What Are The Treatments For Heart Failure
Your treatment will depend on the type of heart failure you have and how serious it is. There’s no cure for heart failure. But treatment can help you live longer with fewer symptoms.
Even with treatment, heart failure usually gets worse over time, so you’ll likely need treatment for the rest of your life.
Most treatment plans include:
You may need heart surgery if:
- You have a congenital heart defect or damage to your heart that can be fixed.
- The left side of your heart is getting weaker and putting a device in your chest could help. Devices include:
- A biventricular pacemaker .
- A mechanical heart pump or a total artificial heart).
As part of your treatment, you’ll need to pay close attention to your symptoms, because heart failure can worsen suddenly. Your provider may suggest a cardiac rehabilitation program to help you learn how to manage your condition.
When To Get Medical Advice
See a GP if you experience persistent or gradually worsening symptoms of heart failure.
Call 999 for an ambulance or go to your nearest A& E department as soon as possible if you have sudden or very severe symptoms.
A number of tests can be used to help check how well your heart is working, including blood tests, an ECG and an echocardiogram.
The Flow Of Blood Through Your Heart
To understand the different types of heart failure, it helps to know how your heart pumps blood:
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Classification Based On Course Of The Disease
Heart failure can develop suddenly, for instance after a heart attack or due to certain heart rhythm problems. This is known as acute heart failure.
But it usually develops gradually over time as a result of a different medical problem, such as permanently high blood pressure. This is known as chronic heart failure.
Heart Failure Congestive Heart Failure And The Failing Heart
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Any heart with a reduced ability to contract is considered a failing heart. Almost any dog with heart disease that leads to chamber enlargement or increased wall thickness has a failing heart, but the body usually is able to compensate in other ways for these physical changes. As a result, the dog has no signs and is not in heart failure or congestive heart failure. Heart failure and congestive heart failure are medical syndromes in which a dog exhibits signs related to a complex interaction between a failing heart and the blood vessels. In heart failure, the blood flow is insufficient to supply organs with enough oxygenated blood for proper function. Depending on the degree of severity, signs of heart failure may appear while the dog is at rest, during mild exertion, or during moderate or extreme exercise. In congestive heart failure, blood dams up in organsusually the lungs but occasionally in the bodys other major organsand causes the congested organs to function abnormally, become swollen with fluid, or both. |
Systolic myocardial failure is a general reduction in the ability of the heart muscle to contract. This can be identified with echocardiography . There is reduced wall motion during contraction of the ventricles. If the reduction is significant, normal blood flow cannot be maintained. It may be caused by genetics, trauma, infection, drugs or poisons, electric shock, heat stroke, or tumors. Some cases have no known cause.
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Diagnosis Of Heart Failure
A clinical suspicion of heart failure is confirmed through the following investigations.
This includes FBC, liver biochemistry, cardiac enzymes released in acute cardiac failure and BNP.
- Electrocardiogram
- Cardiac MRI. This is also called CMR
- Cardiac biopsy. This is carried out only when a cardiac myopathy is suspected
- Cardiopulmonary exercise testing
What Is The Difference Between Right
So when you have left-side heart failure, your heart can’t pump enough blood to your body. The right ventricle, or right chamber, moves used blood from your heart back to your lungs to be resupplied with oxygen. So when you have right-side heart failure, the right chamber has lost its ability to pump.
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Classification Based On Pumping Ability
Nowadays, heart failure is increasingly being classified based on the pumping ability of the heart. This is because the pumping ability plays an important role when choosing the most suitable medication. There are two types of heart failure here:
- Heart failure with reduced pumping ability: The heart muscle has become weaker, and no longer pumps enough blood around the body when it contracts . As a result, the organs in the body dont get enough oxygen. The medical term for this is heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.
- Heart failure with preserved pumping ability: Although the heart muscle is still strong, it can no longer relax and widen enough after it has squeezed blood out, so it doesnt fill up with blood properly. Despite pumping strongly enough, not enough blood is pumped out into the body as a result, especially during physically strenuous activities. Doctors call this heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.
Heart failure with reduced pumping ability is sometimes referred to as systolic heart failure, and heart failure with preserved pumping ability is also known as diastolic heart failure. The systolic phase of the cardiac cycle is the phase when the heart contracts , and the diastolic phase is when the heart relaxes and widens.
Precipitating Causes Of Heart Failure
A previously stable, compensated patient may develop heart failure that is clinically apparent for the first time when the intrinsic process has advanced to a critical point, such as with further narrowing of a stenotic aortic valve or mitral valve. Alternatively, decompensation may occur as a result of the failure or exhaustion of the compensatory mechanisms but without any change in the load on the heart in patients with persistent, severe pressure or volume overload. In particular, consider whether the patient has underlying coronary artery disease or valvular heart disease.
