Health care for a better life

Archive for the ‘Heart Failure’ Category

Searching for an effective congestive heart failure treatment is something that millions of Americans do regularly. After all, their life may depend on it. Nevertheless, there is no congestive heart failure treatment which can cure the condition, only those that are geared towards management.

There are probably few words that pet owners dread more than ‘canine heart disease’. It will lead to the dog’s eventual demise if nothing is done. While there are really no cures for inborn animal heart problems, canine congestive heart failure treatments are available that will help lengthen the lifespan of your dog, as well as improve his quality of life.

Within the age of normal medicine, the power from the mind has been invoked in medical trials to use meditation and relaxation strategies to combat the tension around the coronary heart, they could be the breaking point for sufferers with coronary heart failure.

Canine congestive heart failure is a major disease within dogs, and is usually seen in elderly companions but that is not always the case. Millions of dogs every year are diagnosed with this disease, and although there have been a few cases of complete recovery; it is usually an un-curable disease.

Relaxin is typically thought of as a female hormone that helps pregnancy progress the way it’s supposed to. Doctors noticed that the heart has receptors for relaxin. That combined with animal studies showing relaxin can work to dilate blood vessels, led doctors to wonder about using relaxin to treat heart conditions.

In other words, the longer a person had been suffering from the disease before he or she received CoQ10 treatments the less improvement was demonstrated. People who had received treatments early in the development of the disease showed the most dramatic improvement often returning to normal heart function.

Regarding the quality of life enjoyed by survivors, there is positive potential. In some cases the improvement in lifestyle that some individuals commit to can improve their health. Individuals that experience near complete healing may enjoy a dramatically better quality of life provided they continue with the healthy changes initiated as treatment for the condition.

If the left side of your heart is affected, then the rest of your body will not get enough oxygen from the blood. In both kinds of heart failure, you can be short of breath and tired all of the time. Sometimes, heart failure can lead to a heart attack, also known as myocardial infarction.

At each stage there are established treatments. In each case beginning to treat the condition as soon as possible is a benefit. Treatment can effectively slow the rate of development or help to prevent development. Treatment can also help to improve the quality of life that each individual experiences. A doctor should assist in adapting the treatment to the individual’s condition and lifestyle.

The symptoms of heart problems include increase breathing rate (panting). One can also hear Rales in the base of the lungs that can also lead to a disease called pulmonary edema. One might also experience additional heart rhythms and heart murmurs.

A healthy lifestyle can help to protect most people from developing the condition. Your doctor can supply you with more complete information about lifestyle options that are healthy for you. In addition they should be able to help you identify your risk factor and plan a treatment plan if the condition is diagnosed.

Congestive Heart Failure also known as CHF or otherwise known as just heart failure is a state where the heart is not able to pump enough blood to supply the organs of the body. The heart keeps working but not as it should. This is a very serious condition that can be caused by a number of different things.

Causes
There are several different abnormalities that can cause a person to go into congestive heart failure. Here is the list of some of the causes of congestive heart failure.

1. A past heart attack or myocardial infarction that resulted in scar tissue that affects the way the heart functions.
2. High blood pressure.
3. Narrowed arteries or otherwise known as coronary artery disease that supplies the heart with blood.
4. Heart valve disease that has been caused by Rheumatic fever or various other reasons.
5.

Congenital heart defects. Defects of the heart that has been present since birth.
6. Cardiomyopathy – This is disease of the heart muscle.
7. Endocarditis or Myocarditis. Infection of the heart muscle or heart valves.

Swelling is usually a positive sign of congestive heart failure. As the heart pumps blood to the rest of the body becomes slow, the blood in the veins that is returning to the heart begins to back up in the system. This can cause swelling. CHF also affects the kidneys ability to dispose of sodium; therefore, causing the patient to retain water which increases the swelling. You will usually notice the swelling more so in the extremities, feet and legs, as they are the farthest from the heart and there has to be increased pressure for the blood to flow back up towards the heart itself.

Treatment
You will definitely have to be diagnosed as having congestive heart failure from your physician and a treatment program is inevitable.

You will more than likely have to take a variety of medications and maintain a healthy diet and exercise program to help get you back in the proper shape to continue on with a long life.

A variety of medications is usually prescribed to a patient who has experienced congestive heart failure. Diuretics, ACE inhibitors, Beta blockers, etc are just some of the few that you could be prescribed. You will have to modify you daily routine in terms of activities, obtain plenty of rest, eat healthier and get regular exercise as much as possible.

