Risk Factors for Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive heart failure is a syndrome characterized by the inability of the heart to pump enough blood and oxygen to meet the bodies energy needs, an also blood supply. Due to the inefficient pumping associated with heart failure, it then causes a backup of blood in the veins leading to the heart and causes the kidneys to retain fluid, that’s when the body tissues start to swell. Heart failure can occur due to many causes such as, coronary heart disease, a heart valve disorder, a heart attack, or exposure to toxins, such as excessive alcohol use. In some people heart failure, will cause the heart muscle to weaken, and it won’t pump as it should; in others, the heart failure will cause the heart muscle to become stiff, and between heartbeats the heart wont fill with enough blood. There are four main conditions that lead to heart diseases which causes heart failure, they are: congenital heart disease, heart attack and rheumatic heart disease. With coronary artery disease; a healthy coronary artery opens, elastic, smooth, and slick. The walls expand and are very flexible to enable more blood through when the heart needs to work harder. The coronary artery disease over time makes an injury to the lining of the walls, making the injury of the arteries more susceptible, to atherosclerosis and the production of blood clots. Due to plaque buildup, it reduces blood flow, and narrows the arteries, so due to the narrowness blood clots will likely form. A heart attack is when the blood supply to the heart is slowed or stopped due to a blockage. Which refers to the coronary artery disease, the blockage happens due to the buildup of plaque. The congenital heart disease usually starts at birth. It is when the heart or the blood vessels near the heart are not normally developed before birth. Rheumatic heart disease describes a group of acute or chronic heart disorders that occurs when one has a rheumatic fever. When having this fever, a heart valve can become damaged. It is an inflammatory disease that can affect tissues of the body, especially the tissue within the heart, or the joint tissues, brain tissues, or skin tissues. The correlation of how all these coincide with each other are very evident, one triggers off another.

The first, main symptom of heart failure is fatigue. As the conditions gets worse, shortness of breath, wheezing start occurring during exertion and while resting. If fluid accumulates in the legs, or ankles causing swelling, some sleep with elevated legs, and this makes breathing easier as well. A chronic cough can result as well due to the fluid in the legs. For those who are less active, a buildup of fluid can take place in the middle portion of the body, cause urination to take place excessively during the night, or a person can experience weight gain due to all the access fluid. For a heart attack symptoms, can include pain in the chest, neck, or jaw, sudden discomfort in the chest that doesn’t subside over time, sweating, and difficulty breathing. Congenital artery disease has symptoms such as: heart murmurs, bluish tint to the skin, lips, or fingernails, and shortness of breath. Rheumatic heart disease includes excessive fatigue, heart palpitations, thumping in the chest, and shortness of breath. As for coronary heart disease, it slows the flow of blood, and has a fatty buildup of plaque causing the slowness of blood.

To be diagnosed with congestive heart failure, the doctor will review medical history, ask a series of questions such as the extent of how active one can be before the shortness of breath, and all other symptoms are happening, there will be an examination and the doctor will check vital signs, check the heart rate and rhythm, listen for aby abnormalities, press on skin of the ankles to check for swelling. An EKG, and x-ray will probably be done to check for any enlargement of the heart and to check for fluid in the lungs. For the four causes that lead to heart failure; coronary artery disease, heart attack, congenital heart disease, and rheumatic heart disease, it is same process, doctor will review medical history, ask a series of questions about the symptoms the patient is experiencing, listening to the heart. To diagnose heart disease, a coronary angiography is performed. It involves taking x-rays of the coronary arteries and the vessels that supply blood to the heart. An echocardiogram is used to record sound waves to create a picture of the hear; these waves show the shape, texture, and movement of the heart valves, and the size of the heart chambers and how well they are working. An EKG can be performed also to check to see how well the heart is functioning by measuring the electrical activity of the heart, it can detect abnormal heart rhythms that could have causes blood clots to form.

Risk factors that associate with heart disease are obesity, excess weight increases the strain on the heart and increases the risk of developing heart disease, because obesity increases blood pressure, and blood cholesterol and then that can lead to diabetes. Hormone replacement therapy, some physicians believe it can prevent heart disease in women, but soon discovered it is harmful using the combined hormones who already have coronary artery disease. Stress and anger can cause heart disease. Scientist believe poor managed anger and stress can contribute to heart disease. Angina, which is chest pain which Is the main system of any coronary artery disease. To avoid heart failure, you must prevent heart disease, by eating healthy, controlling your blood pressure and cholesterol level, maintaining normal body weight, exercise regularly, and try not to smoke.

The effects of the condition are the same. If you develop a heart disease, heart failure can come. If you develop congenital heart disease, you are born with it. If you are obese you can have it in early teen years. Mainly this occurs in ages 60+. Treatment available for heart failure is a lifelong condition but to reduce the symptoms and improving life span, the doctor may prescribe medication, and a low salt diet. There is no cure for heart disease, it is a condition that requires lifelong care. For medications, this is for people with moderate control of the disease, and they just make lifestyle changes, and take medications such as nitrates which that relieve chest pain, but it can’t clear blocked arteries. There are other medications that help such as antiplatelet, ace inhibitors, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, and nitrates. Surgery could be a treatment option, because it improves the blood flow to the heart muscle, it Is called Coronary Artery Bypass. Another one that can help is called counter pulsation, inflatable cuffs are placed on the legs and lower abdomen, and so when the heart relaxes the cuffs will inflate and then push the blood vessels of the heart. It is repeated over a series of days and the stimulates improved blood flow to the heart. For people experiencing a heart attack, there is no treatment, but they should seek medical help right away.

Advances in medicine and the choice of having a halter lifestyle will decrees chances of death from heart disease. The outlook depends on the patients age, the severity of the heart failure, and heart disease. If it develops and has a treatable cause, some people can regain normal heart function after having treatment. Having treatment people still can enjoy a productive life.

References

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