Congestive Heart Failure
Congestive Heart Failure
Toni Belsito
Brookdale Community College
HESC 105 Medical Terminology
Congestive Heart Failure
Congestive heart hailure, also known as CHF or heart failure, affects the lives of 5 million Americans each year with 550,000 new cases diagnosed yearly. (Emory healthcare, 2013) CHF is a medical condition in which the heart has become weak and cannot pump enough blood to meet the need for oxygen rich blood required by the vital organs of the body, less blood is pumped out of the heart to the organs and tissues in the body and pressure in the heart increases, it does not mean the heart has stopped working. (Murphy, 2013) Once the heart has become weakened by conditions such as hypertension, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attack and heart disease, it leads to heart failure, leaving the patient with a poor quality of life. Patients with congestive heart failure cannot reverse this disease, but they can relieve some of the signs and symptoms of the disease by restricting their diet of fat, cholesterol and salt intake, maintaining a healthy weight, smoke cessation, exercise and stress reduction. (Clinic, 2013)
Congestive heart failure occurs as a result of a number of diseases which cause weakening or stiffness of the heart muscle which prevents the heart from keeping up with the body’s normal demand for oxygen rich blood. When the heart cannot keep up with the demand for oxygen and nutrients to meet the needs of the body, over time, the muscle fibers of the heart stretch to hold more blood, hormones are released to increase the pumping power and causing the walls of the heart to thicken from overuse. (Murphy, 2013) Although the symptoms of heart failure vary, they can include fatigue, weakness, rapid irregular heartbeat, edema, difficulty breathing, cough, memory loss, disorientation, sudden weight gain from fluid retention and decrease in exercise. Congestive heart failure left untreated eventually effects every organ in the body.
Toni Belsito
Brookdale Community College
HESC 105 Medical Terminology
Congestive Heart Failure
Congestive heart hailure, also known as CHF or heart failure, affects the lives of 5 million Americans each year with 550,000 new cases diagnosed yearly. (Emory healthcare, 2013) CHF is a medical condition in which the heart has become weak and cannot pump enough blood to meet the need for oxygen rich blood required by the vital organs of the body, less blood is pumped out of the heart to the organs and tissues in the body and pressure in the heart increases, it does not mean the heart has stopped working. (Murphy, 2013) Once the heart has become weakened by conditions such as hypertension, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attack and heart disease, it leads to heart failure, leaving the patient with a poor quality of life. Patients with congestive heart failure cannot reverse this disease, but they can relieve some of the signs and symptoms of the disease by restricting their diet of fat, cholesterol and salt intake, maintaining a healthy weight, smoke cessation, exercise and stress reduction. (Clinic, 2013)
Congestive heart failure occurs as a result of a number of diseases which cause weakening or stiffness of the heart muscle which prevents the heart from keeping up with the body’s normal demand for oxygen rich blood. When the heart cannot keep up with the demand for oxygen and nutrients to meet the needs of the body, over time, the muscle fibers of the heart stretch to hold more blood, hormones are released to increase the pumping power and causing the walls of the heart to thicken from overuse. (Murphy, 2013) Although the symptoms of heart failure vary, they can include fatigue, weakness, rapid irregular heartbeat, edema, difficulty breathing, cough, memory loss, disorientation, sudden weight gain from fluid retention and decrease in exercise. Congestive heart failure left untreated eventually effects every organ in the body.