take Care Of Myself

If you have hypotension with symptoms, the best thing you can do is follow your healthcare providerâs guidance on managing this condition. Their recommendations may include any of the following:

• Manage your diet. Following diet recommendations, especially how much salt you should have in your diet, can help avoid symptoms of hypotension.
• Take your medication. These can help you avoid the disruptive symptoms and effects of this condition.
• Dress up. Compression socks, which put light pressure on your legs and feet, can push blood upward and raise your blood pressure.
• Take it slow. Avoid standing up too quickly, especially with orthostatic hypotension. That can help you avoid the dizziness and fainting effects of hypotension.
• Have a seat. If you notice yourself feeling dizzy or lightheaded, sit down. Falling from standing height can put you at risk for severe or even catastrophic injuries from a fall, such as a broken hip, concussion, skull fracture or broken ribs.

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Heart Failure Signs And Symptoms

Heart failure may be chronic or occur unexpectedly. The following are some of the common signs and symptoms of heart failure:

• Fatigue and general weakness

• Shortness of breath while doing an activity or even when lying down

• Rapid or irregular heartbeat

• Swelling in the ankles, legs, and feet

• Nausea and loss of appetite.

• Rapid and unexplained weight gain due to fluid build-up

• Swelling of the abdomen

• Persistent cough or wheezing with pink or white blood-tinged mucus

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What Causes High Blood Pressure

For many people, theres no identifiable cause of high blood pressure, which is known as primary hypertension, per the Mayo Clinic. But there are some known factors that increase a persons risk of developing it.

Aging is a big one: Its very common as we get older for the vessels to get thicker, Keith C. Ferdinand, MD, FACC, the Gerald S. Berenson Endowed Chair in preventive cardiology and a professor of medicine at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, tells SELF. When this happens, the vessels become more rigid and dont expand as they should when blood flows through them, he explains.

There are so many other things that can increase your chances of developing high blood pressure over time, including your diet, lack of exercise, drinking alcohol excessively, tobacco use, stress or anxiety, and various chronic conditionsincluding pregnancy, diabetes, and sleep apnea, among others. When high blood pressure is caused by an underlying condition or medication, its known as secondary hypertension.

Hypertension also tends to run in families and disproportionately impacts Black people, who also face a higher risk of heart failure due to various systemic barriers.

Is There A Link Between Hbp And Heart Failure

Heart failure, a condition in which your heart is unable to provide enough blood to the body, can happen quickly or take years to develop. The thickening and/or stiffening of the hearts walls, as well as narrowing and constriction of blood vessels caused by high blood pressure, are the most common non-cardiac causes of heart failure.

• High blood pressure adds to your hearts workload: Narrowed arteries that are less elastic make it more difficult for blood to travel efficiently throughout your body. This causes your heart to work harder.
• Over time, a higher workload leads to an enlarged heart: To cope with increased demands, the heart thickens and becomes larger. While it’s still able to pump blood, it becomes less efficient. The larger the heart becomes, the harder it works to meet your body’s demands for oxygen and nutrients.

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How The Normal Heart Works

The normal healthy heart is a strong, muscular pump a little larger than a fist. It pumps blood continuously through the circulatory system.

The heart has four chambers, two on the right and two on the left:

• Two upper chambers called atria
• Two lower chambers called ventricles

The right atrium takes in oxygen-depleted blood from the rest of the body and sends it through the right ventricle where the blood becomes oxygenated in the lungs.

Oxygen-rich blood travels from the lungs to the left atrium, then on to the left ventricle, which pumps it to the rest of the body.

The heart pumps blood to the lungs and to all the bodys tissues through a sequence of highly organized contractions of the four chambers. For the heart to function properly, the four chambers must beat in an organized way.

Cardiovascular Effects Of Hypertension

Uncontrolled and prolonged elevation of BP can lead to a variety of changes in the myocardial structure, coronary vasculature, and conduction system of the heart. These changes in turn can lead to the development of left ventricular hypertrophy , coronary artery disease , various conduction system diseases, and systolic and diastolic dysfunction of the myocardium, complications that manifest clinically as angina or myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmias , and congestive heart failure .

Thus, hypertensive heart disease is a term applied generally to heart diseases, such as LVH , coronary artery disease, cardiac arrhythmias, and CHF, that are caused by the direct or indirect effects of elevated BP. Although these diseases generally develop in response to chronically elevated BP, marked and acute elevation of BP can lead to accentuation of an underlying predisposition to any of the symptoms traditionally associated with chronic hypertension.

The following conditions should also be considered when evaluating hypertensive heart disease:

• Coronary artery atherosclerosis

• Congestive heart failure due to other etiologies

• Atrial fibrillation due to other etiologies

• Diastolic dysfunction due to other etiologies

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Prognosis Of Patients With Left Ventricular Hypertrophy

Cardiac structural changes are mostly caused by a chronic rise in the BP, and they are markers of preclinical or asymptomatic CV disease . The presence of an LV strain pattern, that is, LV hypertrophy, on a 12-lead electrocardiogram is an independent predictor of the CV outcome . The findings from two-dimensional echocardiography suggest that LV hypertrophy is a significant predictor of mortality . The Framingham Heart Studys findings showed that the incidence of CV events was significantly higher among the patients with an LV mass index > 125g/m2 than that among the patients with normal LVMIs . Ventricular hypertrophy is also a major predictor of stroke and renal outcomes . Echocardiography can also detect diastolic dysfunction, and it provides information about chamber geometry and systolic function. Three-dimensional echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging provide more reliable measurements of ventricular geometry and function, but less evidence is available regarding patients prognoses .

