Heart Failure

HEART FAILURE

Even though the size of the human heart is as small as a fist, still, it is the hardest working muscle in our body. It supplies oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to all the parts of the body.

Two Atria and two Ventricles (the four chambers) combine to become the heart. Atria gets blue or deoxygenated blood to the heart while the ventricles pump out the red or oxygenated blood from the heart.

It also has a system of arteries and veins where veins carry the blood back to the heart and the artery carries the blood to different parts of the body.

There are four valves that ensure that there is no backward flow of blood.

It has a complex electrical system that acts as a natural pacemaker that helps the heart to contract. The rate and rhythm of the heart are thus controlled by it.

Congestive heart failure is another name for heart failure. This happens when blood is not pumped by the heart properly to the body. Heart failure can affect both sides of the heart at the same time or the left or right side of the heart individually. It can either be an ongoing (chronic) or acute (short-term) condition!

Acute heart failure usually occurs after a heart attack. During an acute heart failure symptoms leave as quickly as they appear. It may also be due to a problem with the heart valves controlling the flow of blood.

Most heart failure cases are chronic where the symptoms don’t improve over time and are continuous.

Symptoms of Heart Failure:

1. Protruding veins of the neck.
2. Fatigue
3. Swelling in legs and ankle
4. Sudden weight gain
5. Short breath
6. Appetite loss
7. Swelling in the abdomen
8. Persistent coughing
9. Heart palpitation
10. Irregular heart rate

Causes of Heart Failure:

The most common cause of heart failure is CAD or coronary heart disease. Other conditions include:

• Disorder of heart muscle that makes the heart weak is called Cardiomyopathy.
• Illegal drugs or alcohol misuse
• Congenital heart disease
• Chemotherapy, a cancer treatment
• Heart attack
• Severe anemia
• The disease of the valve of the Heart
• HIV
• Arrhythmias, a certain type of irregular heart rhythms
• Thyroid
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• A disease of the lung called emphysema

Different Types of Heart Failure:

1. The most common one is Left-side heart failure: The left ventricle of the heart, which pumps oxygen-rich blood, is located on the bottom left side of the heart. When the left ventricle does not pump blood efficiently, the blood backs up in the lungs causing shortness of breath and fluid built-up.
2. Right-side heart failure: The right ventricles pump the blood in the lungs to collect oxygen. The right side loses its ability to pump blood. This usually occurs due to the failure of the left side of the heart. Due to the build-up of fluid in the lungs, the right side of the heart works harder which leads to its failure.
3. Diastolic heart failure: This happens due to the stiffness of the heart muscle. The heart doesn’t fill with blood easily due to heart disease which causes this stiffness. This leads to a lack of blood flow in other organs of the body and is called Diastolic Dysfunction. It is more common in females.
4. Systolic heart failure: This happens when the heart muscles are not able to contract. The contractions help to pump the oxygen-rich blood to the body. When the heart is weak or enlarged, systolic dysfunction occurs. It is common in males.