Heart Failure Diagnoses

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).

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).

This study is relevant to the research question because they focused on testing n-terminal pro-b type natriuretic peptide and management of Heart Failure patients, however the patients were in a hospital in Canada. The study started with 534 patients from screening but 34 were excluded, and 17 patients did not participate after the first hospitalization, leaving 483 patients that were followed during the course of the study (Moe, Howlett, Januzzi, Zowall, 2007). The study used receiver-operating characteristic curve was used to analyze the data from the two groups (Moe, Howlett, Januzzi, Zowall, 2007). The tools used were clearly defined, reliable and valid. The researchers measured the proBNP level and physician initial diagnosis and then after they used the “logistic regression model” to predict whether knowledge of the proBNP levels aided in diagnosis and management of HF (Moe, Howlett, Januzzi, Zowall, 2007). The statistics used to analyze the date was relevant to the clinical research question. The study did not “perform age-stratified analysis” which may have an impact on the results, there was also a loss to follow up and the study was performed at multiple sites in Canada where as the patients for the clinical research question are located in Dallas service delivery area in United States of America (Moe, Howlett, Januzzi, Zowall, 2007). According to the researchers, the results of their study supported the “recently published HF consensus guidelines’” view that proBNP supports clinical diagnosis and cost effective care of patients (Moe, Howlett, Januzzi, Zowall, 2007). The implication of this study is that knowing the value of proBNP aids practitioners in the diagnosis and management of HF

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.

Because Congestive Heart Failure has many causes, doctors need to find the underlying cause of the heart failure. So the doctors have to find out how and why the heart is malfunctioning before they can make a diagnosis. They do this by your medical/family history, physical examination, and a series of test. Some of the tests used to discover underlying cause are blood tests to evaluate the function of organs in the body, BNP blood test, X-ray, electrocardiogram (EKG), echocardiogram (ECG), stress test, cardiac catherization, radionuclide ventriculography, or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Heart failure is a complex condition that requires multidisciplinary collaboration to assist with symptom management. Heart failure patients need to modify their lifestyles for example, limiting sodium intake, weighing daily and calling the primary care provider with a 2-3 pounds weight

Patient A.S. is 87-year-old female with a diagnosis of Acute onset chronic systolic heart failure, Afib, CHF, and hypothyroidism. She has a past medical history of Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, CAD (Stent 2001). The patient was admitted to Lutheran Augustana Center on January 4, 2016 and was evaluated for therapy on January 5, 2016. Her current medications include Albuterol and Ipratropium via nebulizer to address shortness of breath. A combination of drugs to treat the symptoms of congestive heart failure and other comorbid diagnosis include: Eliquis, Furosemide, hydralazine, and metoprolol. Other medications include Synthroid to treat hypothyroidism, Tradjenta for hyperglycemia, and Zocor for hyperlipidemia. The patient also presented with skin problems. She has bilateral ecchymosis in her lower extremities and abdomen. Lotrisone lotion was prescribed for atopic dermatitis. Edema was also present in her lower extremities.

Heart failure is a chronic, debilitating disease affecting 5.1 million Americans. It is the most common cause of hospital admissions for Medicare beneficiaries, and is the diagnosis associated with most readmissions (Sterne, Grossman, Migliardi, & Swallow, 2014). Lower quality of life is experienced by patients with heart failure. Mortality rates remain high with about 30% of patients dying within the first year after diagnosis (Vellone et al., 2013). In the U.S. heart failure has become a major public health concern. The number of annual hospitalizations for individuals with heart failure increased from 2.4 million to 3.6 million from 1990 to 1999 (Veroff et al., 2012). Therefore, it is imperative to develop interventions to better

A new study released March 16, 2016 by Kaiser Permanente found that heart failure patients had a 19% lower risk of being readmitted to the hospital within 30 days when they were followed up within 7 days of being released from the hospital. The Heart Failure Management program aims to provide early follow-up within one week either by telephone or by office visit if necessary. According to the study, 45 percent of the telephone calls were made by non-physician providers who are qualified to adhere to an outpatient heart failure treatment protocol. Protocols have been established and approved by the participating cardiologists in the community and are evidenced-based driven so that patients will be receiving the best care possible.

As I read pages 366-367, I understood the pain that Joe was going through. On September 2002 Joe’s wife died of Congestive heart failure. In paragraph 2 on page 366 it reads ‘’He and she were sharing a room at a skilled nursing facility at the time –he recovering from a fractured pelvis and she dying from congestive heart failure and kidney failure. The staff had with uncommon compassion, pushed their beds together so they could hold hands, and that’s how Joyce died .A few days later, Joe went to the memorial service. Then he returned to the room, alone again for the first time in sixty-three years.

Patients with chronic heart failure present with decreased exercise tolerance. It is important that a well-designed exercise prescription is followed at all times and the appropriate health care provider such as the cardiologist is in agreement with your treatment plan. Query the physician if there is any specific exercise precautions or guidelines that are distinct to the patient. Furthermore, these particular patient populations may sometimes overexert themselves. Symptoms such as dyspnea, dizziness or lightheadedness,

To fail at something means to not succeed at your goal. Oftentimes, our goals are clear in our minds, but we don’t always foresee outside circumstances that may prevent us from reaching our goal. In the stories A Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe and A&P by John Updike, we are shown that it is not always easy to achieve your end goal because things may not play out the way you want. A Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe is a short story about 2 men, one young one old, who live in a house together.

Mrs. Schafer completed her pulmonary function test prior to the appointment time and she was evaluated by Dr. Theodore J Standiford. Mrs. Schaefer provided an acute report of her injury and symptoms she was experiencing. Dr. Standiford replied that Mrs. Schaefer lung capacity was reduced by a third. (1/3). I inquired if it was the result of the injuries in the MVA. Dr. Standiford replied that they are a contributing factor i.e. flail chest and fluid in her lungs from aggravated congested heart failure. Dr. Standiford noted left crackles breath sounds on his examination and recommended that Mrs. Schaefer return to her cardiologist and that a high resolution CT scan of her lungs be obtained prior to the next appointment to determine if she has

Patients with heart failure (HF) experience an inability of the heart to effectively pump and thus circulate blood through the body. It is estimated that 5.8 million people in the United States alone have HF and it is one of the most common reasons for hospitalizations over the age of 65 (Hall, Levant, & DeFrances, 2012). It can have a devastating impact on the lives of these patients who experience many hospitalizations due to the overwhelming amount of complications associated with this chronic disease causing decreased life expectancy and lower perceived quality of life. CITATION HERE The key to increasing the life expectancy is through frequent monitoring, traditionally at an office. Many patients with HF are often impeded

NT-pro-BNP has become well known as one of the diagnostic tools in heart failure and acute dyspnea, but its role in ACS is not very well established. Even though it has been used as a risk predictor, NT-pro-BNP does not have a strong diagnostic value in ACS.15