CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE (CHF)
If you have been diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), you may be wandering what it means and how it will affect your life, don't worry. This information will help you better understand the disease and how to manage it. CHF is another name for heart failure This does not mean that the heart has stopped working, but it is not working as well as it should.
The heart is a muscle which pumps blood throughout the body. The heart is made of four chambers and is divided into right side and left side. Veins takes blood without oxygen to the right side of the heart, which pumps it to the lungs to get fresh oxygen. After going through the lungs, the oxygen-rich blood goes to the left side of the heart and is pumped out to the body.
Heart failure can be right sided, left sided, or both and it usually happens over time. The heart becomes weak and does not pump blood very well. If the right side of the heart is weak, the heart is getting more blood back from the body than it can pump to the lungs. The fluid back up into the body tissues causing edema (swelling) in the feet, legs, liver, kidneys and abdomen. Also if the left side of the heart is weak, the blood can back up into the lungs. This can cause shortness of breath and dry hacking cough.
Heart failure can be cause by high blood pressure ( hypertension), coronary artery disease( CAD) birth defects, cardiomyopathy ( heart muscle disease), heart valve disease, infections or lung disease.
There are many sign and symptoms associated with heart failure. The important thing is to learn to pay attention to your body. When you have one or more of the following symptoms:
1. Shortness of breath at rest or when you are active.
2. Swelling on your feet, legs, ankle, or abdomen.
3. Gaining weight ( weight gain of three or five pounds in two or three days ).
4. Being very tired or weak.
5. Dry, hacking cough.
6. Waking up and feeling like you can't breath at night.
7. Loss of appetite.
8. Can't lay down flat in bed, sitting up to breath.
CHF will not go away, but it can be treated and manage with medications. The medication will help your heart pump better and keep you from getting sicker. One of the most important thing is to watch your salt intake. Too much salt can causes body to hold fluid and if the body retains fluid you gain weight. This makes the heart to work harder, also caffeine is hard on the heart and it also causes irregular heart beat. Food high in saturated fats and cholesterol can clogged the arteries and reduce blood flow to the heart.