Licayan Chrisele Joyce F.

BSN-II

Mrs.Pacia

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a condition in which the heart's function as a pump is inadequate to deliver oxygen rich blood to the body. Congestive heart failure can be caused by: 1. 2. 3. diseases that weaken the heart muscle, diseases that cause stiffening of the heart muscles, or diseases that increase oxygen demand by the body tissue beyond the capability of the heart to deliver adequate oxygen-rich blood. The heart has two atria (right atrium and left atrium) that make up the upper chambers of the heart, and two ventricles (left ventricle and right ventricle) that make up the lower chambers of the heart. The ventricles are muscular chambers that pump blood when the muscles contract. The contraction of the ventricle muscles is called systole.Many diseases can impair the pumping action of the ventricles. For example, the muscles of the ventricles can be weakened by heart attacks or infections (myocarditis). The diminished pumping ability of the ventricles due to muscle weakening is called systolic dysfunction. After each ventricular contraction (systole) the ventricle muscles need to relax to allow blood from the atria to fill the ventricles. This relaxation of the ventricles is called diastole.Diseases such as hemochromatosis (iron overload) or amyloidosis can cause stiffening of the heart muscle and impair the ventricles' capacity to relax and fill; this is referred to as diastolic dysfunction. The most common cause of this is longstanding high blood pressure resulting in a thickened (hypertrophied) heart. Additionally, in some patients, although the pumping action and filling capacity of the heart may be normal, abnormally high oxygen demand by the body's tissues (for example, with hyperthyroidism or anemia) may make it difficult for the heart to supply an adequate blood flow (called high output heart failure).In some individuals one or more of these factors can be present to cause congestive heart failure. The remainder of this article will focus primarily on congestive heart failure that is due to heart muscle weakness, systolic dysfunction Signs The symptoms of congestive heart failure vary among individuals according to the particular organ systems involved and depending on the degree to which the rest of the body has "compensated" for the heart muscle weakness.The early symptoms are often shortness of breath, cough, or a feeling of not being able to get a deep breath.In addition, the three major symptoms of congestive heart failure are: 1. exercise intolerance (a person may be unable to tolerate exercise or even mild physical exertion that he or she may have been able to do in the past);

Licayan Chrisele Joyce F. BSN-II

2.

Mrs.Pacia

shortness of breath (you may have difficulty breathing (dyspnea), especially when active, or even at rest); and

3.

fluid retention and swelling (edema in the legs, feet, and ankles).

4. Atrial flutter is an abnormality of the heart rhythm, resulting in a rapid and sometimes irregular heartbeat. Such abnormalities, whether in the rate or regularity of the heartbeat, are known as arrhythmias. The beating of the heart is controlled by electrical impulses. y Under normal circumstances, these impulses are generated by the heart'snatural pacemaker, the sinoatrial (SA) or sinus node, which is located in theright atrium. y y The impulse travels across the atria, generating a contraction of the atria. The impulse pauses very briefly at the atrioventricular (AV) node, which is located in the upper part of the muscular wall between the two ventricles. This delay gives the blood time to move from the atria to the ventricles. y The impulse then moves down and through the ventricles, generating the ventricular contraction, which pumps the blood out of the ventricles. Atrial flutter occurs when these electrical impulses take an abnormal path through the atria, typically circulating around the tricuspid valve in the right atrium. y The abnormal path of the impulses makes the atria contract very rapidly, typically about 250-350 beats per minute. The normal heart rate is 50-100 beats per minute. y These rapid contractions are slowed when they reach the AV node often with every second or third contraction reaching the ventricle. y y The heart beats in a regular rhythm, but it beats rapidly. This type of rhythm is called tachycardia (rapid heartbeat). Because atrial flutter comes from the atria, it is sometimes called a supraventricular (above the ventricles) tachycardia. The main danger of atrial flutter is that the heart does not pump blood well when it is beating too fast. When blood is not pumped well, vital organs, such as the heart and brain, may not get enough oxygen from the blood. Atrial flutter can come and go; it is then known as paroxysmal atrial flutter. More often, atrial flutter lasts for days to weeks and is known as persistent atrial flutter.

