Chronic Heart Failure

Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition in which the heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood through to meet the body 's needs for blood and oxygen. Basically, the heart can 't keep up with its workload. American Heart Association Statistics (2016) reveals that heart failure accounts for 36% of cardiovascular disease deaths. Projections report a 46% increase in the prevalence of Heart Failure (HF) by 2030 by affecting over 8 million people above 18 years with the disease. Healthy People 2020 goals are focused on attaining high quality longer lives free of preventable diseases, promotion of quality of life, healthy development and healthy behaviors across all stages of life (Healthy People 2020, 2015).

There are several types of diseases of the heart. However, no matter what these diseases are – congestive heart failure (CHF), heart attack, coronary artery disease (CAD), or any others – they still have similarities when it comes to their warning signs and symptoms. The symptoms of heart problems are very important because it will tell you that something is wrong, and there is something that you need to consult with your doctor about.

Heart Failure is a progressive heart disease when the muscle of the heart is weakened so that it cannot pump blood as it should; the blood backs up into the blood vessels around the lungs and the other parts of the body (NHS Choice, 2015). In heart failure, the heart is not able to maintain a normal range cardiac output to meet the metabolic needs of the body (Kemp and Conte, 2012). Heart failure is a major worldwide public health problem, it is the end stage of heart disease and it could lead to high mortality. At present, heart failure is usually associated with old age, given the dramatic increase in the population of older people (ACCF/AHA, 2013). In the USA, there are about 5.7 million adults who have heart failure, about half of the people die within 5 years of diagnosis, and it costs the nation an estimated $30.7 billion each year (ACCF/AHA, 2013).

The left side of the heart brings oxygen-rich blood from the lungs through the left atrium to the left ventricle, then out into body. When the left side of the heart is damaged or can’t pump as well, it has to work harder to send blood through the body. This causes fluid to build up in the body, especially the lungs. That’s why shortness of breath is one of the most common symptoms of heart failure. Systolic failure happens when the heart doesn’t pump out blood the way it should. Diastolic means the heart doesn’t fill back up with blood as it should. The symptoms of left sided heart failure are tachypnea, increased work of breathing, crackles initially heard in lung bases, but when severe, heard throughout the lung fields, pulmonary edema, and dullness in lung fields to finger percussion, pleural effusion detectable by reduced breath sounds at the bases of the lungs, and cyanosis.

The heart is an organ that pumps oxygenated blood to the body and deoxygenated blood to the lungs. Heart failure is when the heart can’t pump blood very well. If the heart fails to work properly, a major system called the circulatory system won’t work properly and therefore the whole human body will fail to work properly because the cells won’t be able get oxygenated blood and use the oxygen to undergo cellular respiration and make energy.

Varying patients may present to their clinician or the emergency department for treatment with heart failure. It is important to understand that there is more than one type of heart failure; primarily the focus is placed on diastolic heart failure and systolic heart failure. Depending upon the cause of heart failure and what areas are affected dictates the treatment plan needed. While there are similarities with both kinds of heart failure, there are also differences that can help the clinician distinguish the diagnosis needed to fit the patient. Once a diagnosis is made the clinician can move forward in determining if the patient is at risk for use of diuretics and then look towards prescribing ACEIs, ARBs, and beta-blockers.

In 2012, my cousin suffered a severe heart attack which lead to heart failure. After witnessing someone I love suffer a life-changing event, it was important to find ways in which I could help. During her time in the hospital I cared for her children, encouraging them to remain positive around their mother, explaining how important their presence was to her recovery. I assisted in organizing a fundraiser that provided financial benefits for medical expenses. An extended hospital stay can create a feeling of isolation, and the fundraiser served as a physical reminder of the amount of support she had behind her during this battle. Childcare and fundraising were both pivotal ways in which I made a difference, but being present with my cousin at

