What is Heart Failure?
Heart Failure is a condition where the heart does not pump as well as it should. If you have heart failure, it does not mean that your heart is about to stop. The normal healthy heart pumps enough oxygen-rich blood out of the heart and into the system to nourish all parts of the body. Symptoms of heart failure may occur when the heart does not pump (eject blood) efficiently enough to meet these oxygen demands. Heart failure can be due to the heart not squeezing properly or due to the heart not relaxing properly. Systolic heart failure occurs when the heart does not squeeze as well as it should due to a weakened heart muscle. Diastolic heart failure occurs when the heart squeezes well but does not relax normally due to a thickened heart muscle.
With systolic and/or diastolic heart failure, blood can “back up” into your lungs and other parts of your body such as your hands, abdomen (belly), legs, and feet. Fluid “backing up” is sometimes referred to as “congestion” or congestive heart failure. Symptoms of heart failure are often due to “congestion” but in some cases of moderate to severe systolic heart failure, symptoms can be due to the weak heart (or weak pumping action) without the presence of “congestion”. The most common symptoms of heart failure include some or all of the following:
- feeling weak or tired after little activity or exertion
- difficulty breathing with little exertion
- waking up breathless at night or requiring extra pillows to sleep
- experiencing a new or different cough especially with lying flat
- a poor appetite
A heart failure diagnosis may sound frightening, but with the right treatment, heart failure can be controlled. Once you are on a stable medical regimen, you can often return to a full and enjoyable life. Understanding your role in taking good care of yourself is important for gaining control of symptoms. While heart failure is a serious condition that requires ongoing management, you can keep your symptoms and hospital visits to a minimum just by careful attention and follow-up.
The severity of your heart failure condition can change over time, for better or worse, requiring alterations in your treatment. If your heart function improves over time, you may require less medication. If your heart function worsens over time, you may need consideration for more advanced treatments. Keep in mind that these small changes can lead to large improvements in your heart’s structure or function.
Your physician will determine the severity of your heart failure by taking into consideration what caused your heart problem to begin with (for example, a heart attack, long standing high blood pressure, a virus, etc.) and how well you have responded to therapies. Because it is difficult to predict who will improve over time, regular follow-up is key to determine if your treatment is being optimized. Additionally, your physician will need to determine how the rest of your body is affected by your heart condition. For example, is enough blood flowing to your kidneys or the large muscles of your legs and arms to keep them working properly? Finally, your physician will need to evaluate if there are any extra work demands on your heart that can make your condition worse, like, obesity and untreated high blood pressure. Anything that causes extra work demands for your weakened heart muscle needs to be addressed so that your heart function has the opportunity to improve or at least stabilize to afford you the best quality of life possible. The severity of your heart failure condition is ultimately determined by your heart’s ability to do its job, your body’s ability to adapt to these changes, and your ability to be a partner in your care.
Interesting Statistics:
- Over 5 million Americans are currently living with heart failure.
- Approximately 550,000 new cases are diagnosed in the U.S. each year.
- Heart failure affects people of all ages, from children and young adults to the middle-aged and the elderly.
- Almost 1.4 million people with congestive heart failure are under 60 years of age.
- More than 5% of persons age 60 to 69 have congestive heart failure.
- The incidence of heart failure is equally frequent in men and women, while African-Americans are 1.5 times more likely to develop heart failure than Caucasians.
- Heart failure is responsible for 11 million physician visits each year and more hospitalizations than all forms of cancer combined.
- Approximately half of those who develop congestive heart failure die within 5 years of diagnosis.
- Heart failure contributes to about 287,000 deaths a year.
- Sudden death is common in patients with congestive heart failure, occurring at a rate of six to nine times that of the general population.
To learn more heart failure statistics:
- Heart Failure Society of America
- Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics from the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association