Adding Salt To Your Diet

Low blood pressure can be easily treated by adding salt to the diet. Excess of salt is bad, but your body requires a certain amount of salt and you should provide it.

Add salt to your food. Try to cook your food and add salt to it. Taste the food and add it appropriately. If it tastes bland, you can add a little more.

Even though vegetables and meat have some amount of mineral content in them, it is necessary to add salt to them so that our body can function properly.

Also, salt helps in increasing blood pressure. Thus, resolving the low blood pressure issue.

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How Does Hypertension Cause Heart Failure

Heart failure is a condition where your heart cannot provide an adequate blood supply to the body. The following are the ways hypertension causes heart failure:

• Adding to the heart’s workload: high blood pressure adds to your heart’s workload. This is due to the narrowing of less elastic arteries, making it more difficult for the blood to travel smoothly and easily throughout the body. This causes the heart to work harder to deliver blood to every organ in your body. Eventually, an overwhelmed heart may begin to fail.

• Enlargement of the heart: with time, the higher workload leads to an enlarged heart. The heart is forced to thicken and become larger to handle the increased demands. Although it can still pump the blood, the heart becomes less effective. The larger the heart becomes, the harder it has to work to deliver enough blood throughout your body.

• Damage to the arteries: high blood pressure can damage the arteries’ inner lining cells, leading to fats from your diet collecting in the affected arteries. As a result, the artery walls become less elastic and can interfere with normal blood flow.

• Aneurysm: with time, the higher pressure of blood within the arteries could weaken the vessel and cause some sections of the wall to enlarge and form a bulge. Aneurysms are common in the aorta, the body’s largest arterysevere internal bleeding results from a ruptured aneurysm.

Stage D And Reduced E

Patients with Stage D HF-rEF have advanced symptoms that do not get better with treatment. This is the final stage of heart failure.

Stage D treatment

The usual treatment plan for patients with Stage D heart failure includes:

• Treatments listed in Stages A, B and C.
• Evaluation for more advanced treatment options, including:
• Heart transplant.
• Research therapies.

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Types Of Heart Failure

The types of heart failure are classified by the ejection fraction , which is the percentage of blood pumped out by the heart with each beat and is a measure of how well the heart is pumping. A normal left ventricle ejects about 55 to 60% of the blood in it.

In heart failure with reduced ejection fraction :

• The heart contracts less forcefully and pumps out a lower percentage of the blood that is returned to it. As a result, more blood remains in the heart. Blood then accumulates in the lungs, veins, or both.

In heart failure with preserved ejection fraction :

• The heart is stiff and does not relax normally after contracting, which impairs its ability to fill with blood. The heart contracts normally, so it is able to pump a normal proportion of blood out of the ventricles, but the total amount pumped with each contraction may be less. Sometimes the stiff heart compensates for its poor filling by pumping out an even higher proportion of the blood than it normally does. However, eventually, as in systolic heart failure, the blood returning to the heart accumulates in the lungs or veins.

Heart failure with ejection fraction is a newer concept that includes people whose ejection fraction is somewhere between preserved and reduced ejection fraction.

Stroke And Brain Problems

High blood pressure can cause the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the brain to burst or be blocked, causing a stroke. Brain cells die during a stroke because they do not get enough oxygen. Stroke can cause serious disabilities in speech, movement, and other basic activities. A stroke can also kill you.

Having high blood pressure, especially in midlife, is linked to having poorer cognitive function and dementia later in life. Learn more about the link between high blood pressure and dementia from the National Institutes of Healths Mind Your Risks® campaign.

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Stages C And D With Preserved Ef

Treatment for patients with Stage C and Stage D heart failure and reserved EF includes:

• Treatments listed in Stages A and B.
• Medications for the treatment of medical conditions that can cause heart failure or make the condition worse, such as atrial fibrillation, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, coronary artery disease, chronic lung disease, high cholesterol and kidney disease.
• Diuretic to reduce or relieve symptoms.

YOU ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR TREATMENT PLAN!

It is up to you to take steps to improve your heart health. Take your medications as instructed, follow a low-sodium diet, stay active or become physically active, take notice of sudden changes in your weight, live a healthy lifestyle, keep your follow-up appointments, and track your symptoms. Talk to your healthcare team about questions or concerns you have about your medications, lifestyle changes or any other part of your treatment plan.

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How Does Heart Failure Affect The Quality Of Life And Lifestyle

With the right care and treatment plan, many adults still enjoy life even though heart failure limits their activities. How well you feel depends on:

• How well your heart muscle is working.
• How well you respond to your treatment plan.
• How well you follow your treatment plan.

This includes caring for yourself by:

• Taking your medications.

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