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Life Expectancy Congestive Heart Failure

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What You Should Know If Diagnosed With Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) Life Expectancy – Google vs. Reality

The term heart failure can sound scary when you first hear it the word failure alone could keep you up at night. You might think to yourself, Does this mean that my heart no longer works? Thankfully, thats not the case. What it really means is thatyour heart is not functioning or pumping as well as it could be, and left untreated, it can cause severe damage to your internal organs. Congestive Heart Failure is a serious condition, but it doesnt have to be a death sentence.

You may have to make some significant changes to your lifestyle going forward. Its important to understand the facts if you have a proper strategy in place and you understand the triggers, you can better manage your condition.

If you or a loved one is diagnosed with CHF, here are a few things you should know:

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How Long Will I Live With Heart Failure

The congestive heart failure lifespan depends on many variables, such as the cause of heart failure, its severity, and other comorbidities.The survival rates for those affected in the general population are:

  • 1-year: 81.3%
  • 5-years: 51.5% and
  • 10-years: 29.5%.

There are 6 million people alive in the US that suffer from this disease, and almost 1 million in the UK. The data shown above tells us that only a half of these people will survive the next 5 years.

A heart transplant, being the ultimate treatment for such a disease, prolongs the estimated survival. 20 years after a transplant, around 21% of patients are still alive.

There’s a special tool for assessing the mortality rate of heart failure patients admitted to the ICU.

Risk Factors For Heart Failure

Health conditions that left unrecognized or untreated will increase the lifetime risk of developing heart failure. Some of these diseases include:

  • Coronary heart disease and heart attacks
  • High blood pressure

Unhealthy behaviors can also increase your risk for heart failure, especially for people who have one of the diseases listed above. Unhealthy behaviors include:

  • Smoking or using tobacco
  • Use of illegal drugs, like methamphetamines or even excessive alcohol intake
  • Eating foods high in fat, cholesterol, and sodium
  • Not getting enough physical activity

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What Are The Symptoms Of Congestive Heart Failure

The following symptoms may indicate congestive heart failure:

  • Fatigue or weakness
  • Shortness of breath or chest pain
  • Swelling in your legs, feet, or abdomen
  • Irregular or rapid heartbeat
  • Nausea or lack of appetite
  • An increased need to urinate at night
  • Weight gain from fluid retention

Congestive heart failure is serious when left untreated. If you have symptoms of the disease, schedule an appointment with Dr. Zaidi and his team right away. Call 911 if you experience signs of a heart attack, such as chest pain, faintness, severe weakness, and sudden, severe shortness of breath.

What Happens With Heart Failure

What

The term Heart Failure suggests that the heart has stopped working or has failed. This is not the case. What it actually means is that the heart is not working as well as it should, and cannot pump enough blood to meet the bodys needs.

This happens because the heart is weakened by conditions or diseases that damage the heart muscle. Most of these conditions weaken the heart little by little, over a period of time.

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What Can Hospice Do For A Patient With Heart Disease

Your hospice team evaluates the patients status and updates the plan of care as symptoms and conditions change, even on a day-to-day basis. The goal of hospice is to manage symptoms and relieve physical/emotional distress so patients can live as fully as possible, retain their dignity and remain comfortable at home.

The hospice plan of care treats a wide range of symptoms, including:

  • Shortness of breath
  • Functional decline
  • Hypertension

When you turn to hospice, you are not alone in your journey your hospice care team is educated and experienced in advanced cardiac care:

  • Monitor and manage your symptoms
  • Communicate with your cardiologists office to intervene early and stabilize worsening conditions
  • Provide medication, oxygen and other medical equipment related to your heart disease
  • Provide services to reduce acute symptoms and avoid re-hospitalization
  • Provide an average of 5 home visits per week and proactive phone calls

Hospice offers comprehensive services for patients with heart disease:

Warning Signs Of A Heart Attack

The treatment increasing heart disease life expectancy has dramatically improved over the past two decades, but the key is that the individual must go as soon as possible to the hospital after the onset of symptoms. The reason is that there are treatments that can open the clogged blood vessels and restore blood flow to the heart, which results in an improvement in symptoms and a much better prognosis. For patients with heart disease, a family history of heart disease, or those with risk factors for heart disease, here are some early warning symptoms of a heart attack:

  • Chest pain or discomfort is probably one of the most common symptoms of a heart attack. The chest pain may last a few minutes and subside at rest. Others may describe the chest discomfort as fullness, pressure, or a squeezing type of sensation around the chest.
  • In some people, especially women, the pain may radiate to the neck, left arm, and back. This pain may be described as tearing or burning in nature and should not be ignored.
  • Frequently, a heart attack will be associated with shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and chest pain. The shortness of breath may be worse when lying down and may even occur at rest. This symptom should never be ignored.
  • During a heart attack, you can develop several other symptoms that include lightheadedness, nausea, breaking out in a heavy sweat, no exercise endurance, and extreme fatigue.
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    Family Medicine Located In Riverstone Sugar Land Tx

    Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and about 5.7 million adults in the U.S. suffer from heart failure. If you experience symptoms of congestive heart failure, such as shortness of breath or fluid retention, Hammad Zaidi, MD, and his experienced family medicine team are here for you. At A& U Family Medicine in Sugar Land, Texas, they detect, treat, and manage your disease to help you live a long, fulfilling life. Call A& U Family Medicine for an appointment or use the online booking tool today.

    Talk To Them About Their Symptoms

    What is the life expectancy of someone with congestive heart failure?

    People with heart failure may feel worried about their symptoms, treatment or risk of dying suddenly. Reassure them by talking openly and honestly about their concerns. Speak to their cardiac or palliative care team if you need support. If the patient has a plan for managing symptoms or emergencies, they may feel less anxious.

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    Ejection Fraction And Its Importance

    Ejection Fraction is a key indicator of a healthy heart and is frequently used by physicians to determine how well your heart is functioning as a pump. Ejection fraction is the percentage of blood that is pumped out of the heart during each beat. In a healthy heart, 50-75 percent of the blood is pumped out during each beat. Many people with heart disease pump out less than 50% and many people with Heart Failure pump out less than 40%.

    Ejection Fraction is one of the many ways doctors classify the type and severity of Heart Failure and damage to the heart muscle.

    Ejection Fraction ranges

    • An Ejection Fraction above 50% indicates that your heart is pumping normally and is able to deliver an adequate supply of blood to your body and brain.
    • An Ejection Fraction that falls below 50% could indicate that the heart is no longer pumping efficiently and is not able to meet the bodys needs.
    • An Ejection Fraction of 35% or less indicates a weakened heart muscle. The heart is pumping poorly, which can significantly increase a persons risk for sudden cardiac arrest.

    Measuring your Ejection Fraction

    For Heart Failure patients, knowing your ejection fraction is just as important as knowing your blood pressure and your cholesterol. Ejection fraction is often measured using an echocardiogram, a simple and painless test often performed right in the doctors office. Ejection faction can also be measured with other tests including:

    • Echocardiography
    • Nuclear stress testing

    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.

    The heart failure life expectancy calculator is a simple, yet effective, tool for predicting the 1-year and 3-year survival odds of someone with congestive heart failure.

    In the article below, we will focus on congestive heart failure/CHF prognosis, the estimates on how long can you live with congestive heart failure, and the average CHF life expectancy for a given stage of the disease.

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    Congestive Heart Failure: Our Parting Thoughts

    Congestive Heart Failure is a serious condition, no doubt. The prognosis is also grim, going by the sheer statistics. But M.D.s like Dr. Cowan and Dr. Sinatra are combining traditional healing wisdom with the latest science to improve outcomes for patients. So go ahead, give your heart and your spirit a second chance. Begin by eating right and drinking pure water. Take a walk on the grass, in the sun. And spread the love and watch it heal your heart.

    Taking Care Of Your Emotional Health

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    Your diagnosis of Heart Failure, your symptoms and your concern for the future may cause you and your loved ones to feel depressed or worried. Your concerns are normal. As you begin taking charge of your health and making positive changes, you may find these feelings start to fade. However, if negative feelings continue and interfere with your ability to enjoy life, talk to your doctor. Counseling might help you feel better.

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    Congestive Heart Failure And Eecp: The Natural Bypass

    EECP or Enhanced External Counter Pulsation is emerging as an alternative to conventional bypass surgery. Here, the patient lies down, while blood-pressure like cuffs are fixed to the thighs and calf muscles.

    When the heart rests between beats, the pressure cuffs inflate in sync, pushing blood back to the heart, creating fine collateral arteries to open up. The end result, usually after 35 sessions is that your heart suddenly has new arteries supplying fresh blood to it.

    It is covered by insurance in several states in the U.S. and eecp.com can help you locate a therapy center near you and also determine if you are a fit candidate to receive the therapy. Even if you had to pay the $5,000 dollars out of pocket, says Dr. Cowan, in his book, it is certainly far safer than having your chest cracked open.

    How Do They Remove Fluid From Congestive Heart Failure

    The current in-hospital treatment for CHF involves removal of excess fluid with diuretic medication and/or ultrafiltration in which a machine bypasses the kidneys and filters water and salt from the body. However, these treatments can have unwanted side effects such as low blood pressure and worsening kidney function.