The most common cause of decompensation in a previously compensated patient with heart failure is inappropriate reduction in the intensity of treatment, such as dietary sodium restriction, physical activity reduction, or drug regimen reduction. Uncontrolled hypertension is the second most common cause of decompensation, followed closely by cardiac arrhythmias . Arrhythmias, particularly ventricular arrhythmias, can be life threatening. Also, patients with one form of underlying heart disease that may be well compensated can develop heart failure when a second form of heart disease ensues. For example, a patient with chronic hypertension and asymptomatic LV hypertrophy may be asymptomatic until an MI develops and precipitates heart failure.
- Profound anemia
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Signs Of Heart Failure
Signs associated with heart failure depend on the causes of the heart failure and the heart chamber that is affected. With left-sided congestive heart failure, signs are associated with a backup of pressure in the vessels delivering blood to the left ventricle. This causes fluid to accumulate within the lungs . Coughing, difficulty breathing, and exercise intolerance are the most common signs. Many dogs with left-sided congestive heart failure faint due to lack of blood flow and oxygen to the brain. They may also have a low heart rate and low blood pressure and may collapse. Dogs with left-side congestive heart failure often breathe faster than healthy dogs. Your veterinarian may direct you to count the number of breaths your dog takes within a minute when it is sleeping or resting. This sleeping respiratory rate can then be regularly monitored to identify early heart failure and assess whether your dog is responding to treatment.
Right-sided congestive heart failure results in increased pressure in the vessels delivering blood to the right atrium and the bodys veins and capillaries. This may cause fluid to build up in the abdomen , the chest cavity, liver, and the limbs.
Left Sided Heart Failure
primary cause of right sided heart failure.
When the left ventricle is not working as effectively, fluid pressure increases and ends up moving back through the lungs. This can cause an overload to the heartâs right side.
Consequently, when the right side is unable to pump blood, fluid accumulates in the veins, resulting in swelling.
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Clinical Manifestations Of Heart Failure
The clinical manifestation of heart failure is largely influenced by the primary side of dysfunction as left sided, right sided or biventricular. Left ventricular dysfunction increases pulmonary pressure and consequently pulmonary congestion occurs leading to dyspnoea and tachypnoea . As the peripheral circulation is reduced , renal dysfunction, peripheral malperfusion and malabsorption of nutrition with the signs of cardiac cachexia develop. In a chronic state, the permanent activation of neurohumoral systems lead to further volume overload , peripheral vasoconstriction , increased heart rate at rest and during exercise, and to a further deterioration of the cardio-renal system. Anemia , increased pulmonary pressure and muscle fatigue deteriorate the symptoms of dyspnoea as well. Overload of the heart leads to enlargement of the heart itself and as a measure the cardiothoracic index increases with leftward shift of the palpable cardiac pulsation. Mostly in volume overload situations filling volume of the ventricle increases periodically and a typical 3rd or 4th heart sound as protodiastolic gallop occurs . In consequence, heart failure influences almost all organ systems and thus heart failure is a systemic disease or a syndrome with a broad clinical spectrum.
Treatment Of Heart Failure
Lifestyle modifications play a key role in preventing further deterioration of the heart muscles while reducing the risk of complications such as cardiac arrhythmias. Every patient after being diagnosed with heart failure, are advised to minimize the consumption of alcohol and to control their body weight. A small, low sodium and low salt diet is ideal for a heart patient. Bed rest is usually recommended since it minimizes the stress on the cardiac muscles.
The drugs given in the management of heart failure include
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What Is Congestive Heart Failure Right
Right-sided Congestive Heart Failure occurs when the right ventricle of the heart has difficulty pumping blood into your lungs. As a result, blood backs up in your blood vessels, that triggers fluid retention in the lower abdomen, extremities, and other vital organs. Right sided congestive heart failure can occur on its own, for example when triggered due to lung disease or heart valve disease. In severe cases, hepatomegaly can happen resulting in altering liver function, coagulopathy and jaundice.
What Do I Need To Know About Heart Failure
Heart failure is a condition that does not allow your heart to fill or pump properly. Heart failure may begin on the left or right side of the heart. If one side does not work properly, the other side has to work harder to function. Over time, heart failure affects both sides of the heart. Heart failure is a long-term condition that tends to get worse over time. It is important to manage your health to improve your quality of life.
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Symptoms Of Heart Failure
The main symptoms of heart failure are:
- breathlessness after activity or at rest
- feeling tired most of the time and finding exercise exhausting
- feeling lightheaded or fainting
- swollen ankles and legs
Some people also experience other symptoms, such as a persistent cough, a fast heart rate and dizziness.
