Congestive Heart Failure

Heart failure means your heart is not pumping as well as it should to deliver oxygen-rich blood to your body's cells.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) means the heart's weak pumping action causes a buildup of fluid in your lungs and other body tissues. The slow onset and progression of CHF is caused by your heart's own efforts to make up for this weakening by enlarging and by forcing itself to pump faster.

Who is at risk?

Since people are living longer and surviving heart attacks and other medical conditions, the number of people with CHF keeps rising. About 4.7 million people in the United States--mostly older adults--have CHF. People who have other types of heart and vessel disease are also at risk for CHF.

Risk factors for CHF include:

· Previous heart attacks

· Coronary artery disease

· High blood pressure (hypertension)

· Irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia)

· Heart valve disease (especially of the aortic and mitral valves)

· Cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle)

· Congenital heart defects (defects you are born with)

· Alcohol and drug abuse

What are the symptoms?

Left-sided heart failure causes blood and fluid back up into your lungs. You will feel short of breath, be very tired, and have a cough (especially at night). In some cases, patients may begin to cough up pinkish, blood-tinged sputum.

Right-sided heart failure causes a buildup of fluid in your veins. Your feet, legs, and ankles will begin to swell. This swelling, called edema, sometimes spreads to the lungs, liver, and stomach. Because of the fluid buildup, you may need to go to the bathroom more often, especially at night.

Fluid buildup is also hard on your kidneys. It affects their ability to dispose of salt (sodium) and water, which can lead to kidney failure. Once CHF is treated, the kidneys' function usually returns to normal.

As heart failure progresses, other symptoms become evident:

--Shortness of breath when lying flat.

--Fatigue that prevents exercise or physical activities.

--Weight gain from excess fluid.

--Chest pain.

--Loss of appetite or indigestion.

--Swollen neck veins.

--Cold and sweaty skin.

--Fast or irregular pulse.

--Feeling restless, confused.

--Impaired memory and attention span.

How is CHF diagnosed?

The presence of edema and shortness of breath are the most common indicators. Crackling sounds of fluid in the lungs, the distinct sound of faulty valves (heart murmur), or the presence of a very quick heartbeat are signs the doctor looks for.

A chest x-ray can show if your heart is enlarged and if you have fluid in and around your lungs. Electrocardiography (ECG or EKG) can be used to check for an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) and stress on the heart. It can also show your doctor if you have had a heart attack. Echocardiography can be used to see valve function, heart wall motion, and overall heart size.

Other imaging techniques, such as nuclear ventriculography and angiography, can provide a firm diagnosis and show doctors how diseased your heart is.

 

Last Updated: December 03, 2007