An elderly male with congestive heart failure was brought to a clinic because he was experiencing atrial fibrillation and had a ventricular response of 110 beats/min with palpitations and shortness of breath1. Medications that he was taking includes angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, Lisinopril, Carvediol, Digoxin, and Furosemide1. His left ventricular ejection fraction has been reduced to 25%1. Further examinations showed that he had edema in his legs and crackles at the base of his lungs1. He was then told to increase the dosage of Furosemide by taking the drug twice daily instead of once, and doubling the dose per administration1. One week later, the electrocardiogram revealed that he had ventricular arrhythmias such as premature

Heart failure (HF) is a chronic, progressive condition defined as the hearts inability to efficiently pump an adequate amount of blood to meet the demands of the body (Naab, 2011). Heart failure may be the result of the heart chambers not adequately filling, also known as diastolic HF or the decreased contractility of the valves to perfuse blood to the body, also known as systolic HF. “Heart Failure is a progressive disease which arises as a consequence of an abnormality in cardiac structure, function, rhythm or conduction” (Naab, 2011).

At first glance, I’m average. I’m just your typical brown haired, brown eyed eighth grader. Although my appearance deceives most, my family and friends know the truth. Fourteen years ago, I was born with a complicated; life-threatening congenital heart defect.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) and chronic heart failure (CHF) are a major public health concern in the world; each year both of them causes huge number of direct and indirect economic losses for many developed and developing countries, which is the ultimate outcome of disease progression in all patients with cardiovascular disease, is even greater for medical and public investments in patients with heart failure. In the United States every 1000 people over the age of 65 in 10 patients with chronic heart failure, Projections show that by 2030, the total cost of HF will increase almost 127% to $69.7 billion for every US adult. The costs associated with treating HF comorbidities and HF exacerbations in youths are significant, totaling nearly $1 billion in inpatient costs, and may be rising [8]. Even today's progress in medical technology and the development of medicine, the prognosis of patients with heart failure variability is more serious. Therefore, it is extremely important to classify the risk stratification accurately and to distinguish the high-risk population and start

Aguanno, Jim and Samson, Laurent the authors of the article “Diagnosis and Patients with Heart Failure” discusses the heart failure, causes of heart failure, diagnosis and management of patients with heart failure. The authors define heart failure as “Heart Failure is a complex clinical syndrome that results from any structural or functional impairment of ventricular filling or ejection of blood” (Aguanno & Laurent, 2018). The article mentions that heart failure affected 26 million people worldwide (Aguanno & Laurent, 2018). The article describes that heart failure can be occur due to various pathophysiology’s in different patients. According to the authors, it can be sometimes so challenging to diagnose the condition because there can be variety

"In 2009, there were 116,395 new kidney failure diagnoses, 571,414 people living with kidney failure and 90,118 deaths among people with kidney failure ". (1) Renal failure is a type of disease that happened to kidneys and prevent them from working properly. Renal failure can occur as an acute or chronic renal failure. Chronic renal failure describes abnormal kidneys structure and loss of kidneys function. It is often accompany with other conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, it can be unrecognized because of the existence of other diseases and lack of symptoms.(2) In fact, chronic renal failure happened and developed slowly in three stages, which are diminished renal reserve, renal insufficiency, and end stage renal disease.

Diseases of the cardiovascular and lymphatic system can present itself in many ways. Often these diseases circulate through the body creating a vehicle for pathogens to spread. We will look at four different diseases that affect the cardiovascular and lymphatic system.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an irreversible condition that progresses causing kidney dysfunction and then to kidney failure. It is classified by a GFR of <60mL/min for longer than 3 months. There are five stages of CKD: Stage 1 has kidney damage but has a GFR ≥ 90. Stage 2 has mild damage and a GFR of 60-89. Stage 3 has moderate damage and a GFR of 30-59. Stage 4 has severe damage and a GFR of 15-29. Stage 5 is also known as end stage renal disease (ESRD), this is kidney failure with a GFR of ≤ 15 and theses patients are typically on dialysis or in need of an immediate transplant. The leading cause of CKD is diabetes. Hypertension is also a major cause. Since most DM patients have HTN,