Left Ventricular Dysfunction Research Paper

Heart failure may convey that the heart isn’t working anymore, but what it really means is that the heart isn’t pumping as well as it should be (REF). 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 (REF). At first, the heart tries to make up for this by enlarging, developing more muscle mass, and pumping faster. As this happens, the blood vessels narrow to keep blood pressure up and the body diverts blood away from less important tissues and organs to maintain flow to the heart and brain (REF). Eventually, the body and heart cannot keep up and the patient begins to feel fatigue, breathing problems, weight gain with swelling in the feet, legs, ankles or stomach, and other symptoms that eventually leads to a hospital visit. The body’s coping mechanisms give us better understanding on why many are unaware of their condition until years after the heart declines (REF).

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

Congestive cardiac failure, also known as heart failure, occurs when the heart is weak and unable to sufficiently supply blood the body needs to function. Heart failure can often be successfully treated with

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).

With left-sided heart failure a patient can suffer from fluid in the lungs, shortness of breath and pulmonary edema, and fatigue. Since the heart can not pump the adequate amount of blood to the rest of the body, there is a lack of oxygen in the body and this results in fatigue. Left-sided heart failure causes an increase in pressure within the vessels in the lungs, which can lead to an accumulation of fluid within the lungs, which leads to shortness of breath and pulmonary edema. There is a wide variety of causes of left-sided heart failure with include consuming too much alcohol, suffering from a heart attack, infections of the heart muscle, increased blood pressure, hypothyroidism, narrow heart valves, and any disease that can cause damage to the heart muscle. Left-sided heart failure in children is often caused by birth defects including abnormal

Congestive Heart failure: Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) is a cardiac disease associated with the decreasing capacity of the cardiac output. It has been shown that the CHF is the main cause of cardiac death around the world (Lucena, Barros, & Ohnishi, 2016). Congestive heart failure is the inability of the left side of the heart to pump an adequate amount of blood due to certain conditions. Because of these conditions, the heart become weak and unable to pump all of the blood forward and some of

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.

Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome is a heart condition that affects the blood flow to the heart. It also can be where you are born with a hole in the wall that divides the upper chambers of the heart. The hole can vary in sizes. It can be big enough to require surgery or it can be small enough to heal on it’s own. As the baby grows inside the mother's stomach there are more holes at the time then when the baby is born. Usually all the holes close. Sometimes they don’t. This results in HLHS .The one little hole causes access blood to flow to the lungs and over time can harm the blood vessels in the lungs. There are other problems that can be caused by this. You can have increased heart rate and a better chance of a stroke. Some symptoms to look for if you think your baby might have Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome are Bluish skin, cold hands and feet, poor pulse, poor feeding, loud heart beat, breathing very quickly, and shortness of breathe. If his whole body is blue this is a guaranteed sign that the blood is not flowing correctly. If just his hands and feet are blue this means they could have problems or it

Heart failure is a condition in which the heart muscle becomes too weak to maintain an adequate cardiac output to meet the body’s

In right sided heart failure, fluid builds up in the veins and tissues, causing swelling of the lower extremities and the abdomen. When body tissues fail to get the oxygen and the nutrients they require, they begin to lose their efficiency, causing increased dizziness and fatigue.

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is treated through several surgical procedures or a heart transplant.The medication alprostadil helps to dilate the blood vessels and keeps the ductus arteriosus open. A partial septostomy creates or enlarges the opening between the atria to allow more blood flow from the right atrium to the left atrium if the foramen ovale closes. A baby with hypoplastic left heart syndrome will likely require the Norwood Procedure, which is when surgeons reconstruct the aorta and connect it directly to the heart's right ventricle. Surgeons insert a shunt that connects the aorta to the pulmonary arteries, or they place a shunt that connects the right ventricle to the pulmonary arteries. This procedure allows the right ventricle

Cardiomyopathy is a long-term (chronic) disease of the heart muscle. The disease makes your heart muscle thick, weak, or stiff. As a result your heart has to work harder to pump blood. Over time cardiomyopathy can lead to heart failure.

Just 2 weeks after he was born, my cousin, Andy Hernandez Jr., had to have his first surgery on his heart. But with his condition, that wouldn’t be his last. Years passing by and still having to go to the hospital. Check ups and surgeries would be his life, for now.

Heart failure describes the heart’s inability to function properly, meaning the heart is unable to pump efficiently throughout the body. Thus causing the heart to work extra hard in order to compensate the body’s needs, but this ultimately leads to failure. And due to Mrs. Harris’s hypertension and alcohol consumption, she is now displaying signs and symptoms of congestive heart failure, as both are major risk factors. Heart failure can be seen in the left side, which is also known as congestive heart failure, and the right side of heart. The left side is typically the first side to fail, as the left ventricle is the heart’s largest chamber and the most powerful.

I am a NP currently working for a Hospital Medicine group in an inpatient setting. My primary job responsibilities are to admit patients into the hospital, round on patients, provide cross cover on the patients on our service, provide cross cover on inpatients who our group is consulted to see, respond to rapid response codes, and occasionally discharge patients.