Know more Heart failure

Overview

Heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to pump sufficient blood. Few people may even witness stiffening and hardness in their chest while suffering from heart failure. Both sides of your heart may be affected during heart failure. It can be fatal if it isn’t treated properly.

Types

Heart failure can be of the following types:

• Right-sided heart failure: Here, fluid backs up to organs like legs, feet and abdomen, leading to extreme swellings.
• Left-sided heart failure: Here, the fluid backs up into the lungs causing shortness of breath.
• Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: Here, the left ventricle is unable to fill fully or relax
• Systolic heart failure: Here, the left ventricle is unable to contract strenuously.

Causes

Heart failure is usually linked to another heart condition, especially coronary artery disease. Other diseases which could increase the risk of contracting heart failure are as follows:

• HIV
• Severe anemia
• Cancer treatments like chemotherapy
• Heart attack
• Congenital heart diseases
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Sleep apnea which is left untreated
• Irregular heart rhythms
• Arrhythmias
• Cardiomyopathy

Symptoms

Symptoms of heart failure may include:

• Sudden weight gain
• Fatigue
• Irregular heart rate
• Shortness of breath, especially while lying down
• Extreme swelling in the leg and abdomen regions
• Palpations in the heart
• Sudden loss of appetite

Diagnosis

Several tests may be conducted to diagnose heart failure. Some of them are:

• Physical exam
• Echocardiogram
• Nuclear scan
• Heart MRI
• Chest X-ray
• Blood tests
• Holter monitoring
• Coronary angiogram

Treatment

Treatment may consist of:

• Medications: Medications like blood thinners and nitrates may be prescribed by the doctor
• Bypass surgeries: Here, a healthy part of the vein or artery is removed and attached to the blocked coronary artery.
• Percutaneous coronary intervention: Here, a catheter which is attached to a balloon, is inserted into the artery to inflate the artery.
• Pacemakers: Pacemakers may be inserted to control heart rhythms.
• Transplant surgery: The infected part or the entire heart is removed and replaced with a donor’s heart. This surgery is usually conducted when no other treatments have worked on the patient.

Prevention

You can do certain things to reduce the risks of contracting heart failure. They are:

• Reducing the amount of salt in your food
• Quit smoking
• Reduce alcohol intake
• Staying active
• Getting ample amount of sleep
• Avoiding food which is filled with high amounts of fats