The Effects Of Heart Failure On The Elderly

The prevalence of congestive heart failure is on the increase both in the United States and all over the world, and it is the leading cause of hospitalization in the elderly population. Congestive heart failure is a progressive disease generally seen in the elderly, which if not properly managed, can lead to repeated hospital admissions or death. Heart failure means that the heart muscle is weakened. A weakened heart muscle may not be strong enough to pump an adequate amount of blood out of its chambers. To compensate for its diminished pumping capacity, the heart may enlarge. Commonly, the heart's pumping inefficiency causes a buildup of blood in the

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).

Congestive heart failure is a chronic condition that is responsible for the highest number of hospitalizations among adults. Readmission rates after hospitalization also remain high, with 50% of patients being readmitted within 6 months of discharge. (Desai & Stevenson, 2012). The Affordable Care Act penalizes hospitals with readmissions within 30 days after discharge, making readmissions a focus of hospitals nationwide. Several factors including discharge planning, patient education, diet restrictions, and early follow up appointments can help to reduce readmissions, but continuous monitoring is necessary to catch early signs of decompensation. (Desai & Stevenson, 2012).

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

- Lilly et al, Pathophysiology of Heart Disease, 5th Ed., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2011.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a type of cardiovascular diseases. CHF occurs when the efficiency of pumping the blood in the heart is decreased, which means it can no longer function properly. CHF is a prevalent disease, according to CDC, "About 5.7 million adults in the United States have heart failure" [1]. People with CHF may experience wheezing or persistent coughing, nausea, which is a lack of appetite, increased heart palpitations, and shortness of breath that is also named dyspnea. CHF has four stages, each one describes the risk factors, symptoms of CHF, and structural disorder. The stages of CHF disease sometimes can be treated. However, if CHF is not treated from the early signs, it will develop from one stage to another until

Heart failure is more commonly diagnosed in the elderly population. There are ways to help manage heart failure like lifestyle modifications and use of pharmacology, and assessment for surgical intervention. Treatment of heart failure requires intensive medical, dietary, behavioral, and lifestyle modification to achieve improved quality of life, fewer hospitalizations, and decreased mortality (Singh, H., McGregor, Nigro, Higginson, and Larsen, 2014).

An elderly male with congestive heart failure was brought to a clinic because he was experiencing atrial fibrillation and had a ventricular response of 110 beats/min with palpitations and shortness of breath1. Medications that he was taking includes angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, Lisinopril, Carvediol, Digoxin, and Furosemide1. His left ventricular ejection fraction has been reduced to 25%1. Further examinations showed that he had edema in his legs and crackles at the base of his lungs1. He was then told to increase the dosage of Furosemide by taking the drug twice daily instead of once, and doubling the dose per administration1. One week later, the electrocardiogram revealed that he had ventricular arrhythmias such as premature

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

Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) is a foremost health problem worldwide, touching 4.8 million U.S. patients and accounts for 978,000 or 5-10% of all hospitalizations. Some estimates show 550,000 new cases of CHF diagnosed each year in the United States alone. Currently, CHF accounts for 20% of all discharges in the over age 65 categories; with the aging demographic, this statistic is expected to increase significantly. Overall, the cost of treating CHF is very high -$38 billion annually in the U.S., representing 5.4% of total health care costs and involves many physician visits - at least 11 million ambulatory visits per year. The mortality rate for CHF is high, with one in five persons dying within 1 year, more than half of the CHF patients

Strategies to educate in reference to the self-care needs of the congestive heart failure patient seems to be common theme in multiple literature reviews. The educational materials may be presented to the patient by the bedside nurse, physician, pharmacy technician, and the nurse or nurse practitioner who is involved with the patient post discharge. It is suggested by one article that the effective impatient measures should include medication review, one hour of heart failure education, adequate discharge planning and communication between the patient, and health care team (McClintock et al., 2014). Once discharge the article suggests that the effective measures include early follow-up, continued education and health management by clinics,

In order to better understand aging-associated diseases, it is first necessary to define what aging is. Aging is a complex, multifactorial process of harmful mutations in cells and tissues that are accumulated over time and result in an increased risk of disease and, eventually, death (Tosato, Zamboni, Ferrini, & Cesari, 2007, p. 401). Contrary to the belief that aging can be cured through medical advances, it is scientifically accepted that, while human life expectancy has increased, the human life span has remained largely unchanged for the past 100,000 years (Tosato et al., p. 401). Therefore, future developments in aging research ought to focus on addressing treatment and prevention of major aging-associated diseases that will

“HF [heart failure] is a common, expensive, severe, and progressive disease state in which routinely adjusted treatments are required to lower morbidity and mortality, and reduce overall health care costs” (Dendale & Coauthors, 2012, p. 1). Due to the severity of HF, readmission rates of HF patients are an area of great concern because HF is the leading cause of hospital admissions and readmission in patients older than 65 years (Stamp, Machado, Allen, Correspondence, 2014). Not only is it the leading cause of hospital admissions and readmissions, it is also one of the most costly diagnoses in the United States (Stamp et al., 2014). Heart failure has become an increasing issue among a variety of patients especially those that have other underlying health conditions and especially those who are older. Heart failure has many troublesome symptoms that may reduce a patient’s quality of life. “Frequently experienced symptoms by HF patients such as shortness of breath and extreme fatigue significantly restrict an individual’s ability to perform self-care and daily activities…” (Stamp. et al., 2014). Readmission rates for HF patients is becoming a growing concern especially due to the “baby boomer” population getting older, which in return will increase the number of first time admissions and readmissions for patients with heart failure (Betihavas, 2013). According to Cykert (2012), “The ACA penalizes hospitals with a high rate

Villeda and his colleagues connected the circulatory systems of two mice using a method called parabiosis, resulting in the mixing of blood between the two mice. In general, these experiments consisted of a control group of two old mice, and an experimental group of one old mouse and one young mouse. After comparing the two groups, the scientists noted several molecular, structural, functional, and cognitive differences.