Congestive Heart Failure Research Paper

Symptoms of congestive heart failure consist of fatigue, dependent edema, fluid build-up in the lungs, increase in urination because of the extra fluid, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and decreased appetite (Fundukian, 2011).  Diagnosis of CHF is done first by physical examination, such as heart rate, and heart sounds or murmurs. If a physician believes more tests are needed, common ones include an electrocardiogram or chest x-ray to detect previous heart attacks, arrhythmia, or heart enlargement, and echocardiogram using ultrasound to image the heart muscle, valves, and blood flow patterns. The physician may also want to do a heart catheterization, to allow the arteries of the heart to be visualized using angiography. Upon getting a diagnosis of CHF, the physician will usually start with asking the patient to change things in their diet, such going to a low sodium diet. They may also want to prescribe medications. Types of medications could include angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, which block formation of angiotensin II hormone, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) to block the action of angiotensin II at the receptor site, and diuretics, just to name a few (Fundukian, 2011).

CHF can be caused by many different reasons. Sometimes CHF can be a heart defect or can be caused by unhealthy lifestyles. “CHF is an ongoing condition in which the heart muscle is weakened and can’t pump as well as it normally does” (Congestive Heart Failure). When the heart becomes too weak to continue to pump blood throughout the body, it is called Congestive Heart Failure. When CHF first

Congestive Heart Failure is when the heart's pumping power is weaker than normal. It does not mean the heart has stopped working. The blood moves through the heart and body at a slower rate, and pressure in the heart increases. This means; the heart cannot pump enough oxygen and nutrients to meet the body's needs. The chambers of the heart respond by stretching to hold more blood to pump through the body or by becoming more stiff and thickened. This only keeps the blood moving for a short while. The heart muscle walls weaken and are unable to pump as strongly. This makes the kidneys respond by causing the body to retain fluid and sodium. When the body builds up with fluids, it becomes congested. Many conditions can cause heart

There is no cure or recovery from congestive heart failure, but there are ways to improve your hears condition.

Therapeutic measures for a patient with congestive heart failure would be daily weights, dietary sodium restrictions, positioning in high or semi-Fowler’s position, frequent vital signs, oxygen by cannula or mask, medical devices: pacemakers, internal cardiac defibrillator, biventricular cardiac pacemaker, ventricular assist device, medications: digoxin, diuretics, inotropes, nesiritide, beta blockers, surgery: heart valve repair or replacement, coronary

Acutely decompensated congestive heart failure is a common presentation of patients presenting to the emergency department. Typically these patients present with shortness of breath and significant pulmonary edema. Traditionally the initial treatment in such patients has consisted of intravenous diuretics (1). This has been the mainstay of treatment for decades but may not be the most effective means of treating these patients (2). For a condition that accounts for 800,000 emergency department visits per year, it is surprising that so little research has been done in the recent years regarding the most effective treatment for acute decompensated heart failure (1). The persistent theory that the first line treatment for these

According to the Heart Foundation (2010), “Best-practice management of chronic heart failure (CHF) involves multidisciplinary care” (p. 3). A care coordinated with his different physicians including cardiologist, pulmonologist, and referring physicians, as well as clinical nurses, and dieticians will be an important step in Mr. P’s CHF care. As they are concerned about the mobility outside of their home, a telephonic follow-up after discharge from the hospital, and door delivery of medicines could be beneficial. It is also very important to help him to overcome his polypharmacy. Since Mrs. & Mr. P seem emotionally weak, they need emotional support to cope up with the situation. They are worried about the heaping medical bills. Provide information about the possibility of getting qualified for Medicaid/Medicare as well as grants from organizations like Patient Access Network

Aldosterone receptor antagonists are currently recommended in NYHA class II–IV CHF patients with left ventricular ejection fraction ≤35%. To be considered for therapy with these agents, patients with NYHA class II heart failure should have a previous history of cardiovascular related hospital admission or

