Heart Failure (Part 1)

Definition - Heart failure is a disorder in which the heart loses its ability to pump blood efficiently, thereby failing to meet the demands of the body. Congestive cardiac failure is the term that refers to both right and left heart failure together. There is not usually solely left heart failure or solely right heart failure, but a bit of both. When a person is diagnosed with heart failure, it does not mean the heart has stopped working, but rather that it is not working as efficiently as it should. In other words, the term "failure" indicates the heart is not pumping effectively enough to meet the body's needs for oxygen-rich blood, either during exercise or at rest. The term congestive heart failure (CHF) is often synonymous with heart failure but also refers to the state in which decreased heart function is accompanied by a buildup of body fluid in the lungs and elsewhere. Heart failure may be reversible, and people may live for many years after the diagnosis is made. There are different classifications of heart failure:

Congestive Heart Failure - Fluid in the lungs or body resulting from failure of the heart as a pump.

Right Sided Heart Failure - Failure of the pumping action of the right ventricle resulting in swelling of the body, especially the legs and abdomen.

Left Sided Heart Failure - Failure of the pumping action of the left side of the heart resulting in congestion of the lungs. Forward Heart Failure - The inability of the heart to pump blood forward at a sufficient rate to meet the oxygen needs of the body at rest or during exercise.

Backward Heart Failure - The ability of the heart to meet the needs of the body only if heart filling pressures are abnormally high.

Heart failure may be acute or chronic. Acute heart failure may be caused by toxic quantities of drugs and anesthetics or by certain pathological conditions, such as sudden coronary occlusion. Chronic heart failure may occur in such conditions as essential hypertension or ischemic heart disease. In the various forms of heart failure myocardial contractility is impaired. Consequently the cardiac function curve (please refer to article on cardiac function curve) is shifted downward and to the right. In acute heart failure both the cardiac function and the vascular function curves shift.

Symptoms of Heart Failure - The most common signs of heart failure are shortness of breath and/or fatigue, usually accompanied by fluid retention, such as swollen ankles. These symptoms can become severe enough to affect you even when you are at rest. Fortunately, these symptoms generally respond to medical therapy and by eliminating salt from your diet.

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