Heart failure means that the heart does not pump enough blood. This heart disease may be evidenced by: constant fatigue, problems with climbing stairs, ankle swelling, drowsiness after eating, cough at night, shortness of breath during exercise. Heart failure is a disease that is becoming an epidemic in Europe and the Americas. Fortunately, heart failure can be treated more and more effectively.
Heart failureis a group of medical conditions in which the heart's ability to pump blood is impaired and to keep blood flowing according to the body's needs. Thisheart diseaseis a consequence of damage to the heart muscle, most often due to coronary artery disease. However, other causes of heart failure are possible.
Heart failure - causes
Medical statistics show that 70 percent cases of heart failure is a consequence of coronary artery disease, especially a recent heart attack, 10% is the result of valve disease, and another 10 percent. are the consequences of cardiomyopathy. In Europe, 15 million people suffer from heart failure. In Poland, it is estimated that about 700,000 suffer from it. people. The incidence of the disease is related to age, and it increases particularly rapidly in people over the age of 60.
But there are other reasons:
- hypertension,
- diseases or damage to the valves,
- cardiomyopathies, i.e. diseases of the heart muscle itself,
- atrial fibrillation,
- congenital heart defects,
- infection of the heart valves or heart muscle.
Heart failure can worsen:
- infections,
- lung diseases,
- hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism,
- hypertension,
- kidney disease,
- mistakes in taking medications used in case of failure, taking additional painkillers,
- improper nutrition,
- uneven heartbeat,
- unstable coronary artery disease,
- heart attack.
What are the causes of heart failure? Dr. Robert Zymliński, MD, explained
Heart failure symptoms
The main symptoms of heart failure are shortness of breath and fatigue, exercise intolerance, and edema from water retention.
Less characteristic symptoms include an increased need to urinate at night, poor appetite, abdominal fullness, constipation, dizziness, sometimes memory loss and confusion.
Why does heart failure show such strange symptoms?
The heart is a pump that picks up venous blood from the body and pumps it into the lungs. Here it is saturated with oxygen and pumped into the arteries, from where it is distributed to all our organs.
When the heart is malfunctioning, inefficient, it does not pump as much blood as the body needs. As a consequence, too little oxygen (fuel for cells) reaches individual organs or too much blood is deposited in the organs of the body.
If the blood is poorly oxygenated, we feel the effects quite quickly: even a small effort causes us to tire easily, because there is not enough oxygen in the muscles; we are drenched in cold sweat because our skin is not oxygenated.
When blood is stagnant in organs, they become hyperemic. Then, shortness of breath (shortness of breath or shortness of breath) during exercise or night rest and the accompanying cough appears, which indicates congestion in the lungs. Poor digestion and drowsiness after eating indicate liver congestion, and leg swelling indicates blood stagnation in this area.
Symptoms of heart failure according to the NYHA scale
The NYHA scale was developed by the New York Cardiac Society and is used around the world to measure the severity of symptoms of heart failure. The scale distinguishes between four classes of heart failure.
- Class I - the patient has no restrictions in physical activity. Normal physical activity and daily activities do not cause shortness of breath, fatigue or palpitations.
- Class II - the patient has little limitations in physical activity. The symptoms worsen with exercise, but disappear when the patient is rested.
- Class III - limiting the possibilities of physical effort is significant. Even such a small effort as getting dressed, washing or preparing a meal aggravates the symptoms of the disease, mainly shortness of breath. But at rest, the symptoms of the disease do not appear.
- Class IV - patients are not able to perform even the simplest activities on their own without exacerbating the symptoms of the disease. They occur not only during physical activity, but also at rest, which means that patients become dependent and require constant care and help from third parties.
Among Poles over 65, approx. 39 percent patients with heart failure are classified into NYHA class III or IV, which increases the cost of treating this disease.
Heart failure -diagnosis
To recognize heart failure and treat it effectively, it is essential to establish the cause. Diagnosing begins with taking a thorough medical history, which means that the patient should tell the doctor under what circumstances and how often their dyspnea, palpitations, dizziness or other complaints worsen.
The next step is blood tests and imaging tests. Usually, peripheral blood counts are performed and the concentration of BNP, or B-type natriuretic peptide, is determined. Natriuretic peptides are involved in the regulation of the sodium-water balance and the maintenance of cardiovascular homeostasis. BNP, on the other hand, is a hormone secreted by the cells of the heart muscle, the concentration of which increases significantly in heart failure.
From imaging tests, ECG, chest X-ray and heart echo are usually performed. If this is not enough to find out the cause of the disease, the doctor recommends more specialized tests.
Heart failure is a formidable enemy
Experts believe that the quality of life of people suffering from heart failure is just as low as that of patients on permanent dialysis, suffering from depression or chronic hepatitis. It is believed that this is not only related to the symptoms of the disease, but also to the necessity of frequent hospitalizations.
Heart failure is the most common cause of hospitalization in patients over 65 years of age. This fact translates into the costs of treating heart failure. In developed countries, its treatment consumes 2-2.5 percent. of total he alth care expenses, and the costs of hospitalization are 60-70 percent. total expenses related to heart failure. But it's not just about money.
Heart failure is a serious disease with a poor prognosis for patients - the mortality here is higher than in the case of breast or prostate cancer! As many as half of patients with severe heart failure die within 4 years of diagnosis.
How to live with heart failure?
The recipe is simple. You should regularly perform the examinations recommended by your doctor, which allow you to control the disease and lead a hygienic lifestyle. A hygienic lifestyle includes regular exercise, proper nutrition, limiting s alt intake, avoiding stress, colds and infections, and regular flu vaccinations.
Reducing the consumption of table s alt is justified by the fact that it promotes water retention in the body, and this aggravates the symptoms of the disease, such as edema, shortness of breath, increased heart rate.
Since the disease interferes with the removal of water from the body, you should limit your drinking to1.5-2 liters per day. In order not to overload the body, it is better to eat 4-5 small meals a day. You should also part with cigarettes and limit your alcohol consumption.
Heart failure treatment
Treatment of heart failure must be tailored to the severity of the disease and the accompanying symptoms. Proper therapy involves not only taking medications, but also changing your lifestyle, diet, physical exertion and exercise training.
Sometimes it is necessary to implant devices that stimulate the heart's work or protect against sudden cardiac arrest (implanted cardioverter-defibrillators), and sometimes surgical treatment. The basis, however, are medications that reduce symptoms and affect patients' lives longer.
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