Heart Failure: Symptoms, Causes, Types, and More

Heart failure or congestive heart failure occurs when your heart muscle does not pump blood as well as it should.

When this occurs, blood often backs up, and the fluid buildup in the lungs causes shortness of breath.

Moreover, certain conditions like narrowed arteries in the heart, i.e. coronary artery disease, or high blood pressure can leave your heart too weak.

Or it may make it stiff to fill and pump blood properly.

With the help of proper treatment, you can improve the signs and symptoms and can help you live longer.

Furthermore, certain lifestyle changes like losing weight, exercising, reducing salt or sodium in your diet, and managing stress, can help improve your quality of life.

However, if you are among people with heart failure, you can have severe symptoms, and may also need a heart transplant or a ventricular assist device, VAD.

Keep on reading to learn more about it in detail.

Heart Failure

Heart failure is characterized by the inability of your heart to pump an adequate supply o blood to your body.

Without enough blood flow, all major body functions will disrupt.

Moreover, it is a condition or a collection of symptoms that can weaken or stiffen your heart.

In some cases, the heart has difficulty pumping enough blood to support other organs.

While in some cases, it may cause hardening and stiffening of the heart muscle itself, which blocks or reduces the blood flow to the heart.

Moreover, it can affect the right or left side of the heart or both at the same time, and can either be acute, i.e. short-term, or chronic, ongoing condition.

• With Acute Heart Failure, the symptoms appear suddenly, however, go away quickly. This condition can occur after a heart attack and may also result due to problems with the heart valves that control the flow of blood in the heart
• While with Chronic Heart Failure symptoms tend to be continuous and do not improve over time. It is important to note most heart failure cases are chronic.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, about 6.2 million Americans have heart failure.

Though most cases are diagnosed in men, women are more likely to die from it when they do not get treatment.

Furthermore, heart failure is a serious medical condition that requires treatment

Early treatment helps to increase your chances of long-term recovery with fewer complications.

Make sure to call or doctor or seek medical advice right away if you are having symptoms of heart failure.

Causes of Heart Failure

It is important to note that heart failure is often related to another condition.

While the most common cause is coronary artery disease, CAD, a disorder that causes narrowing of the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the heart, some other conditions can also increase your risk of developing heart failure.

These are:

• cardiomyopathy is a disorder of the heart muscle that causes your heart to become weak
• congenital heart disease
• heart attack
• heart valve disease
• certain types of arrhythmias, or irregular heart rhythms
• high blood pressure
• emphysema, a disease of the lung
• untreated sleep apnea
• diabetes
• an overactive or underactive thyroid
• HIV
• severe forms of anemia
• certain cancer treatments, like chemotherapy
• substance misuse disorder

Symptoms of Heart Failure

Symptoms of heart failure are fatigue, sudden weight gain, a loss of appetite, persistent coughing, irregular heartbeat, heart palpitations, and abdominal swelling.

Moreover, shortness of breath, exercise intolerance, leg, and ankle swelling or abdomen, sleeping on an extra pillow, getting short of breath while lying down, and protruding neck veins.

These are all the signs and symptoms of a heart attack.

Types of Heart Failure

Heart failure can occur either on the left or right side of your heart, and it is also possible for both sides of your heart to fail at the same time.

Moreover, it is also classified as diastolic or systolic.

Left-Sided Heart Failure

Left-sided heart failure is the most common type of heart failure.

The left ventricle is present in the bottom left side of the heart and this area pumps oxygen-rich blood to the rest of your body.

Also, this type of heart attack occurs when the left ventricle does not pump efficiently.

it also prevents your body from getting enough oxygen-rich blood.

The blood backs up in the lungs, instead, which in turn causes shortness of breath and a buildup of fluid.

Right-sided heart Failure

The right heart ventricle is responsible for pumping blood to your lungs to collect often.

Moreover, right-sided heart failure tends to occur when the right side of your heart is unable to perform its job effectively.

It is important to note that this type is often triggered by left-sided heart failure.

Accumulation of blood in the lungs that occurs due to left-sided failure makes the right ventircle work harder.

As a result, it can stress the right side of the heart and cause it to fail.

