Heart failure occurs when the heart has difficulty pumping blood throughout the body, causing symptoms such as tiredness, night cough and swelling in the legs at the end of the day.
Heart failure is more common in people with high blood pressure, as in these cases the heart needs to exert more force to pump blood, causing the heart to dilate over time. However, insufficiency can also occur due to narrowing of the arteries, which makes it difficult for blood to pass and distribute throughout the body.
Understand more about heart failure in the following video:
Main symptoms
The main symptoms of heart failure are:
- Progressive fatigue that begins after exertion, such as climbing stairs or walking, but which over time can appear even at rest;
- Frequent feeling of shortness of breath;
- Chest pain or discomfort;
- Excessive coughing at night;
- Swelling in the legs, ankles or feet;
- Palpitations and chills;
- Abdominal swelling;
- Pallor;
- Difficulty sleeping with a low headboard.
When a person presents these symptoms, they should see a cardiologist so that tests can be carried out to evaluate the heart and, thus, confirm or rule out the diagnosis, initiating appropriate treatment. Check out the main tests that assess heart health.
How to confirm the diagnosis
To confirm the diagnosis of heart failure, in addition to evaluating symptoms and clinical history, the doctor may also order various tests, such as blood tests, chest X-ray, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, or angiography. for example.
Consult your nearest cardiologist for an assessment of your heart health:
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Types of heart failure
According to the evolution of symptoms, heart failure can be classified into:
- Chronic heart failure: is developed over the years due to high blood pressure, for example, being the most common type of insufficiency;
- Acute heart failure: appears suddenly due to a serious problem, such as a heart attack, severe arrhythmia or bleeding and must be treated immediately in the hospital to avoid complications;
- Decompensated heart failure: appears in patients with chronic heart failure who do not receive adequate treatment, requiring hospitalization;
- Congestive heart failure (CHF): causes the accumulation of fluids in the lungs, legs and belly due to the heart’s difficulty in pumping blood. Understand what ICC is and how to identify it.
It is important that the type of heart failure is identified so that treatment can be adapted and started immediately, to avoid worsening and the emergence of complications, such as kidney failure or pulmonary edema, which can put the person’s life at risk.
Causes of heart failure
Heart failure can occur as a result of any problem that interferes with the functioning of the heart and the transport of oxygen to the body. Most of the time, heart failure occurs due to coronary disease, which is characterized by the narrowing of blood vessels, causing difficulty in the passage of blood and a decrease in the amount of oxygen reaching the organs.
Furthermore, in the case of cardiomegaly, popularly known as large heart, it is also possible to have heart failure, because due to the enlargement of the organ, the blood starts to accumulate inside it, without adequate distribution of blood and oxygen to the organs. and fabrics.
Changes in heartbeat or in the heart’s contraction and relaxation process can also lead to heart failure, especially in older people and/or those who have hypertension.
How the treatment is carried out
Treatment for heart failure must be guided by a cardiologist and normally includes the use of medicines to lower blood pressure, such as Lisinopril or Captopril, heart medicines, such as Digoxin or Amiodarone, or diuretic medicines, such as Furosemide or Spironolactone. See a more complete list of the main medications used to treat heart failure.
Furthermore, it is also recommended that the patient reduce salt and fluid consumption and do regular physical exercise, under the guidance of the cardiologist, such as walking, water aerobics or cycling, for example.
In more serious cases, where the patient does not receive adequate treatment or when the problem is identified too late, it may be necessary to undergo heart transplant surgery.
Check out in the video below how food helps with cardiac work, reducing the symptoms of heart failure:
Other precautions during treatment
To complete the treatment recommended by the cardiologist, it is important to adopt some precautions such as:
- Avoid using salt to season food, replacing it with aromatic herbs;
- Raise the head of the bed at least 15 cm;
- Raise your legs at least 15 cm to sleep;
- Do not smoke and reduce your intake of alcoholic beverages;
- Control your fluid intake as advised by your doctor.
Furthermore, some home remedies for high blood pressure such as garlic water, olive leaf tea or hibiscus tea, for example, can also reduce pressure on the heart, helping to alleviate symptoms. However, they should only be used under the guidance of a doctor. Check out a list of teas that help lower blood pressure.
Signs of improvement or worsening
Signs of improvement in heart failure appear a few weeks after starting medical treatment and include improvement in tiredness, decreased difficulty breathing, ease in carrying out activities that were previously difficult, as well as reduced swelling in the legs and other parts of the body. .
Signs of worsening appear when treatment is not carried out properly and may include difficulty breathing, decreased amount of urine and increased body swelling.
Possible complications
Complications of heart failure generally arise when treatment is not carried out correctly and include kidney failure, which may require dialysis, heart valve problems, liver damage, heart attack and even death.
