HEART FAILURE AWARENESS WEEK, FEBRUARY 11 – 17TH

Heart Failure affects nearly 5 million Americans. It is the only major cardiovascular disease on the rise, in part, due to more people surviving heart attacks, but left with weakened hearts. An estimated 400,000 to 700,000 new cases of heart failure are diagnosed each year and the number of deaths in the U.S. has more than doubled since 1979, averaging 250,000 annually. In comparison, the death rate from coronary heart disease has dropped by 49% over a similar time period. An estimated $8-15 billion is spent each year on the costs of hospitalization due to heart failure, which is twice the amount spent for all forms of cancer.

What is Heart Failure?

Heart Failure does not mean that the heart has stopped working. The term describes a weakness in the pumping action of the heart. Blood pumped from the heart provides oxygen-rich blood to the body’s cells. A healthy heart pumps at least 50% of the blood it receives in one beat while a failing heart pumps 40% or less. When the cells are nourished properly, the body can function normally. When heart failure is present, the weakened pumping action of the heart cannot provide the cells with enough blood. The blood ‘backs up’ in the veins that return blood from the lungs to the heart, which causes fluid to leak into the lungs – resulting in shortness of breath, and, subsequently, the inability to lie flat. When blood flowing from the heart decreases, blood returning to the heart also backs up, causing fluid to seep out into the tissues creating swelling in the feet, ankles, legs and/or abdomen. Shoes, and clothing that fits around the waist, may feel tight. The body’s attempt to meet its most vital needs causes blood to be diverted from less vital organs to more vital organs, such as the brain and the heart. Muscles and limbs suffer, creating excessive fatigue and difficulty in performing everyday activities.

What causes Heart Failure?

Although heart failure can occur at any age, it is most common in people 65 years of age and older. Not everyone develops heart failure for the same reasons, but most often the root cause is added stress of health conditions that have either damaged the heart muscle itself, or cause the heart muscle to work too hard. The most common causes of heart failure are:

• Coronary artery disease which occurs when fatty materials (cholesterol) are deposited in the arteries that feed blood to the heart causing restriction of the blood flow and eventual damage to the muscle. This can cause the healthy heart tissue to work even harder. A ‘heart attack’ occurs when blood flow to a portion of the heart muscle is completely blocked, resulting in ‘death’ of a portion of the heart muscle itself.
• High Blood Pressure, uncontrolled, causes the heart to pump harder than normal since pressure in the blood vessels is too high. Over time, this causes the heart chambers to increase in size, weakening the overall pumping action of the heart.
• Abnormal heart valves, whether resulting from disease, infection or birth defect, causes the heart to pump harder because the valves of the heart don’t open and close properly during each heart beat. This affects the overall ability of the heart to pump efficiently. If the workload becomes to great, heart failure results.
• Abnormal heart rhythms, beating too fast or too slow, or irregularly, can effect how efficiently blood is pumped into the body to meet its needs. Symptoms of heart failure can result until the problem is corrected.
• Diabetes increases the risk for heart failure since the majority of diabetics are also overweight, have high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
• Severe lung disease causes the heart to have to work harder to get enough oxygen to the rest of the body.
• Cancer treatment, radiation and some chemotherapy agents
• Thyroid disease, too much or too little thyroid hormones
• Alcohol abuse
• Cocaine or other illegal drug use
• HIV/AIDS
• Anemia (low red blood cell count; red blood cells carry the oxygen to the body’s cells)

Treatment Options

Although the more common forms of heart failure (those due to damage over time) cannot be ‘cured’, they can be treated, especially when diagnosed early, in hopes of offering patients a more normal life expectancy. The most successful treatment depends on your willingness to become involved in managing heart failure – most importantly, lifestyle changes, medications, and in some cases, surgery.

Lifestyle changes include:

• Quitting smoking
• Losing weight
• Avoiding alcohol
• Avoiding or limiting caffeine
• Eating a low salt, low fat, low cholesterol diet
• Including exercise in daily routine, under your physician’s guidance
• Reducing stress
• Keeping track of symptoms and reporting any changes to your physician
• Regular visits to your physician

Medications:
Medications for heart failure work in different ways to help improve the circulation of blood in the body by strengthening the pumping action of the heart, and/or expanding the blood vessels to limit the workload placed on the heart. Some medications reduce salt (sodium) and water in the body which also helps to reduce the heart’s workload. It is very important to take medications as your physician prescribes them for you.

Surgery:
Surgery is an option in some cases. Angioplasty is a procedure that reopens narrowed blood vessels and restores forward blood flow. When all other treatments have failed to help, a heart transplant may be the only option.

Heart failure is a profound condition with (usually) no known cure. It is serious, but many people with heart failure lead an enjoyable life with medication and healthy lifestyle changes. Managing a ‘new’ routine of restrictions and responsibilities may be difficult, but can ultimately make a big difference in slowing the disease process and making day-to-day life more enjoyable.