Symptoms can develop quickly or gradually over weeks or months .
What Are The 4 Types Of Heart Failure
What are the different types of heart failure?
- Left-sided heart failure. Left-sided heart failure is the most common type of heart failure. …
- Right-sided heart failure. The right heart ventricle is responsible for pumping blood to your lungs to collect oxygen. …
- Diastolic heart failure. …
- Systolic heart failure.
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How Do I Take Care Of Myself If I Have Right
The most important thing is to make healthy lifestyle habits part of your daily routine. The more you make healthy living part of your new lifestyle, the better youll feel. Try to:
- Work with a nutritionist or dietitian to create a nutritious, filling meal plan you can stick with long-term.
- Find an exercise routine you enjoy so youll be motivated to get moving every day.
- Track and manage your symptoms. Report any changes to your healthcare provider.
- Take medications as instructed.
What Causes Heart Failure
Heart failure can start suddenly after a medical condition or injury damages your heart muscle. But in most cases, heart failure develops slowly from long-term medical conditions.
Conditions that can cause heart failure include:
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What Are The Symptoms
Your feet, legs, and ankles will likely to swell because blood is backing up in your veins. This symptom is called edema.
- If it backs up into your stomach or liver, you may notice that your abdomen is distended, too.
- You might find that you have to go to the bathroom more, especially at night. This is caused by fluid buildup, too.
As your heart failure gets worse, you may also see some of these symptoms:
- Itâs hard to breathe.
- Your neck veins are swollen.
- Your pulse is fast or feels âoff.â
- Your chest hurts.
- Youâre gaining weight from excess fluid.
- You donât feel like eating.
- Your skin is cold and sweaty.
- Youâre very tired.
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What Is A Right Sided Heart Failure
When the heart fails to pump blood adequately to the body tissues owing to the decrease in the pumping capacity of the right heart chambers, that condition is identified as the right heart failure.
The right sided heart failure occurs secondary to the left sided heart failure on most occasions. When the left side of the heart, specifically the left ventricle, fails to pump blood sufficiently into the aorta, blood starts to pool inside the left heart chambers. Consequently the pressure inside these chambers increases. This impairs the drainage of blood into the left atrium from the lungs via the pulmonary veins. As a result, the pressure inside the pulmonary vasculature also rises. Therefore, the right ventricle has to contract more vigorously against a higher resistive pressure to pump blood into the lungs. With the long-term prevalence of this condition, heart muscles of the right chambers start to wear down ultimately resulting in the right sided heart failure.
Figure 01: Heart
Although not frequently seen, right sided heart failure can also be caused by different intrinsic pulmonary pathologies such as COPD, bronchiectasis, and pulmonary thromboembolism.
What Are The Symptoms Of Right
The main sign of right-sided heart failure is fluid buildup. This buildup leads to swelling in your:
- Feet, ankles and legs.
- Gastrointestinal tract and liver .
Other signs include:
Where you accumulate fluid depends on how much extra fluid and your position. If youre standing, fluid typically builds up in your legs and feet. If youre lying down, it may build up in your lower back. And if you have a lot of excess fluid, it may even build up in your belly.
Fluid build up in your liver or stomach may cause:
Once right-sided heart failure becomes advanced, you can also lose weight and muscle mass. Healthcare providers call these effects cardiac cachexia.
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How Common Is Right
More than 6 million Americans have heart failure. Each year, more than 900,000 people receive a heart failure diagnosis.
Heart failure is rare in people younger than 50. With age, it becomes increasingly common. Studies have shown that around 2% of the population younger than 54 years old have heart failure. The number increases to around 8% about 1 in 12 for people over 75.
Summary Right Sided Vs Left Sided Heart Failure
When the heart fails to pump blood adequately to the body tissues, owing to the decrease in the pumping capacity of right heart chambers, that condition is identified as the right heart failure. On the other hand, when the heart failure is due to the faltering of the pumping capacity of the left heart chambers, it is known as left sided heart failure. Thus, the difference between right sided and left sided heart failure is that in right heart failure, the function of right heart chambers is impaired whereas the function of left heart chambers is impaired in the left heart failure.
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What Is Heart Failure
Although the term heart failure suggests your heart isnt able to function at all, it actually means your heart muscles just arent functioning well enough to support your bodys needs. It develops when your heart muscles are either too weak or not elastic enough to pump blood properly. About 6.2 million people in the United States are living with heart failure.
Heart failure is usually a chronic and progressive condition, but it can develop quickly after a heart attack or other conditions that damage your heart. The most common cause of heart failure is coronary artery disease, which is a narrowing of the arteries that supply blood to your heart.