The human heart is responsible for pumping blood throughout the body through the circulatory system to ensure that there is an efficient distribution of oxygen and nutrients. Analyzing the human heart anatomy, it is an organ that weighs between 10 to 12 ounces (280 to 340 grams) in men and 8 to 10 ounces (230 to 280 grams) in women. It is characterized by valves and chambers that control the flow of blood to the body tissues. Blockage of any of this parts can cause the damage of heart muscles which on consistency causes heart failure. Congestive heart failure (CHF) occurs when the heart is unable to pump blood efficiently throughout the other body parts. The disease is a common costly and potentially fatal condition whereby approximately 40 million people globally have the disease. The rates are estimated to mostly involves those above the age of fifty with a ten percent as compared to the two percent for those below fifty. The term ‘congestive heart failure' is commonly used to refer to one of the main signs of the disease which is congestion. This occurs in the form of water swellings that are as a result of the build-up of too much fluid in tissues and veins.
Signs and symptoms
At early stages of the disease, it is not common to realize that one is suffering from the disease. This is because some of the signs can be associated with other conditions. As the heart develops more problems in pumping the blood some symptoms occur and create enough evidence of the disease. Some of the first signs include feeling tired, being short of breath, feeling weak or dizzy and experiencing some poundings where the hearts seem to be racing (Keith, 2016). As the disease gets worse more symptoms are realized. The adverse conditions are mostly divided into two parts in line with the functionality of the heart. There are the left-side and the right-side failures. With the left side of the heart being responsible for receiving oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumping it to the other parts of the body, the failure of the left side is associated with congestion of blood in the lungs. The outcome of the congestion includes respiratory system failure and fatigue due to the insufficient blood supply. Additional signs that maybe as a result of the backward failure of the ventricles include increased breath and crackles. The right-side failures occur due to difficulties in the pulmonary circulation system. With the de-oxygenated blood being transported by the vessels back to the heart, cases of failure cause accumulation of the blood in capillaries. Some signs like foot and ankle swelling can be observed especially when people stand for long hours. In progressively severe cases, the victim might also experience enlargement of the liver due to much fluid accumulation. On medical research, the victims are also said to urinate more times at night while at the same time they gain excess weight in a short span of time (Hosenpud & Greenberg, 2014).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Causes of Heart Failure
The disease is mostly caused by increased cases of overload situations which affect those people with other conditions like kidney disease and anemia. At times the amount of blood being pumped might be high such that the heart is unable to keep up. There are other factors the directly affect the cardiovascular system and may also cause heart failure. A case of hypertension which occurs when the blood pressure of an individual is higher than expected due to congestion by fat and cholesterol may cause failures in blood flow due to clogging of the veins. These fats can also block the coronary arteries causing coronary artery disease which makes the arteries to be narrow restricting the rate of blood flow through them. The narrowing can also damage the arteries (Keith, 2016). When the heart valves are also affected, the opening and closing of the heart chambers to let blood in and out are not regulated. As a result, the chambers may be forced to pump harder than required forcing the ventricles to overwork. Additionally, there are also some infections like diabetes, obesity and connective tissues diseases can cause heart failure.
Risk Factors and Complications
Some factors and activities increase the possibility of one suffering from heart failure. Some of the increase the potential to develop plaque within coronary arteries making them be narrow and fail to pump blood efficiently. A combination of many factors increases the risk of death. Some of the risk factors include blood pressure which makes the heart to work harder than required. Increased blood pressure can be as a result of diabetes and high levels of cholesterol. Also, there is heart attack which damages the heart muscles making them not to work effectively. Other factors include smoking, family history, and obesity.
