1

Heart Failure

Courtney Carnahan

Nutrition 1020

Widdison

Heart Failure
 2

Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition in which the heart

muscle is unable to pump enough blood through to meet the body's needs

for blood and oxygen. Heart failure usually develops after other conditions

have damaged or weakened the heart. Conditions that can damage or

weaken the heart are; coronary heart disease, heart attack, high blood

pressure, faulty heart valves, cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, heart defects

that youre born with, abnormal heart rhythms, diabetes, HIV,

hyperthyroidism, etc. ("Heart Failure Causes." Mayo Clinic. N.p., n.d. Web. 04

Apr. 2017.). Our body depends on our hearts pumping action to deliver

oxygen, and nutrient rich blood to the bodys cells. When the cells in our

body are nourished properly our body can function normally. (AHA) Our heart

is a strong muscle that continuously pumps blood through our circulatory

system, and allows us to have a normal healthy heart.

Heart failure, specifically congestive heart failure is a chronic disease

that runs in my family. Congestive heart failure also known as CHF is a

serious condition in which the heart doesnt pump blood as efficiently as it

should. The term congestive heart failure comes from blood that gets

backed up into the liver, abdomen, lower extremities, and lungs. Not all heart

failure is congestive, and not all has fluid buildup. ("Heart Failure Causes."

Mayo Clinic.) Heart failure doesnt mean that the heart is about to stop

working or completely fail. It just states that the heart muscle has become

less able to contract as much overtime, or has a mechanical problem that

has limited its ability to fill with blood. When this happens the heart cant
 3

keep up with the bodys demand. The blood is returning to the heart faster

than it can be pumped out, and this is when it starts to become congested or

backed up. With the insufficient pumping of the heart our organs are not able

to receive enough oxygen rich blood to maintain a healthy heart.

Heart failure can include the left ventricle, right ventricle, or both sides

of the heart. In most cases heart failure starts in the left ventricle, because it

is the hearts main pumping chamber. With left sided heart failure it involves

the left ventricle which is very essential for everyday function. When the left

ventricle starts to fail fluid can back up into the lungs, which causes

shortness of breath. Right sided heart failure often happens in the result of

left sided failure. When the left side fails it increases the fluid that develops

in the lungs, and can damage the right side of the heart. With right side

heart failure it also can have fluid back up into the abdomen, legs and feet,

which causes swelling. With systolic heart failure the left ventricle cant

contract strong enough and its indicating that there is a pumping problem.

Diastolic heart failure is when the left ventricle cant relax enough, or fill fully

which indicates a filling problem. (Heart Causes Mayo Clinic)

When the heart starts to fail the heart tries to compensate for the loss

of the pumping capacity in three different ways. The heart will enlarge which

will make the heart contracts more strongly in order for the heart to pump

more blood. It will develop more muscle mass. Lastly it will pump faster.
 4

When the heart is pumping faster it helps to increase the hearts output.

Blood vessels will narrow to help keep the blood pressure up.

Health complications with CHF is that the heart starts to compensate in

other ways, which in turn causes other problems. The heart starts to beast

faster in order to take less time for refilling after it contracts, overtime less

blood will be circulated which makes the heart work harder and can cause

heart palpations. Our heart enlarges making room for more blood, and the

lungs can fill with fluid causing shortness of breath. Our kidneys dont

receive enough blood, which than causes our body to retain water and

sodium that can lead to kidney failure. As you can see complications dont

just happen within the heart, but affect our whole body. Typically with heart

failure it often gets progressively worse. (Steven Jones, M.D.)

Symptoms that come from having heart failure can include the

following; shortness of breath, fatigue, weakness, edema (swelling) in legs,

ankle and feet, rapid or irregular heartbeat, reduced ability to exercise,

persistent cough or wheezing, increased need to urinate at night, swelling of

abdomen, sudden weight gain from fluid retention, lack of appetite and

nausea, chest pain (if caused from heart attack). ("Heart Failure Symptoms."

Mayo Clinic.)

Even though heart failure is a serious condition that most often

progressively gets worse over time, there are specific cases that can be

reversed with treatment. (Heart Failure Treatment." UCSF Medical Center).

