Heart failure or cardiac failure is a condition when the heart pump weakens, so it is unable to drain enough blood throughout the body. The condition is also known as congestive heart failure. Heart failure can be caused by hypertension, anemia, and heart disease.
Cardiac Failure Symptoms
The main symptoms of heart failure are
- Shortness of breath,
- Fatigue, as well as
- Swelling of the legs and ankles.
These symptoms can develop gradually or occur suddenly.
Cardiac Failure Diagnosis
As a first step, the doctor will ask about the symptoms and diseases that have been suffered, as well as conduct an examination. Some supporting tests can also be performed, such as blood tests, X-ray photos, heart record checks, echocardiography, CT scans, and MRIs.
For symptoms that occur suddenly, the doctor will take the treatment action in advance to stabilize the patient’s condition, just doing a supporting test.
Heart failure can manifest as heart failure with a decreased or normal ejection fraction. In contrast to heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is characterized by abnormalities in the cardiac relaxation phase and ventricular filling that is also accompanied by ventricular remodeling and changes in ventricular and vascular compliance.
Treatment and Management of cardiac failure
The treatment of heart failure is based on the severity of heart failure. In general, heart failure management includes reducing the risk of heart failure by controlling for a variety of modified risk factors, administering medical therapies that are proven to lower morbidity and mortality, and the use of special tool therapies in heart failure patients with low ejection fraction and meeting certain criteria.
Common goals of handling heart failure are:
- Eliminating clinical signs such as coughing and dyspnea,
- Improving heart performance as a pump,
- Lowering heart’s workload, and
- Controlling excess salt and water.
The drugs used for the treatment of heart failure vary depending on etiology, severity of heart failure, species of sufferers, and other factors. To achieve the goal of handling heart failure can be done by:
Limit physical activity.
Exercise or activity will increase heart load and also increases tissue need for oxygen. In patients whose heart function is under pressure, exercise can lead to congestion. Therefore the work of the heart should be lowered by resting or limiting activity.
Limit salt intake.
In patients experiencing CHF, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone activity increased. This stimulates the kidneys to withstand sodium and water so that the excretion of sodium and water will decrease. If added feed containing high sodium then water retention and increased blood volume will get worse, and in turn will give rise to congestion and edema.
Eliminates the cause or trigger factor of heart failure.
Eliminating the cause of heart failure is the best course of action. Congenital malformations such as patent ductus arteriosus can be improved surgically with a high success rate. Balloon valvuloplasty has been successfully used to treat pulmonary valve stenosis.
CHF caused by pericardium disease can be treated temporarily or permanently with pericardiocentesis or pericardiectomy. But unfortunately this is often not possible for a variety of reasons.
Lower the preload.
Due to the retention of salt and water by the kidneys in CHF patients, the preload of the heart is generally high. This will result in congestion in the circulation system.
Therefore, a decrease in preload will decrease congestion and pulmonary edema, which will improve gas exchange in the lungs in the case of CHF left heart, and decrease systemic venous congestion and ascites in the right heart CHF. Preload is determined by the volume of intravascular fluid and systemic venous tone.
Treatment is done so that sufferers feel more comfortable in doing various physical activities, and it can improve the quality of life and increase their life expectancy. The approach is done through 3 facets, namely
- Treating heart failure-causing diseases,
- Eliminating factors that can worsen heart failure and
- Treating heart failure.
The purpose of treatment of heart failure is to reduce the symptoms of heart failure so as to improve the quality of life of the sufferer.
The ways and groups of drugs that can be administered include reducing fluid buildup (by the administration of diuretics), lowering peripheral resistance (administration of vasodilators), strengthening the power of myocardial contractions (inotropic administration).