Test, Diagnosing, and Treatment
In most cases, the diagnosis of this diseases starts with taking the history of the patient. This includes the understanding of diets taken, history of heart disease in family lineage and practices such as smoking. The information gotten is vital in linking the early stage-symptoms to the case of heart failure. Commonly, the health-care professional also consults on the case of chest pains and with which intensity they occur. Issues of narrowed blood arteries might also be detected through levels of blood pressure. Discovering of these symptoms on time can prevent much damage to the heart muscles and parts. This is important to maximize the patient's quantity and quality of life. In most cases, the progression of plaque formation can be controlled via exercise and diet. Those affected are also advised to stop smoking to minimize rates of lung damage. In addition to these lifestyle changes, there are also some medical treatments that are used (Yancy & Firth, 2013). Aspirin is one of the medications that control the activity of the blood platelets by making them less stick and functional in instances of blood clotting. There are some other medications that are used to maximize blood flow rates and efficient contraction of blood muscles. Use of Beta and calcium channel blockers also increase the efficiency of muscle contraction as well as controlling the narrowing of the coronary arteries. There are some clinical diagnosis methods like ultrasound, chest X-ray, electrophysiology and blood tests which are recommended to help determine likely outcomes of test done based on early symptoms. Adverse conditions can be more demanding where hospital-based support or a heart transplant may be required.
Role of nutrition and Recommended Diet
The eating habits and type of lifestyle that people live play a significant role in the determination of the risk of heart disease. This is a two-way factor where the diet can reduce or increase cases of heart failure. Based on the heart-healthy diet some ways can help minimize the chances of being infected. They include:
Controlling of portion size- the quantity of what one eats is equally important as the quality. When people eat until they are stuffed, they might end up consuming more cholesterol than they think. It is essential to keep track of the serving s that one is taking while ensuring low-calorie and nutrient-rich foods in the meals. Having standard measurements such as ounces, cups, is important to be able to calculate the amount of food taken in a day (Yancy & Firth, 2013).
Eat more vegetables and fruits- these are good sources of vitamins and minerals and do not contain fats. Choosing recipes that include vegetables is critical to ensure that there is a limit in calories taken.
Limit unhealthy fats - the reduction of cholesterol levels can be made by keeping track saturated and trans fats. The recommendations given show that one should take less than seven percent of saturated fats in the daily consumption of calories. The trans fats should be less than one percent.
Choose low-fat protein sources- legumes and skim milk are the example of less-protein sources. They contain less fat and no cholesterol which makes them minimize the chances of coronary diseases.
All these recommendations are for both the infected and those who are not to ensure control. However, not many people make considerations on their diets despite the education and awareness administered to them. To promote adherence to nutritional advice, it is essential to practice patient's communication. This is where the physicians make reminders to people on the importance of healthy eating (Money, 2015). This can be done through counseling sessions and use of emails to send required information. Another procedure which mostly applies for the already affected is evaluating of adherence by the doctor. This can be done by evaluation of self-reports, pill counting or measuring urine drug levels. This is to ensure that there is no carelessness at times about taking medications.
Conclusion
The congestive heart failure is one of the most common chronic diseases. Therefore, it is essential to educate the public on the causes and risk factors associated with the disease. The education can cover the symptoms and the forms of treatment available. This is beneficial in that when patients realize some disorders in their bodies mainly the heart, they will have the urge to visit a physician before their conditions become severe. Making changes on the lifestyles in line with diets and physical activities is also essential when fighting the disease. With the average percentage of deaths increasing every day, it is necessary to take recommended control measures.
References
Hosenpud, J. & Greenberg, B. (2014). Congestive heart failure . Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Keith, J. D. (2016). Congestive heart failure. Pediatrics , 18 (3), 491-500.
Kireyev, D. & Hung, J. (2016). Cardiac imaging in clinical practice . Cham: Springer.
Mann, D. & Felker, G. (2016). Heart failure : a companion to Braunwald's heart disease . Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier-Saunders.
Merit-HF Study Group. (2013). Effect of metoprolol CR/XL in chronic heart failure: metoprolol CR/XL randomised intervention trial in-congestive heart failure (MERIT-HF). The Lancet , 353 (9169), 2001-2007
Money, J. (2015). Unspeakable monsters in all our lives . Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.
Poppas, A., & Rounds, S. (2012). Congestive heart failure. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine , 165 (1), 4-8.
Quinn, C. (2012). 100 questions and answers about congestive heart failure . Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett.
Yancy, C. W., & Firth, B. G. (2013) Congestive heart failure. Disease-a-Month , 34 (8), 469-536.
Zannad, F., Dousset, B., & Alla, F. (2015). Treatment of congestive heart failure. Hypertension , 38 (5), 1227-1232.