 5

There are different options to relieve symptoms and slow down or stop the

gradual decline of the condition. UCSF Medical Center states there goals for

heart therapy are to; relieve symptoms and improve quality of life, slow

disease progression, reduce the need for emergency room visits and

hospitalization, and help people live longer. Treatment will depend on the

type of heart failure, the cause, and the symptoms and severity of heart

failure. Making lifestyle changes can improve or control some factors that are

contributing to heart failure in hopes to see improvement. Modifying daily

activities to what is going to work for the individual will help to avoid putting

too much stress on the heart.

Fortunately there are things that we can do to prevent and lower our

risks of heart disease. Eating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important.

The foods we choose to eat directly affects our health, and making healthy

foods choices like eating plenty of fruits and vegetables will benefit us.

Keeping a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol will help to prevent high

blood cholesterol. Limiting our sodium intake will help to us to lower our

blood pressure. Maintaining a healthy weight can lower our risks. Being

overweight or obese will increase our risk for heart disease. Exercising

regularly and maintaining an exercise program is very beneficial. Smoking

specifically cigarette smoke increases the risk to get heart disease. Limiting

our alcohol use is important as drinking too much alcohol can cause high

blood pressure.
 6

The extent of a persons diet for those who have congestive heart

failure is very important. Making healthy changes in the diet will help those

suffering with this disease to decrease symptoms. Those who eat too much

salt or drink too much fluid can increase our bodys water content, and this

will make our heart work harder and can worsen the case of CHF. Most all

patients with CHF suffer from fatigue and breathlessness, which limits the

amount of exercise and their ability to get moving. This than produces a poor

quality of life. Limiting physical activity has negative psychological effects,

including physical exercise could potentially improve the quality of life

because patients may be able to get stronger and perform daily activities

with more energy and confidence. In the article about the Effects of Exercise

Training in Patients with Congestive Heart Failure, they did an 8 week

assessment of exercise training with patients suffering from CHF and found

that there was a significant decrease in symptoms like less dyspnea and less

fatigue. (McKelvie, R. S., K. K. Teo, N. McCartney, D. Humen, T. Montague,

and S. Yusuf. "Effects of Exercise Training in Patients with Congestive Heart

Failure: A Critical Review.")

I have watched my grandma go through CHF and suffer from fatigue,

breathing problems, nausea, etc. Being overweight, and not controlling her

diet hasnt benefited her with her CHF. She has been hospitalized many

times for water retention because she will stop taking her diuretics for the

main cause of having to use the bathroom too much. Although her age and

other health problems have contributed to her decline, CHF is something she
 7

struggles with on a daily basis. It takes all of energy to do simple tasks as

getting out of bed, getting dressed, making breakfast, etc.

Heart failure is something that can be treated in order to slow

progression. The best thing with CHF patients is early diagnosis to be able to

treat the underlying problem is a significant help. Early diagnosis may help to

prevent future needed hospitalizations and problems. As I have researched

and learned more about CHF and other heart failure problems, it makes me

more aware of the causes and ways to prevent it. I am able to control my

health at a young age and throughout my life to hopefully prevent myself

from getting CHF, and potentially going through those health issues.

Works Cited

"Heart Failure Causes." Mayo Clinic. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2017.

"Heart Failure Symptoms." Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic Staff... N.p., n.d.
Web. 04 Apr. 2017.
 8

"Heart Failure Treatment." UCSF Medical Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr.
2017.

Jones, Steven, M.D. "Congestive Heart Failure: Prevention, Treatment

and Research." Congestive Heart Failure: Prevention, Treatment and
Research. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2017.

McKelvie, R. S., K. K. Teo, N. McCartney, D. Humen, T. Montague, and S.

Yusuf. "Effects of Exercise Training in Patients with Congestive Heart
Failure: A Critical Review." Journal of the American College of
Cardiology. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 01 Mar. 1995. Web. 04
Apr. 2017.

"What Is Heart Failure?" What Is Heart Failure? N.p., 16 Apr. 2015. Web.
04 Apr. 2017.