Congestive Heart Failure
Congestive Heart Failure
Congestive Heart Failure, also known as "cardiac decompensation, cardiac insufficiency, and cardiac incompetence," (Basic Nursing 1111) is an imbalance in pump function in which the heart is failing and unable to do its work pumping enough blood to meet the needs of the body's other organs. To some people, heart failure is defined as a sudden and complete stoppage of heart activityi.e. that the heart just stops beating. This is an inaccuracy. Heart failure usually develops slowly, often over years, as the heart gradually loses its pumping ability and works less efficiently. CHF is a syndrome that affects individuals in different ways and to different degrees. It is usually a chronic disease. It gradually becomes worse. By the time someone is diagnosed with it, the heart may have been losing pumping capacity for quite some time. Many people are not even aware of their condition until symptoms appear years after the heart began its decline. Nearly 5 million Americans are currently living with the condition, with 550,000 new cases diagnosed each year. CHF is responsible for 250,000 deaths each year, most of them occurring suddenly. CHF affects people of all ages from children to senior citizens, although it is more common among older people. It is believed to be the number one case of death in those over 65. "Half the people diagnosed with CHF will be dead within five years" (www.nhlbi.nih.gov).
Causes CHF is usually divided into two categoriesleft-sided and right-sided heart failure. Left sided heart failure happens when the left ventricle (lower chamber) becomes weak, dilates like an inflated balloon, and is unable to generate sufficient force to create proper blood flow (called systolic failure). In some patients diastolic dysfunction is the culprit. With this condition, the left ventricle becomes thick and stiff and does not relax adequately for blood to flow into it during the resting period between beats. In
Congestive Heart Failure, also known as "cardiac decompensation, cardiac insufficiency, and cardiac incompetence," (Basic Nursing 1111) is an imbalance in pump function in which the heart is failing and unable to do its work pumping enough blood to meet the needs of the body's other organs. To some people, heart failure is defined as a sudden and complete stoppage of heart activityi.e. that the heart just stops beating. This is an inaccuracy. Heart failure usually develops slowly, often over years, as the heart gradually loses its pumping ability and works less efficiently. CHF is a syndrome that affects individuals in different ways and to different degrees. It is usually a chronic disease. It gradually becomes worse. By the time someone is diagnosed with it, the heart may have been losing pumping capacity for quite some time. Many people are not even aware of their condition until symptoms appear years after the heart began its decline. Nearly 5 million Americans are currently living with the condition, with 550,000 new cases diagnosed each year. CHF is responsible for 250,000 deaths each year, most of them occurring suddenly. CHF affects people of all ages from children to senior citizens, although it is more common among older people. It is believed to be the number one case of death in those over 65. "Half the people diagnosed with CHF will be dead within five years" (www.nhlbi.nih.gov).
Causes CHF is usually divided into two categoriesleft-sided and right-sided heart failure. Left sided heart failure happens when the left ventricle (lower chamber) becomes weak, dilates like an inflated balloon, and is unable to generate sufficient force to create proper blood flow (called systolic failure). In some patients diastolic dysfunction is the culprit. With this condition, the left ventricle becomes thick and stiff and does not relax adequately for blood to flow into it during the resting period between beats. In
Cited: Cicala, Roger S., M.D.., The Heart Disease Sourcebook, RGA Publishing Group, Los Angles, CA, 1997. Hoyt, Robert E., Capt., MC, USN and Bowling, Lester S., LTCR, MC, USN, Naval Family Hospital, Penascola, FA, American Family Physician, American Academy of Family Physicians, 04/15/2001. Kereiakes, Dean J., M.D., FACC and Wetherill, Douglas, MS, Congestive Heart Failure, What You Should Know. Robertson & Fisher Publishing Company, Canada, 2001; 2nd ed. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Data Sheet, http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov. Richardson, Michael, M.D., Health Basics. Next Decade Inc., Chester, New Jersey, 2003. Rosdahl, Caroline Bunker, Basic Nursing. T.B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, PA, 1995; 6th ed. Silver, Marc, M.D. Success with Heart Failure: Help and Hope for Those with Congestive Heart Failure. Perseus Books Group, Cambridge, MA, 2002; 3rd ed. Treatment of CHF, http://www.mayoclinic.org.