Your health: What you need to know about heart failure
Heart failure, or congestive heart failure, is a long-term medical condition that occurs when the heart doesn’t pump blood as effectively as it should. When the heart doesn’t pump properly, the condition can lead to fluid in the lungs and organ damage.
Heart failure affects approximately six million people in the United States. It’s also the No. 1 cause of hospitalization in people over age 65.
How heart failure affects the body
When your heart pumps, it moves nutrient- and oxygen-rich blood to your body’s cells, which help your body run efficiently When your heart doesn’t pump enough blood, you may experience symptoms like shortness of breath, fatigue, and swelling in the veins of your neck, your abdomen, ankles, feet, or legs. Other symptoms that can happen include decreased appetite, confusion, memory loss, increased heart rate, heart palpitations, coughing, nausea, increased urination, and trouble sleeping while lying flat.
Heart failure can make daily activities like walking or running errands very challenging.
Over time, heart failure will worsen and can lead to cardiac arrest, irregular heartbeat, liver or kidney damage, breathing problems, malnutrition and pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the arteries in the lungs).
Different types of heart failure
There are different types of heart failure, including:
Left-sided heart failure: This means the heart can’t pump enough blood to the body because the left side of the heart is too stiff, thick or weak. Left-sided heart failure is the most common type of heart failure.
Right-sided heart failure: This means the heart can’t pump enough blood to the lungs.
What causes heart failure?
Heart failure can develop suddenly after an injury or medical condition that damages the heart muscle, such as a heart attack or endocarditis (inflammation of the lining of the heart).
It can also develop slowly from chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, lung diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), high blood pressure, heart valve disease, a blood clot in the lung, cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart), coronary artery disease, arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) or heart disease you were born with.
Heart failure risk factors
You’re at increased risk of heart failure if you are 65 or older; are African American; smoke; are inactive; abuse alcohol or illegal drugs; eat foods high in cholesterol, salt and fat; have undergone chemotherapy or radiation therapy to treat cancer; have genetic changes that affect your heart tissue; have a family history of heart failure; or have anemia, sleep apnea, diabetes, obesity, HIV/AIDS, previous COVID-19 infection, high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, serious lung disease, iron overload disease or other heart/blood vessel conditions.
Heart failure prevention
You can lower your risk of heart failure by managing any of the above conditions that increase your risk of heart failure and by making healthy lifestyle changes, like eating healthy foods, exercising regularly and not using tobacco products.
Heart failure treatment
Unfortunately, there isn’t currently a cure for heart failure. However, many people are able to live full lives by managing the condition with lifestyle changes and medications.
Heart failure treatment options include medication, managing stress, getting enough physical activity as recommended by your healthcare provider, eating less sodium and drinking fewer liquids to lessen fluid buildup.
There are also surgical procedures to help manage heart failure, including surgery to repair a heart defect or damage; placing devices like a mechanical heart pump (ventricular assist device), biventricular pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator; or a heart transplant if other treatments don’t help.
When to seek medical care
The three most important symptoms to watch for are shortness of breath, fatigue and unexplainable swelling. If you have any of those symptoms,, see your primary care provider or cardiologist right away. To find a provider near you, visit www.pardeehospital.org.
Dr. Martin Sullivan is a board-certified cardiologist at Pardee Cardiology Associates.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Heart failure: What is it? How to detect it? Ways to prevent it.
