Acute Heart Failure

heartdisease

Acute Heart Failure: Reality By European Society of Cardiology

The number of hospitalizations for heart failure is about the same as for acute myocardial infarction. more...

Congestive heart failure is also commonly known as just plain heart failure or congestive cardiac failure. It comes as the result of the heart’s failure to pump a proper amount of blood throughout the body. Congestive heart failure is distinct from cardiac arrest or heartbeat cessation, which entails the complete cessation of the cardiac function and ultimately leads to death. These days, the term “heart failure” is more commonly used than “congestive heart failure,” because of the fact that not all patients suffer from volume overload at the moment of evaluation. Oftentimes, congestive heart failure is either misdiagnosed or goes undiagnosed owing to the fact that a universally agreed upon definition has not been arrived at, and symptoms can be difficult to diagnose, especially when it is a mild form of heart failure.

Heart failure can be caused by any number of conditions, including anemia, genetic family history, infection, alcoholism, heartworms, hypertension, thyrotoxicosis, cardiac fibrosis, ischemic heart disease or myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, mitral regurgitation, coarctation of the aorta, anorexia, aortic stenosis, mitral valve disease, or pulmonary embolism.

Heart failure can be deadly when complicated by such heart irritants as obesity, arterial plaque, overworked hearts, stress, lack of exercise, smoking, and old age. In cases in which there is a family history of heart failure, one’s heart will have thinner muscle walls than is normal; it is usually complicated by one of the irritants listed above. Plaque lines the walls of the arteries that supply the heart with blood, resulting in a lack of blood getting to the heart. The heart then has to go in to overdrive in order to get blood through its thinner systemic arteries. An irregular heart beat results, which tires the heart and causes inefficient pumping of blood.

There are many forms of treatment for heart failure that focus on preventing the disease from progressing as well as treating the symptoms and signs of the disease. In the cases that heart failure is reversible – generally in cases of alcohol ingestion, hypertension, infection, arrhythmia, anemia, and thyrotoxicosis – such solutions as exercise, healthy diet, reduction of salt, and abstinence from smoking and drinking are observed to help solve the problem.

When the symptoms of heart failure are severe, patients are advised to rest in bed. When the symptoms are only mild or moderate, then they are recommended to engage in light physical activity. Losing weight is also advisable for obese sufferers of heart failure. Excessive salt intake has been found to exacerbate heart failure; thus, salt free diets are often prescribed to patients suffering from this condition. Individuals afflicted with heart failure tend to have a diminished ability to excrete free water. Thus, there intake of water is limited. Those afflicted with heart failure are also advised to avoid certain medications which may exacerbate the condition, such as lithium, calcium channel blockers, non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, first generation dihydropyridine, tricyclic antidepressants, and coxibs.

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