In The United States, Approximately Six Million People

Heart failure can be attributed to either right sided, left or both. Left-sided heart failure is of two types, systolic failure and diastolic failure. Systolic failure is the when the left ventricle loses its ability to contract normally. The heart cannot pump with enough force to push enough blood into circulation. Diastolic failure is when the left ventricle loses its ability to relax normally. Which results in the heart not being able to fill with blood during the resting period. Both result in a decrease in cardiac output. (AHA, 2012). A decrease in the cardiac output into the systemic circulation causes blood to accumulate in the left ventricle, left atrium, and pulmonary circulation. This increase

Systolic heart failure is characterized by enlarged ventricles that are unable to fully contract to pump enough blood into circulation to adequately perfuse tissues. The enlargement in ventricles is due to an increased end-systolic volume. If the heart is not able to sufficiently pump the expected volume of blood with each contraction, which in a normal healthy heart is 50-60%, there will be a residual volume left in the heart after every pump (Heart Healthy Women, 2012). With the next period of filling, the heart will receive the same amount of blood volume from the atria combined with that residual volume from the previous contraction. This causes the ventricles to have to dilate to accommodate this increase in volume. The dilation causes the walls of the ventricles to stretch and become thin and weak. Also the myocardium, the muscle layer of the heart, will stretch and not be able to adequately make a full and forceful enough contraction to push blood from the ventricles (Lehne, 2010).

After a period of time, the heart muscles of the left ventricle begin to weaken. The weakening of the left ventricle will lead to decreased empting of the heart (systolic heart failure) which results in decreased cardiac output again. Since the left ventricle does not empty completely, blood begins to back up into the left atrium and then to the pulmonary circulation thus resulting in pulmonary congestion and dyspnea (Story 2012, 104). If left untreated, the blood will back up and affect the right side of the heart causing biventricular heart failure (both right and left heart failure). In right sided heart failure, the right ventricle weakens and cannot empty completely. This incomplete emptying causes blood to back up into the systemic circulation causing systemic edema (Lewis et al. 2014, 771).

1. List the risk factors for chronic left-sided heart failure related to coronary artery disease.

In systolic ventricular dysfunction or systolic heart failure the heart is not able to produce enough output for adequate tissue perfusion. Heart rate and stroke volume produce cardiac output. Contractility, preload, and afterload influence the heart’s stroke volume. These factors are important in understanding the pathophysiologic consequences of this syndrome and possible treatments. Patients with systolic heart failure usually have dilated, large ventricles and impaired systolic function.

It because the heart has weak or damaged ventricular walls that are not able to push enough blood into the body (Congestive Heart Failure Symptoms). Or perhaps it is because the ventricular walls are stiff therefore, the heart does not fill with enough blood. If a person has a left sided heart failure the left ventricle doesn’t deliver enough oxygenated blood full of rich nutrients to the body which causes the person to feel tired and out of breath. The left ventricle also increases the blood pressure in the blood vessels between the lungs and the left ventricle. This increases pressure and forces fluid out of your blood and into your lung tissues, which makes it difficult to breathe. If someone has right-sided heart failure he is unable to contract with enough force to send the blood to the lungs in consequence blood builds up in the veins, throughout the tissues in the body which is called edema. Over time the heart failure on either side of the heart results in weakened and enlarged ventricles resulting in less blood pumping to the body. To make up for the decreased amount of blood the nervous system sends out stress hormones that increase the speed and force of the heartbeat. Unfortunately, the continued release of these hormones makes the heart failure worse because they damage the muscle cells in the ventricles (Moore). The common cause of heart failure is

Heart failure describes a syndrome in which the patient has a dysfunctional heart incapable of sustaining an adequate cardiac output, and this syndrome is responsible for a large portion of cardiovascular-related deaths2. There are two types of left ventricular dysfunction, one is systolic dysfunction which has implications in defective ventricular ejection and contraction, and the other is diastolic dysfunction which has implications in dysfunctional ventricular relaxation and filling2. Heart failure patients with systolic dysfunction have an ejection fraction of less than 40%, and heart failure patients with diastolic dysfunction have an ejection fraction of greater than 40%. In the case study, the patient has a left ventricular ejection fraction of 25% which means that he is suffering from systolic dysfunction.

confusion, and anxiety. Right sided heart failure that is backward failure can be manifested by

Heart failure is the inability of the heart to efficiently pump blood to the rest of the body. In left-sided heart failure, it is the faulty left ventricle that is not pumping blood effectively due to anatomical abnormalities or secondary factors that decrease its functionality. The purpose of this research paper is to inform the reader of statistical data on the disease as well as risk factors, usual signs and symptoms, diagnostic procedures, treatment and nursing implications.

Congestive heart failure is an older name for heart failure. Congestive heart failure takes place when the heart is unable to maintain an adequate circulation of blood in the bodily tissues or to pump out the venous blood returned to it by the veins (Merriam-Webster). The heart is split into two distinct pumping structures, the right side of the heart and the left side of the heart. Appropriate cardiac performance involves each ventricle to extract even quantities of blood over intervals. If the volume of blood reimbursed to the heart develops more than both ventricles can manage, the heart can no longer be an efficient pump.

failure usually occurs when the left side of the heart fails. Following the left ventricle failing it send a large

The major causes of diastolic heart failure are hypertension-induced myocardial hypertrophy and myocardial ischemia-induced ventricular transformation (coronary artery disease). Hypertrophy and ischemia cause a decreased ability of the myocytes to actively pump calcium from the cytosol, resulting in impaired relaxation. Some of the other causes are aortic valvular disease and cardiomyopathies. Diabetes can also lead to diastolic heart failure (Huether and McCune 2012). Other risk factors for this disease are chronic kidney disease, obstructive sleep apnea, and older age. There are two types of the heart failure: systolic heart failure and diastolic heart failure. In systolic heart failure, the left ventricle has difficulty contracting and ejecting blood into the circulation, which causes reduced left ventricular fraction. On the other hand, diastolic heart failure has a slow and delayed relaxation and increased chamber rigidity, which then causes inadequate filling of blood and

I. Description: Congestive Heart Failure is more of a syndrome than a disease. Heart failure may be classified according to the side of the heart affected, (left- or right-sided failure), or by the cardiac cycle involved, (systolic or diastolic dysfunction). (Schilling-McCann p. 176). The word "failure" refers to the heart's inability to pump enough blood to meet the body's metabolic needs. (Schilling-McCann p. 176). When the heart fails to deliver adequate blood supply edema may develop. (Cadwallader p. 1141). Where edema occurs depends on what side of the heart is failing.

It involves the tightening of blood vessels connected to and within the lugs. This makes it harder for the heart to pump blood thorough the lungs, much as it is harder to make water flow through a narrow pipe as opposed to a wide one. Over time, the affected blood vessels become both stiffer and thicker, further increasing the blood pressure within the lungs and impairing blood flow. In addition, the increase workload of the heart causes thickening and enlargement of the right ventricle, making the heart less able to pump blood through the lungs, causing right heart failure. As the blood flowing through the lungs decreases, the left side of the heart receives less blood. This blood may also carry less oxygen than normal. Therefore it becomes harder and harder for the left side of the heart to pump to supply sufficient oxygen to the rest of the body, especially during physical activity.

Left ventricular function is treated with diuretics, beta blockers and ACEI as heart failure management.