katyzzzHealth and well-being
July 13th 2006 01:26
Blog 1: Understanding of Congestive Heart Failure :
Congestive heart failure (also called left ventricular failure or simply heart failure) is a condition in which the heart weakens and fails to keep the blood moving adequately. As a result, the supply of blood to the body's tissues decreases, lowering efficiency and endurance. With poor circulation, the kidneys fail to remove enough water, salt, and wastes from the blood. In addition, the kidneys, because of the decreased blood flow presented to them, retain even more salt and water in an effort to increase blood volume.
The increased blood volume makes more work for the already overworked heart, which may enlarge and beat faster in an attempt to satisfy the body's hunger for oxygen-rich blood. The veins distend with fluid, and the balance of pressures between fluids inside and outside the veins shifts, which causes fluid that normally stays in the bloodstream to leak into surrounding tissue. This fluid leakage, the reduction of forward blood flow, and the backflow of blood are primary factors responsible for the pulmonary edema (accumulation of fluid in the lungs) and the swelling of the abdomen and legs that often accompany this condition.
Causes
The usual cause of congestive heart failure is a diseased heart that cannot pump enough blood. The most common reason is severe coronary artery disease, which decreases blood flow to the heart muscle. If the person has suffered a heart attack, the resultant nonworking scar tissue further reduces the efficiency of the heart as a pump. Leaky or narrowed heart valves, due to a birth defect or rheumatic fever, can also cause heart failure. A large cardiac aneurysm (a bulge caused by the thinning of the wall of the left ventricle of the heart) may also decrease the pumping ability of the heart.
Symptoms
Early signs of congestive heart failure include unexplained rapid heartbeat, unusual fatigue during exertion, shortness of breath during stair climbing or other mild exercise, and inability to withstand cold. Attacks of shortness of breath and coughing when lying in bed that are relieved by sleeping with pillows under the back to tilt the chest are also early symptoms. Sometimes, a person is actually awakened by a sensation of "air hunger" and must sit or stand to breathe more easily.
Congestive heart failure (also called left ventricular failure or simply heart failure) is a condition in which the heart weakens and fails to keep the blood moving adequately. As a result, the supply of blood to the body's tissues decreases, lowering efficiency and endurance. With poor circulation, the kidneys fail to remove enough water, salt, and wastes from the blood. In addition, the kidneys, because of the decreased blood flow presented to them, retain even more salt and water in an effort to increase blood volume.
The increased blood volume makes more work for the already overworked heart, which may enlarge and beat faster in an attempt to satisfy the body's hunger for oxygen-rich blood. The veins distend with fluid, and the balance of pressures between fluids inside and outside the veins shifts, which causes fluid that normally stays in the bloodstream to leak into surrounding tissue. This fluid leakage, the reduction of forward blood flow, and the backflow of blood are primary factors responsible for the pulmonary edema (accumulation of fluid in the lungs) and the swelling of the abdomen and legs that often accompany this condition.
Causes
The usual cause of congestive heart failure is a diseased heart that cannot pump enough blood. The most common reason is severe coronary artery disease, which decreases blood flow to the heart muscle. If the person has suffered a heart attack, the resultant nonworking scar tissue further reduces the efficiency of the heart as a pump. Leaky or narrowed heart valves, due to a birth defect or rheumatic fever, can also cause heart failure. A large cardiac aneurysm (a bulge caused by the thinning of the wall of the left ventricle of the heart) may also decrease the pumping ability of the heart.
Symptoms
Early signs of congestive heart failure include unexplained rapid heartbeat, unusual fatigue during exertion, shortness of breath during stair climbing or other mild exercise, and inability to withstand cold. Attacks of shortness of breath and coughing when lying in bed that are relieved by sleeping with pillows under the back to tilt the chest are also early symptoms. Sometimes, a person is actually awakened by a sensation of "air hunger" and must sit or stand to breathe more easily.
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