Most people who experience congestive heart failure can be treated. In more rare cases, like when the heart is so badly damaged that it cannot be fixed, then a heart transplant will be needed. Depending upon the cause of the patient’s congestive heart failure will determine the treatment that will be prescribed. If the CHF was because of a problematic valve, then valve replacement surgery will be needed and can cure the problem.

In the end, heart problems are very serious and should not be taken lightly. If you are experiencing problematic breathing or have noticed swelling, especially in your feet and legs, contact and inform your physician as soon as possible.

Congestive heart failure occurs when the heart is not pumping blood as efficiently as it should and is not getting the required amount of blood to the organs in the body. Soon after the efficiency of the heart goes down the organs do not receive the right amount of oxygen and nutrients, and symptoms occur.

Symptoms of congestive heart failure include: Edema, irregular or rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, trouble concentrating, wheeze, nausea, coughing with phlegm that is white or tinged with blood, appetite loss or fluid retention that results in fast weight gain.

Symptoms are not always apparent while resting but will almost always show up during some type of exercise. Exercise tends to cause an individual to become fatigued and dizzy. The blood pressure goes down and the body attempts to make up for the lost blood volume by setting off hormone and nerve signals that are meant to increase blood volume by retaining water.

The heart also has a tendency to start beating at a rapid pace while it’s muscles become thick and the ventricles stretch out to allow more blood flow. This does not fix anything because it is still not beating effectively enough to get the required amount of blood to the organs and tissues.

Congestive heart failure can either come on suddenly or gradually get worse over time. It is normally caused by some other medical condition or damage that was caused to the heart. Some things that can lead to heart failure include: infections in the heart, damage caused by heart attacks or surgery, congenital heart defects, constant high blood pressure, coronary artery disease or faulty heart valves.

Many times, heart failure sticks around for life and needs to be managed by a thorough treatment plan from your doctor. It is treatable with a combination of medication and sometimes surgery.

If an underlying condition has led to the heart failure the key is to treat the underlying condition first. If it is treated effectively then the heart failure sometimes can correct itself. This can only happen if the heart did not receive any permanent damage.

There are ways to naturally help this condition:

Exercise: Just 30 minutes of exercise twice a week can reduce the risk of hospitalization or death in heart failure patients, according to study findings presented at the March 2009 annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology. With more exercise, the benefit is even greater. Walking at a rate of 2 miles per hour for 30 minutes a few times a week will make a difference.

Supplements: There are quite a number of herbs and supplements that could have a beneficial effect on heart disease. I have listed some below. You may click on each one for more information but ultimately the use of supplements has to be done with the full knowledge and approval of your health care provider.

* Fish Oils or eating cold water fish reduces the risk for heart rhythm disturbances and may reduce the risk of heart palpitations, atrial fibrillation and ventricular arrhythmia.* Vitamin D deficiency is associated with heart dysfunction, sudden cardiac death, and death due to heart failure. An association between vitamin D deficiency and heart trouble is physiologically plausible since vitamin D is known to affect contractility of the heart.* Arginine may prolong exercise capacity in those with congestive heart failure. Arginine supplements are available over the counter.* Carnitine is potentially helpful since the heart uses carnitine for energy production* CoQ10 may be beneficial in heart failure. See CoQ10-60mg supplement for more information.* Hawthorn is vasodilatory, increases coronary flow, acts as an inotrope (stimulates heart contraction), decreases peripheral resistance, and has ACE-inhibitor-like effect. Daily dosage Hawthorn berry herb 3 to 5g or 160 to 900 mg extract for a few weeks. Appears to be useful in mild heart failure.* Folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 can help prevent reoccurrence of blocked arteries in patients who have undergone coronary angioplasty.* Psyllium fiber may help reduce cholesterol levels.* Magnesium mineral may help* Ribose may be beneficial to individuals with congestive heart failure.* Astragalus has been studied in heart failure

I would also highly recommend reading the information HERE on the use of supplements and nutrition to combat heart failure – the information presented there could help save your life.

An estimated 4.8 million Americans have congestive heart failure (CHF)… Half of the patients diagnosed with CHF will be dead within 5 years. Each year, there are an estimated 400,000 new cases.

CHF is the… most common diagnosis in hospital patients age 65 years and older. In that age group, one fifth of all hospitalizations have a primary or secondary diagnosis of heart failure.

