Papers On Congestive Heart Failure

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

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).

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, HF, is a result of one’s heart inefficiently pumping blood out to the body (Lewis, Dirksen, Heitkemper and Bucher, 2014, p.766). A healthy heart will pump blood out of the left and right ventricles rhythmically and simultaneously, creating an even flow of blood from the heart to the pulmonary arteries and the aorta (Lewis et al., 2014, p.769). Someone with heart failure has a ventricular dysfunction in either one or both ventricles; the ventricles are not filling or contracting properly. The failure of one ventricle to properly function leads to an overcompensation of the opposite ventricle as well as a disruption in normal blood flow that leads

Left-sided heart failure occurs when there is damage to the left ventricle. The damage may be due to, for example: high blood pressure, drug abuse, heart attack,

There are several possible risk factors that increase your chance in getting left sided heart failure. Things such as anemia, overactive thyroid, underactive thyroid, and emphysema, leading a sedentary lifestyle, and malnutrition or eating a high-fat diet all are possible contributing factors (Heart Failure, 2014).

To understand the signs and symptoms of left-sided versus right-sided heart failure, remember that left-sided signs and symptoms are found in the lungs. Left begins with L, as does lung. Any signs and symptoms not related to the lungs are caused by right-sided failure (Williams and Hopper). Some signs and symptoms of heart failure are shortness of breath (dyspnea), fatigue, chronic cough or wheezing, rapid or irregular heartbeat, lack of appetite or nausea, mental confusion or impaired thinking, fluid buildup and swelling, and rapid weight gain, and the need to urinate more at night. In order to determine heart failure the physician will do a diagnostic test which includes a chest x-ray, echocardiogram, ejection fraction (EF), and electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG).

Our heart is a single organ, it acts as a double pump. Without our heart we wouldn’t be living, we need our heart every day, every hour, every minute and every second. The heart pump blood through out our body. The heart has four chambered muscular pumps. The heart weighs approximately 9 ounces. And, has consists of three linings layers. The side of the heart that is affected by congestive heart failure would be both, because the left side (left ventricular) supplies most of the heart pumping power so its-larger than other chambers. And the right side (right ventricular) the heart failure usually loose pumping power, blood backs up in the body’s veins. The fluid accumulate somewhere would go to deliver oxygen rich blood to the body. Diseases

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.

Cardiovascular function results from the interplay of the heart, systemic vasculature, blood volume, and tissues in their functions as pump, transporting pathways, and oxygen carrying and consuming end-organs, and problems with structure or function of the filling and ejection mechanisms of the heart will lead to failing oxygen delivery and compensatory attempts, a complex disease condition known as heart failure (Porth, 2015). Dysfunction may involve initially primarily one ventricle only, though over time both sides may become affected. In left ventricular failure decreased cardiac output and outflow into the periphery leads to pulmonary congestion, evidenced by pulmonary edema and impaired gas exchange (Porth, 2015). As a result,

There are two main types of heart failure: left-sided and right-sided. In left-sided or left ventricular (LV) heart failure3, the heart fails to properly pump blood out to the body. Right-sided or right ventricular (RV) heart failure is usually triggered by LV heart failure and it’s when blood accumulates in the lungs increasing fluid pressure, damaging the heart’s right side. LV heart failure can be further classified into two types, systolic and diastolic heart failure, depending on the ejection fraction (EF). In

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.

When the left heart failure, pulmonary blood flow to stagnant. This can lead to fatigue, shortness of breath (especially the evening while lying down), and cough.

If the right side of the heart fails, peripheral congestion occurs. Blood stagnates within body