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    What Happens To Tongue When Dying

    In the dying process, the symphony of swallowing becomes a cacophony of weak and mistimed movements. Sometimes the tongue propels saliva backward before the epiglottis has time to cover the airway. Other times, the tongue fails to push at all and saliva trickles down the airway to the lungs in a steady stream.

    When Is The Right Time To Ask About Hospice For End

    Congestive Heart Failure – End of Life

    Determining when hospice care is appropriate for end-stage congestive heart failure can be difficult for patients, families and even physicians. Congestive heart failure in its final stages is often unpredictable, and symptoms can vary.

    Typically, patients experience a recurring cycle of dramatic decline followed by a period of recovery. As a result, the majority of heart disease patients who could benefit from hospice care never receive essential emotional and physical support.

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    Outlook For Heart Failure

    Heart failure is a serious long-term condition thatll usually continue to get slowly worse over time.

    It can severely limit the activities youre able to do and is often eventually fatal.

    But its very difficult to tell how the condition will progress on an individual basis.

    Its very unpredictable. Lots of people remain stable for many years, while in some cases it may get worse quickly.

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    Heart Failure Life Expectancy Calculator

    Prognostic Utility and Clinical Significance of Cardiac Mechanics in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection FractionPredicting survival in heart failure: a risk score based on 39 372 patients from 30 studiesACC/AHA Guidelines for the Evaluation and Management of Chronic Heart Failure in the Adult: Executive Summary A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines

    The heart failure life expectancy calculator is a simple, yet effective, tool for predicting the 1-year and 3-year survival odds of someone with congestive heart failure.

    In the article below, we will focus on congestive heart failure/CHF prognosis, the estimates on how long can you live with congestive heart failure, and the average CHF life expectancy for a given stage of the disease.

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    What Are The Types Of Heart Failure

    There are many causes of heart failure, but the condition is generally broken down into these types:

    Left-sided heart failure

    Heart failure with reduced left ventricular function The lower left chamber of your heart gets bigger and cannot squeeze hard enough to pump the right amount of oxygen-rich blood to the rest of your body.

    Heart failure with preserved left ventricular function Your heart contracts and pumps normally, but the bottom chambers of your heart are thicker and stiffer than normal. Because of this, your ventricles can’t relax properly and fill up all the way. Because there’s less blood in your ventricles, your heart pumps out less blood to the rest of your body when it contracts.

    Right-sided heart failure

    Heart failure can also affect the right side of your heart. Left-sided heart failure is the most common cause of this. Other causes include certain lung problems and issues in other organs.

    Can You Get Better After A Diagnosis Of Heart Failure

    Congestive Heart Disease Life Expectancy

    Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition, which means it gets worse with time. But even though it doesnt necessarily get better, managing heart failure the right way can help reduce symptoms and slow down the progression of the condition.

    I try to get patients to understand that this is not a death sentence, Mountis says.

    Depending on the stage and severity of condition, some individuals may need more aggressive treatment, Mountis adds. But it is very possible to live a very good life with a diagnosis of heart failure.

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    Request A Hospice Evaluation

    The primary physician may recommend hospice when the time is right. But as anyone who has faced a serious illness knows, patients and family members often must act as their own advocates to receive the care they need and deserve.

    You, your loved one or your trusted physician may request an evaluation to see if hospice is an appropriate option for care.

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    What Is Shared Decision

    When heart failure progresses to an advanced stage, there are still many treatment options. The decisions ranging from do everything possible to strive for comfort arent easy. Thats why the American Heart Association released recommendations that serve as a roadmap to decision-making in advanced heart failure.

    The goal? A partnership between you and your doctor, where medical options are honestly discussed, and decisions are made based on what you want. Shared decision-making means you dont have to make decisions on your own.

    Doctor-patient conversations about treatment options, their risks and benefits as well as future what-if scenarios should happen early and often, according to experts who helped draft the AHA recommendations. This early dialogue means youre not blindsided when a big medical event happens that requires tough decision-making.

    Doctors provide the medical facts and figures, while you provide your personal goals and preferences. Together and often with input from family and friends you and your doctor build a care plan.

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    Emotional Symptoms Towards The End Of Life

    People with heart failure may experience different emotions and feelings. They may feel:

    • up and down, with good days and bad days
    • like they lack control over their life
    • like it’s hard to cope with the reactions of others.

    People may not think heart failure is as serious as other illnesses, such as cancer. Patients with heart failure can look well even when they feel very ill.

    If a patient has anxiety or depression, their healthcare team will assess how it affects them and whether they need treatment, such as cognitive behavioural therapy or medication.

    You can support the patient by providing emotional care and helping them with activities to make them feel better, such as reading, going outside and listening to music or audio books. Find out more about providing emotional care.

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