Introduction
The heart beats 72 times a minute on average, and with each beat, the heart pumps blood to various organs. This is the normal operation of the heart, which begins in the embryonic stage and continues throughout life. When the heart is unable to pump enough blood to supply all of the organs, adverse effects can occur, necessitating cardiac care. Heart muscles become weaker over time, and gradually, as the name indicates, the heart ceases to pump, which is known as heart failure. As a result of fluid accumulation, the venous backlog causes symptoms ranging from shortness of breath to oedema in the lower limbs. As the fluid accumulates, it increases the cardiac load, which leads to the blockage of effective pumping by the heart muscles. This is medically termed congestive heart failure (CHF). Such a condition requires immediate care by a cardiologist near you. Altius Hospitals is among the best cardiology hospitals in the city in case of any such eventuality. The main choice of treatment is medical, though in some specific cases, depending on the cause, interventions may help.
Causes of heart failure
It is not that heart failure increases with age, though old age is one of the risk factors. It can occur among any age group, more so in people with the following conditions:
- Congenital heart disease
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Arrhythmia
- Kidney disease
- Obesity
- Tobacco and recreational drug use,
- Some drugs, like anti-cancer drugs, are associated with a higher risk of developing heart failure
Symptoms
Common symptoms seen in heart failure are:
- Breathlessness
- Fatigue occurs even with light activity.
- swelling in the ankles, lower limbs, and abdomen.
- Weight gain
- Nocturnal enuresis
- Palpitations
- dry, hacking cough
- heavy, bloated, or hard stomach
- Loss of appetite or stomach upset
Symptoms of heart failure can vary from mild to no symptoms at all. But, being a progressive disorder, the heart muscles can become weaker over time with newer signs and/or symptoms. It is therefore important to let your doctor know if you experience new symptoms or if your symptoms get worse. Consult a heart doctor at Altius Hospitals if such symptoms are observed or experienced.
Treatment
Treatment depends on the heart failure stage. Since heart failure gets worse over time, the heart muscle pumps less and less blood to the organs, which is an indication of progression to the next stage of heart failure. Therefore, the goal of treating heart failure stages is to keep you from moving forward through the different ascending stages or to slow down the progression of your heart failure. In the initial stages like that of stages A & B, mild medicines are prescribed and ejection factor (EF) is monitored regularly. In stage C, diuretics and other drugs to control co-existing ailments are added. In the last stage i.e. stage D, higher methods of interventions like, pacemakers, implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICD), cardiac surgery, and heart transplant are used, based on the best-suited procedure. Altius Hospitals’ Interventional Cardiology department is fully equipped to treat heart failures that require any type of intervention.
To keep the heart from being overworked, it is equally crucial to control your other medical diseases, such as diabetes, renal disease, anaemia, high blood pressure, thyroid disease, asthma, and chronic lung disease.
Conclusion
Heart failure, or congestive heart failure (CHF), is a progressive disorder of the heart muscles. This lowers the heart’s ability to pump blood. There are different stages to the disease, and the treatment depends on the stage. Co-morbidities should also be treated simultaneously to avoid mortality. Altius Hospitals has the best cardiac specialists to treat various abnormalities related to the heart.