Licayan Chrisele Joyce F. BSN-II

Mrs.Pacia

With proper treatment, atrial flutter is rarely life- threatening. Complications of atrial flutter, in particular stroke, can be devastating, but they can be prevented with medications ("blood thinners") such as warfarin (Coumadin). Xanthopsia: A form of chromatopsia, a visual defect in which objects appear as if they have been overpainted with an unnatural color. In xanthopsia, that color is yellow. Cystic fibrosis or CF, is an inherited disease of your secretory glands, including the glands that make mucus and sweat."Inherited" means that the disease is passed through the genes from parents to children. People who have cystic fibrosis inherit two faulty cystic fibrosis genes one from each parent. The parents likely don't have the disease themselves.Cystic fibrosis mostly affects the lungs, pancreas, liver, intestines, sinuses, and sex organs.Mucus is a substance made by the lining of some body tissues. Normally, mucus is a slippery, watery substance. It keeps the linings of certain organs moist and prevents them from drying out or getting infected. However, if you have cystic fibrosis, your mucus becomes thick and sticky.The mucus builds up in your lungs and blocks your airways the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs. The buildup of mucus makes it easy for bacteria to grow. This leads to repeated, serious lung infections. Over time, these infections can severely damage your lungs. The thick, sticky mucus also can block tubes, or ducts, in your pancreas. As a result, the digestive enzymes that your pancreas makes can't reach your small intestine.These enzymes help break down the food that you eat. Without them, your intestines can't fully absorb fats and proteins. This can cause vitamin deficiency and malnutrition because nutrients leave your body unused. It also can cause bulky stools, intestinal gas, a swollen belly from severe constipation, and pain or discomfort. Cystic fibrosis also causes your sweat to become very salty. As a result, your body loses large amounts of salt when you sweat. This can upset the balance of minerals in your blood and cause a number of health problems. Examples includedehydration (a condition in which your body doesn't have enough fluids), increased heart rate, tiredness, weakness, decreased blood pressure, heat stroke, and, rarely, death. If you or your child has cystic fibrosis, you're also at increased risk for diabetes or a bone-thinning condition called osteoporosis. Cystic fibrosis also causes infertility in men, and it can make it harder for women to get pregnant. Cystic Fibrosis Symptoms The symptoms of cystic fibrosis vary from person to person and over time. Sometimes you will have few symptoms. Other times, your symptoms may become more severe.

Licayan Chrisele Joyce F. BSN-II

Mrs.Pacia

y y y y y y y y y y y y y

One of the first signs of cystic fibrosis (CF) that parents may notice is that their baby's skin tastes salty when kissed or the baby doesn't pass stool when first born. Most of the other signs and symptoms of cystic fibrosis develop later and may include: infections that block the airways that causes frequent coughing; frequent bouts of sinusitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia; pneumothorax; diarrhea; foul-smelling, greasy stools; severe constipation; pancreatitis; rectal prolapse; liver disease; diabetes; gallstones; infertility; and dehydration.

Ventricular tachycardia: An abnormally rapid heart rhythm that originates from aventricle, one of the lower chambers of the heart. Although the beat is regular, ventricular tachycardia is life-threatening because it can lead to a dreaded condition, ventricular fibrillation. In ventricular fibrillation, the ventricles beat rapidly in a chaotic, purposeless fashion. The heart cannot pump blood effectively to the body. If untreated, ventricular fibrillation can be fatal within minutes, or even seconds. An estimated 250,000 Americans die in this way each year. Ventricular tachycardia is most commonly associated with heart attacks or scarring of the heart muscle from a previous heart attack. Agranulocytosis: A marked decrease in the number of granulocytes. Granulocytes are a type of white blood cell filled with microscopic granules that are little sacs containing enzymes that digest microorganisms. Granulocytes are part of the innate, somewhat non specific infection-fighting immune system. They do not respond exclusively to specific antigens, as do B-cells and T-cells. Agranulocytosis results in a syndrome of frequent chronic bacterial infections of the skin, lungs, throat, etc. Although "agranulocytosis" literally means no granulocytes, there may, in fact, be some granulocytes but too few of them, i.e. granulocytopenia. Agranulocytosis can be genetic and inherited or it can be acquired as, for example, an aspect of leukemia. Neutrophils, eosinophils and basophils are all types of granulocytes. They are named by the staining features of their granules in the laboratory: y y y Neutrophils have "neutral" subtle granules; Eosinophils have prominent granules that stain readily with the acid dye eosin; and Basophils have prominent granules that stain readily basic (non acidic) dyes. This classification dates back to a time when certain structures could be identified in cells by histochemistry, but the functions of these intracellular structures were still not yet fathomed. However, the classification of granulocytes into neutrophils, eosinophils and basophils is still widely used (and quite useful).