The writing on the role of Beta-blockers in the treatment of heart failure is elaborative and absorbing. The brief explanation about the mechanism Beta blocker is illuminating. Beta blocker use can help to manage heart failure. Beta blockers blocks the effects of the epinephrine (adrenaline). When beta blockers are taken, then the heart rate gets slow and heart demand of oxygen decreases, consequently the blood pressure is reduced (Staff, 2016). Beta blockers have different kinds of with slight differences. Depending on the circumstances, different beta blockers are utilized. The beta blockers can vary in terms of side-effects, as well as in term of the amount that a patient need to take per day. Depending upon the patient condition and treatment

The medical diagnosis to take ACE inhibitors includes hypertension and can be used as an adjunct for heart failure. These drugs are considered to be the drug of choice

In a study of chronic heart failure patients in ambulatory setting the authors found that worsening renal function within 6 months of referral was prognostically associated with all-cause mortality and heart failure readmission. 8 Major studies to date predicting heart failure morbidity and mortality do not include AKI as one of the prognostic indicators.9, 10 A recently published meta-analysis suggests that the benefit of renin-angiotensin aldosterone inhibitor is not diminished by worsening renal function and is in fact greater in the group with the worsening renal function.11 Hence contrary to the practice of stopping ACE/ARB in patients with AKI they are more essential in this high risk group with increased readmission and mortality. Also

The causes of acute HF should be promptly recognized, treated, and monitored to determine if the heart failure is reversible. The commonly cause of acute onset of left HF heart failure is acute myocardial ischemia in conjunction with the underlying coronary disease. Treatment include oxygen, nitrates, and morphine administration to improve myocardial oxygenation and help relieve coronary spasm while lowering preload through systemic venodilation. Diuretics are firtst line therapy in reducing preload while intravenous inotropic drugs, such as dobutamine and milrinone, increase contractility and also help raise the blood pressure in hypotensive patients. In some people, calcium-sensitizing inotropic drugs such as levosimendan have been effective in treatment of acute HF. Other treatments that can be used include ACE inhibitors which reduce preload and afterload, and intravenous beta-blockers which reduce myocardial demand. However, these treatments must be used with caution in hypotensive individuals. Intravenous administration of nesiritide (recombinant BNP) also improves preload and contractility. Individuals with severe systolic failure due to myocardial ischemia may benefit from acute coronary bypass or

The efficacy of ACE-I has been widely evaluated in clinical trials and observational studies. In 1983, Captopril multicenter research group investigated the efficacy of Captopril in a 92 cohort with heart failure refractory to digitalis and diuretic therapy. In this randomized, double blind trial, 50 patients were assigned to Captopril and 42 were assigned to placebo group. Over 2-week dosage titration and 10-week evaluation period, the Captopril group revealed improvement in exercise tolerance and specific symptoms of heart failure, including dyspnea, fatigue and orthopnea, and the reduction of edema. Captopril therapy were concluded as an effect adjunctive treatment to digitalis and diuretic drugs for patients with refractory heart failure. (14) Later on, other ACE-I, such as Enalapril, were shown to be effective in treating patients with congestive heart failure, by reducing left ventricular dimension, in randomized clinical studies.(15-17) The Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation Study Investigators conducted a factorial study to evaluate the ACE-I, Ramipril, for improving outcomes among patients with high risk for cardiovascular events, but without left ventricular dysfunction or heart failure. Ramipril significantly reduced the rates of death, myocardial infarction, and stroke in a broad range of high-risk patients who are not known to have heart failure. (18) Cattran et al. performed a registry study in Toronto Glomerulonephritis in patients with severe immunoglobulin

Congestive heart failure is a chronic disease that requires daily monitoring and life style management. Affecting the elderly, and their family the adjustment is a challenge. Daily life skills include the monitoring of daily weights, intake and output, and a low sodium diet. The person with congestive heart failure is generally admitted to the hospital for medication adjustments when their symptoms increase. The patient is often times short of breath, with a decrease in energy and an increase in their weight. The patients are generally elderly 60-65 years of age or older, and when comparing African Americans to Caucasians the African Americans have a 1.5 greater chance of developing heart failure ("Heart Failure," 2017). The

The prevalence of congestive heart failure has been increasing, resulting in high mortality rate. “Kenchaiah studied 5,881 Framingham Heart Study participants and confirmed a 5% increase in HF prevalence in men and a 7% increase in women for every 1 kg/m2 increase in