Additionally, right-sided heart failure can occur due to other conditions like:

• lung disease
• valve disease

Furthermore, right-sided heart failure is marked by swelling of the lower extremities or abdomen and this swelling occurs due to fluid backup in the legs, feet, and abdomen.

Diastolic Heart Failure

This occurs when the heart muscles become stiffer than normal.

The stiffness that is often due to heart disease, means that your heart does not fill with blood easily.

Thus, the name is diastolic dysfunction.

It leads to a lack of blood flow to the rest of the organs in your body and diastolic heart failure is more common in females than in males.

Systolic Heart Failure

Systolic heart failure occurs when the heart muscles lose their ability to contract, while contractions are important to pump oxygen-rich blood out to your body.

This problem is also known as systolic dysfunction.

And it often develops when your heart is weak and may be enlarged.

This type is more common in males than in females.

It is important to note that both diastolic and systolic heart failure can occur on the left or right sides of your heart.

You can either hand condition on both sides of your heart.

Risks Factors for Heart Failure

Heart failure can happen to anyone, however, certain factors can increase your risk of developing this condition.

There is a higher incidence of heart failure in men, in comparison to women, though the prevalence is about the same for all sexes.

Moreover, if you are among people with the following diseases that cause damage to the heart, are also at great risk:

• hypertension
• sleep apnea
• diabetes
• coronary artery disease
• valve disease
• anemia
• hyperthyroidism
• hypothyroidism
• emphysema

Furthermore, certain behaviors can also increase your risk of developing heart failure.

These are smoking, eating foods high in fat or cholesterol, not getting enough exercise, having overweight or obese.

Diagnosing Heart Failure

Your doctor will doctor diagnose a heart failure with the help of:

Physical Exam

At first, your doctor will perform a physical exam to check for the signs of heart failure.

For instance, leg swelling, irregular heart rate, and bulging neck veins can lead your doctor to diagnose heart failure.

Echocardiogram

An echocardiogram is the most effective way to diagnose heart failure.

It uses sound waves to create detailed images or pictures of your heart, which helps your doctor to evaluate the damage to your heart, the squeezing, and relaxing function, and determine the underlying causes of your condition.

Moreover, your doctor can also use echocardiograms with other tests.

Other Tests

Some other tests your doctor may order are:

chest X-ray	This test can provide images of the heart and the surrounding organs.
heart MRI	An MRI produces images of the heart without the use of radiation.
nuclear scan	A very small dose of radioactive material is injected into your body to create images of the chambers of your heart.
catheterization or coronary angiogram	In this type of X-ray exam, the doctor inserts a catheter into your blood vessel, usually in the groin or arm. They then guide it into the heart. This test can show how much blood is currently flowing through the heart.
stress exam	During a stress exam, an EKG machine monitors your heart function while you run on a treadmill or perform another type of exercise.
Holter monitoring	Electrode patches are placed on your chest and attached to a small machine called a Holter monitor for this test. The machine records the electrical activity of your heart for at least 24 to 48 hours.
BNP blood test	A BNP test is done by drawing blood from a vein in your arm. This test can detect a rise in B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) hormone, which can be an indication of heart failure.

Treatment Options

Treatment of heart failure depends on the severity of your condition and the type of heart failure you have.

Early treatment can help improve your symptoms fairly quickly.

However, you should still get regular testing and follow up with your doctor every 3 to 6 months.

The main goal of the treatment is to increase the lifespan.

Treatment of heart failure can include one or more of the following:

• medications
• bypass surgery
• percutaneous coronary intervention
• a pacemaker
• an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, ICD
• transplant surgery

Let’s discuss them as follows:

Medications for Heart Failure

Your doctor can treat the early stages of heart failure with the help of medication.

These will help to relieve the symptoms and prevent your condition from getting worse.

Certain medications your doctor may prescribe are:

• improve the ability of your heart to pump blood
• reduces blood clots
• reduces your heart rate, if necessary
• helps to remove excess sodium and replenish potassium levels
• helps to reduce cholesterol levels
• lowers or reduces adverse hormones and reactions that take place in your body that can make your heart weaker.

