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Treatment of weak heart depends on cause
It is no secret that a strong heart is a necessity for a long and healthy life. However, congestive heart failure stops the efficient working of five million hearts in the United States each year, which makes it the cause of more deaths yearly than all cancers combined.
The cardiology department of Beloit Memorial Hospital promotes heart health by seeking advances in technology, encouraging a healthy lifestyle, and offering education programs.
While the body is inactive, the human heart pumps five liters of blood a minute and it can expand to pump up to 600 percent more during physical activity. Dr. Maria Taveras, cardiologist with Beloit Memorial Hospital, describes changes in the heart that can gradually lead to congestive heart failure.
“Congestive heart failure occurs when the heart doesn't have the ability to put forward the amount of blood needed to support the activity being performed,” Taveras said.
This can force the heart to stop beating and in less than a minute, lack of flow can allow the blood to clot, which can be fatal.
There are various causes that can lead to the heart slowly losing its ability to pump, some examples are: lost action in a heart chamber, a blocked valve, a leaky valve, or a weakened heart muscle.
Taveras lists heart viruses, chemotherapy, congenital heart disease (HTN), an inactive lifestyle, and diabetes among some of the most common causes of a weakened heart.
“The treatment of congestive heart failure depends on the cause, not the symptoms,” Taveras said.
So it is important to determine the cause in order to prevent further damage to the heart.
Once symptoms appear and a person has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, there is often a chance to reverse its effects to a certain degree. However, the symptoms of congestive heart failure are often disguised by the body's ability to adapt to the heart's lack of proficiency by reducing the amount of blood it pumps from five to four liters. “Because of the body's ability to adapt, by the time symptoms appear the heart has probably lost 30% of its ability to function,” explains Dr. Taveras. The symptoms of congestive heart failure are loss of breath, fluid in lungs, tiredness, and swelling in tissues, which often occurs in the legs and lungs.
In the last 10 years, cardiologists have established four classes of congestive heart failure. Taveras lists these classes and their symptoms:
Class One: Can do usual activities without many symptoms.
Class Two: Cannot take stairs faster than normal speed or rush anywhere without losing breath.
Class Three: Lose breath while doing simple tasks such as showering. This is most often the stage at which people seek help.
Class Four: Talking leads to loss of breath.
Recent discoveries concerning congestive heart failure have lead to improved treatment. For the past five to eight years, cardiologists have seen a 25-30 percent reduction in mortality with the use of one or more medications.
The cardiology department of Beloit Memorial Hospital promotes heart health by seeking advances in technology, encouraging a healthy lifestyle, and offering education programs.
While the body is inactive, the human heart pumps five liters of blood a minute and it can expand to pump up to 600 percent more during physical activity. Dr. Maria Taveras, cardiologist with Beloit Memorial Hospital, describes changes in the heart that can gradually lead to congestive heart failure.
“Congestive heart failure occurs when the heart doesn't have the ability to put forward the amount of blood needed to support the activity being performed,” Taveras said.
This can force the heart to stop beating and in less than a minute, lack of flow can allow the blood to clot, which can be fatal.
There are various causes that can lead to the heart slowly losing its ability to pump, some examples are: lost action in a heart chamber, a blocked valve, a leaky valve, or a weakened heart muscle.
Taveras lists heart viruses, chemotherapy, congenital heart disease (HTN), an inactive lifestyle, and diabetes among some of the most common causes of a weakened heart.
“The treatment of congestive heart failure depends on the cause, not the symptoms,” Taveras said.
So it is important to determine the cause in order to prevent further damage to the heart.
Once symptoms appear and a person has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, there is often a chance to reverse its effects to a certain degree. However, the symptoms of congestive heart failure are often disguised by the body's ability to adapt to the heart's lack of proficiency by reducing the amount of blood it pumps from five to four liters. “Because of the body's ability to adapt, by the time symptoms appear the heart has probably lost 30% of its ability to function,” explains Dr. Taveras. The symptoms of congestive heart failure are loss of breath, fluid in lungs, tiredness, and swelling in tissues, which often occurs in the legs and lungs.
In the last 10 years, cardiologists have established four classes of congestive heart failure. Taveras lists these classes and their symptoms:
Class One: Can do usual activities without many symptoms.
Class Two: Cannot take stairs faster than normal speed or rush anywhere without losing breath.
Class Three: Lose breath while doing simple tasks such as showering. This is most often the stage at which people seek help.
Class Four: Talking leads to loss of breath.
Recent discoveries concerning congestive heart failure have lead to improved treatment. For the past five to eight years, cardiologists have seen a 25-30 percent reduction in mortality with the use of one or more medications.
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