Congestive heart failure is a serious medical condition that you should not try and cure with herbal remedies alone. You can talk to your doctor about incorporating some herbs into your treatment plan and see what they say, but you really need to make sure that you follow their advice to a ‘T’. You only get one heart and a heart transplant is probably not something that you want to go through anytime soon.

Heart failure (HF) is the primary diagnosis in one million hospitalizations and costs the American health care system almost 30 billion dollars annually. It affects almost five million Americans and leads to about 300,000 deaths each year. Heart failure is a devastating disease as it increases the incidence of depression and hospital/nursing home admission. It decreases the ability to care for oneself and increases disability and death. Heart failure is an inability of the heart to pump out enough blood to meet the needs of the body. As a result of a poor pumping heart, the cells of the body are unable to get adequate oxygen resulting in many of the symptoms of heart failure. As heart failure progresses it activates the nervous and endocrine system. The activation of these systems results in a progression of the disease. Treatment options are focused on stopping the negative impact of the activated nervous and endocrine system. Becoming knowledgeable about disease is an important part of having a successful health care experience. Individuals must have a basic understanding of his or her disease. The better you understand your diseases the better you can partner in your medical care.

No one has a greater interest vested in your well being than you. Physicians manage very busy office practices and may overlook some important aspects of your care. It is imperative that you help your health care providers give you the care that is needed to prevent death and disability. As part of health care responsibility you need to understand your disease. Below are a list of questions you should ask your health care provider if you have heart failure. 1. What type of heart failure do I have? The two main types of heart failure are systolic heart failure and diastolic heart failure.2. What is my ejection fraction? When am I going to have my next echocardiogram? Ejection fraction is the percentage of blood beat out with each beat. Patients with systolic heart failure have an ejection fraction less than 40-50%. Physicians frequently monitor the progression of the disease in patients with serial echocardiograms. There are other ways to determine ejection fraction, but the echocardiogram is the easiest way to do this.3. What caused my heart failure? There are a number of causes of heart failure. It is important that you know what caused your heart to fail so it can be avoided in the future.4. How often should I weight myself? What should I do if I gain X pounds? Keep the weight form above your scale. Heart failure patients are prone to fluid overload and should weigh themselves everyday. This is to determine the degree of fluid overload that may occur on a day-to-day basis. If you gain a certain amount of weight your doctor will want you to call, come to the office or take an extra water pill. Talk to your doctor about the specific plan he/she wants for you. 5. Should I restrict the amount of salt and/or fluid in my diet? Most people with heart failure should restrict the amount of salt they consume. Binges of high salt foods may lead to an acute exacerbation of heart failure. Talk to your doctor about how much salt you should eat in a given day. Avoid large quantities of food containing a lot of salt including processed food, canned foods and bagged snack food. Some individuals with heart failure benefit from a restriction of the amount of fluid that they take in. Talk to your doctor if a fluid restriction is important for you.6. If you have systolic heart failure; should I be on an ACE-I, ARBS, and/or BB? You will unlikely be on all three medicines but aggressive treatment would likely put you on at least two of these drugs.7. If you have systolic heart failure; should I be on an aldosterone agonist (spironolactone) or digoxin? Spironolactone is a drug that has been shown to improve outcomes in those with severe heart failure. Digoxin may be helpful in some patients with heart failure. 8. Should I pay to attention to how much I urinate? Not urinating enough may indicate that you are retaining more fluid and may be at risk for going into acute heart failure. 9. Do I have any evidence of lack of blood flow to any area of my heart? Have you checked for it? Many patients with heart failure have evidence of coronary heart disease, which can make their heart failure worse, and should be evaluated. It can be evaluated by a number of different means including a stress test or cardiac catheterization.10. Are my risk factors controlled? Blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes. It is important in patients with heart failure and other risk factors to control them to prevent progression of heart failure.11. Should I see a cardiologist? Many patients especially those with severe heart failure, see a cardiologist. Cardiologists are doctors that specialize in treating patients with heart problems. 12. Should I exercise? The answer to this is almost always yes. Special precautions are often taken prior to and during exercise. Talk to your doctor about any testing that should take place prior to exercise such as a stress test. Talk to your doctor about any precautions that you should during exercise. Some health care systems are associated with a cardiac rehabilitation program or and exercise facility that specializes in congestive heart failure. For more information on heart failure check out a the free ebook: Chronic Disease Guide: How to Prevent and Treat Common Chronic Diseases. The chapter on heart failure can be found at http://www.mini-medicalschool.com/CHF.html