Moreover, these medications include blood thinners, angiotensin-converting enzymes, ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, ARBs, beta-blockers, and calcium channel blockers.

Furthermore, cholesterol-lowering medications, nitrates, angiotensin receptors, neprilysin inhibitors, ARNI, sodium-glucose cotransporter-2, SGLT-2 inhibitors, hydralazine, ivabradine, verquvo or vericiguat in some cases.

It is important to always speak with your doctor before taking new medications.

Some medications are off-limits to people with heart failure like:

• naproxen
• iburophen

Surgical Options for Heart Failure

Surgical options for heart failure are:

Bypass Surgery

Some people with heart failure will need surgery, like coronary bypass surgery.

During this, your surgeon will take a healthy piece of artery or vein and attach it to the blocked coronary artery.

This will allow the blood to bypass the blocked, damaged artery, and flow through the new one.

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, PCI

Your doctor can also suggest a procedure: a percutaneous coronary intervention, or PCI.

In this procedure, a catheter with a small balloon is inserted into the blocked or narrowed artery.

Once the catheter reaches the damaged artery, your surgeon will inflate a balloon to open the artery.

Moreover, your surgeon may need to place a permanent stent, or wire mesh into the blocked or narrowed artery.

A stent will permanently hold your artery open and prevents further narrowing of the artery.

Pacemakers

Other people with heart failure will need pacemakers to help control heart rhythms.

Your doctor will place these small devices into the chest.

Furthermore, they can also your heart rate when it is beating too quickly or increases your heart rate if the heart is beating too slow.

Pacemakers are often used along with bypass surgery, along with medications.

Other Surgical Options

Other surgical options are:

Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator, ICD

An ICD is a battery-powered device that helps to keep track of your heart rate and will shock it if it detects an abnormal heart rhythm.

This shock helps to restore the heart rate back to the normal rhythm.

Moreover, an ICD is suggested if you have an ejection fraction (how much blood your heart pumps out with each contraction) less than 35 percent (if not due to blockages) and <30 percent if due to blockages.

Transplant Surgery

A heart Transplant is often suggested in the final stages of heart failure when all other treatments have failed.

During a transplant, your surgeon will remove all or part of your heart.

They will then replace it with a heart from a donor.

Prevention Tips

With the help of certain lifestyle measures, you can help treat heart failure and prevent the condition.

Maintaining a moderate weight and exercising regularly can significantly help decrease your risk of heart failure.

Moreover, reducing the amount of salt in your diet can also help lower the risk.

Some other habits that can help prevent heart failure are:

• limiting alcohol intake
• not smoking
• avoid high-fat foods
• getting the right amount of sleep
• staying active

Potential Complications of Heart Failure

If you do not get treatment for heart failure, it can eventually lead to congestive heart failure, CHF.

It is a condition in which blood build-ups in other areas of your body.

In this potentially life-threatening condition, you may experience fluid retention in your limbs, as well as, in your organs, like the liver and lungs.

Additional complications of heart failure are:

• stroke
• thromboembolism
• arrhythmias like arterial fibrillation
• kidney dysfunction

Heart Attack

It can also occur as a complication related to heart failure.

In such a case, call 911 or your local emergency service right away if you have the following symptom:

• cold sweats
• nausea
• vomiting
• rapid heart rate
• dizziness
• fatigue
• discomfort in the upper body, including numbness or a coldness
• discomfort in the chest like squeezing or tightness
• crushing chest pain

Wrapping it Up

Heart failure is a long-term condition that needs ongoing treatment to help prevent complications. When you do not get treatment, however, your heart can weaken so severely that it causes life-threatening complications.

Thus, it is important to recognize that heart failure can happen to anyone, and take lifelong prevention measures for your heart health. Always contact your doctor or seek medical advice if you suddenly have any new or unexplained symptoms that can indicate a problem with your heart.

As it is a chronic condition in most cases, your symptoms will likely get worse over time. Medications and surgeries can help relieve symptoms, however, these may not help a severe case of heart failure. In such cases, it can be life-threatening.

The outlook and treatment of heart failure depend on the type o heart failure you have. Early treatment, however, is the key to preventing the most serious cases.