What Is HEART FAILURE and How Does It Work?
What is Heart Failure? Causes, Symptoms, Medications:
What is Heart?
- The heart acts as a pump that pumps blood throughout the body.
- The heart weighs about 200-300 grams for an adult.
- The heart is divided into four chambers: the right atrium, the left atrium, the right ventricle, and the left ventricle.
- There is a valve between the atrium and the ventricle.
- The valve opens and closes as the pump moves to prevent backflow of blood.
- Most of the heart is made up of a muscle called the heart muscle.
- The strong force of this myocardium causes the heart to pump and pump blood throughout the body.
- There are two routes to blood circulation: the blood pumped from the left ventricle returns to the right atrium around the whole body, and the blood pumped from the right ventricle returns to the left atrium through the lungs.
- A healthy heart repeats regular contractions about 60 to 100 times a minute.
- It is the three coronary arteries that surround the surface of the heart that carry the oxygen and nutrients that the heart needs to continue this contraction to the heart muscle .
- In addition, the heart is equipped with a system that produces electrical signals that are transmitted quickly and contract the heart muscle.
- These systems keep the heart pump running smoothly.
What is heart failure?
Heart failure is a disease in which shortness of breath and swelling occur due to a bad heart, which gradually worsens and shortens life. The pumping function of the heart is reduced and the required amount of blood cannot be pumped to the lungs and the whole body, causing abnormalities in other organs and the heart not working properly. In addition to heart disease, various illnesses can cause a condition of heart failure.
Causes of heart failure:
Insufficient heart function puts strain on various organs of the body and causes symptoms of heart failure. As for the type and degree of heart failure, what function of the heart is reduced and how much, whether the symptoms of heart failure have deteriorated rapidly (acute heart failure), or whether the symptoms of heart failure have gradually worsened over a long period of time (chronic heart failure). The following factors can cause the heart to function poorly.
- Ischemic heart disease : Angina or myocardial infarction causes abnormalities in the muscles and blood vessels of the heart, resulting in partial impaired movement of the heart.
- Cardiomyopathy : The muscles of the heart become ill and the function of the heart deteriorates.
- Myocarditis: The muscles of the heart become inflamed due to viral infections, and the function of the heart deteriorates.
- Valvular heart disease : The poor functioning of the valve weakens the ability to pump blood.
- Arrhythmia : The rhythm of the pump function becomes abnormal, the heart rate becomes too low or too high, and the heart becomes immobile and unable to pump the necessary blood to the whole body. ..
- Congenital heart disease: The function of the heart may be weakened due to a natural malformation of the heart.
- High blood pressure: The constant high blood pressure puts a strain on the heart for a long time. As a result, the function of the heart gradually declines.
Other Causes of Heart Failure:
- Anemia
- Kidney disease
- Chemotherapy / radiation therapy for malignant tumors
- Hyperthyroidism / Graves’ disease
- Excessive alcohol intake
- Virus infection
- Drug addiction
Symptoms of Heart Failure:
| Type of Failure | Symptoms |
|---|---|
| Mild | Class I: Symptoms do not appear with daily exertion. Some people are unaware that they have heart failure. |
| Class II: Symptoms appear with relatively strong exertion, such as climbing stairs and slopes. | |
| Moderate | Class III: Symptoms may occur even with simple exertion such as going to get a newspaper. |
| Chronic | Class IV: Symptoms appear just by moving. Even at rest, there are symptoms like heart failure and angina, which get worse when you move. |
Frequently Asked Questions on Heart Failure:
Is it right heart failure or left heart failure?
Answer: There are four “rooms” in the heart. Of the four, those with poor functioning in the left room are called “left heart failure” and those with poor functioning in the right room are called “right heart failure”, and the symptoms that appear in each are different. It can also lead to “both heart failure,” which causes both rooms to function poorly.
Is heart failure is acute or chronic?
Answer: “Acute heart failure” (hourly to daily) if sudden heart failure symptoms appear,
“chronic heart failure” (monthly to yearly) if
chronic heart failure symptoms occur, and sudden deterioration from chronic heart failure Is called “acute exacerbation of chronic heart failure”.
What are the symptoms of chronic heart failure?
Answer: The symptoms of heart failure are
- fatigue;
- palpitations at rest;
- pallor or a bluish tint of the skin, especially on parts of the body remote from the heart (fingers, toes, lips);
- shortness of breath on exertion;
- shortness of breath at rest, aggravated by lying down;
- severe bouts of shortness of breath during sleep;
- pain in the right hypochondrium associated with blood filling of the liver veins;
- an increase in the volume of the abdomen.