HEART FAILURE
Heart
failure or cardiac failure is the condition
in which the heart looses the ability to pump sufficient amount of blood to all
parts of the body. Heart failure may involve left ventricle or right ventricle
or both. It may be acute or chronic.
Acute Heart Failure
Acute
heart failure refers to sudden and rapid onset of signs and symptoms of
abnormal heart functions. Its symptoms are severe initially. However, the
symptoms last for a very short time and the condition improves rapidly. Usually it requires treatment.
Chronic Heart Failure
Chronic heart failure is
the heart failure that is characterized by the
symptoms that appear slowly over a
period of
time and become worst gradually.
Congestive Heart
Failure
Congestive heart failure
is a general term used to describe the heart failure resulting in accumulation
of
fluid in
lungs and other tissues. When heart is not able to a blood through aorta,
the blood remains in heart. It results in dilatation of
the chambers and accumulation of blood in veins (vascular
congestion). Fluid retention and pulmonary
edema also occur in this condition.
CAUSES OF HEART
FAILURE
Common causes of heart
failure are:
1. Coronary artery disease
2.
Defective heart valves
3.
Arrhythmia
4. Cardiac muscle disease
such as cardiomyopathy
5.
Hypertension
6.
Congenital heart disease
7.
Diabetes
8.
Hyperthyroidism
9. Anemia
10. Lung
disorders
11.
Inflammation of cardiac muscle (myocarditis) due to
viral infection, drugs, alcohol, etc.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF
HEART FAILURE
Signs and Symptoms of
Chronic Heart Failure
1. Fatigue
and weakness
2. Rapid and irregular
heartbeat
3. Shortness of breathing
4. Fluid
retention and weight gain
5. Loss of appetite
6. Nausea
and vomiting
7. Cough
8. Chest pain, if
developed by myocardial infarction.
Signs and Symptoms of
Acute Heart Failure
Signs and symptoms of
acute heart failure may be same as chronic heart failure. But the signs and
symptoms appear suddenly
and severely. When heart starts to fail suddenly, the fluid
accumulates in lungs causing pulmonary edema. It results
in sudden and severe shortness of breath, cough
with pink, foamy mucus and heart palpitations. It may
lead to sudden death, if not attended immediately.
TYPES OF HEART
FAILURE
1. Systolic Heart
Failure
Systolic heart failure is the heart failure due to the decreased ability of heart to contract. It may involve
right
heart or left heart or both. It is caused either by muscular weakness or valvular
defect. Ventricles may be filled with blood but cannot pump it out with
sufficient force. Ejection fraction decreases to about 20%. So the amount of
blood pumped to the body and to the lungs is decreased. As a
result, more amount of blood remains in ventricle. Later the blood
starts accumulating in lungs or systemic veins or both.
Usually the ventricle enlarges in systolic heart
failure.
2. Diastolic Heart
Failure
Diastolic
heart failure is the heart failure that occurs when the ventricles cannot relax
properly due to the
stiffening of cardiac
muscle. So, there is reduction in ventricular
filling and cardiac output.
3. Right Sided
Heart Failure
Right sided heart failure
occurs due to loss of pumping action of the right side of the heart. Because of
loss of pumping action of right ventricle, blood accumulates in right atrium and blood vessels. It causes edema in the feet,
ankles, legs and abdomen.
4. Left Sided
Heart Failure
Left sided heart failure
is due to the loss of pumping action of the left side of the heart. It
causes congestion of
lungs.
COMPENSATED VERSUS
DECOMPENSATED HEART
FAILURE
Chronic heart failure may
be compensated or decompensated.
Compensated Heart
Failure
Compensated
heart failure is the heart failure with adequate cardiac output. Heart tries to
maintain cardiac output by normal compensatory mechanisms such as increase in heart rate, increase in force of ventricular contraction and ventricular hypertrophy. In compensated heart
failure, the symptoms are stable and features of fluid retention
and pulmonary edema are absent. Eventually, in most
of the patients the heart can no longer meet the demand
even by compensatory mechanisms and this condition
leads to decompensated heart failure.
Decompensated Heart
Failure
Decompensated
heart failure is the heart failure with inadequate cardiac output. It is
characterized by
deterioration and sudden and drastic worsening of cardiac function, resulting in death.
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