*occurs when the ‘heart’ is unable to pump sufficiently to maintain ‘blood flow’ to meet the body’s needs*
.
(signs and symptoms commonly include ‘shortness of breath’, ‘excessive tiredness’, and ‘leg swelling’)
(the ‘shortness of breath’ is usually worse with ‘exercise’, ‘while lying down’, and ‘may wake the person at night’)
(a limited ability to exercise is also a common feature)
(‘chest pain’, including ‘angina’, does not typically occur due to heart failure)
(common causes of ‘heart failure’ include ‘coronary artery disease’ including a previous ‘myocardial infarction’ (aka ‘heart attack’), ‘high blood pressure’, ‘atrial fibrillation’, ‘valvular heart disease’, ‘excess alcohol use’, ‘infection’, and ‘cardiomyopathy’ of an unknown cause)
(these cause ‘heart failure’ by changing either the structure or the functioning of the ‘heart’)
(there are two main types of ‘heart failure’: heart failure due to left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure with normal ejection fraction depending on whether the ability of the ‘left ventricle’ to contract is affected, or the heart’s ability to relax)
(the severity of disease is usually graded by the degree of problems with ‘exercise’)
(‘heart failure’ is not the same as ‘myocardial infarction’ (in which part of the ‘heart muscle’ dies) or ‘cardiac arrest’ (in which blood flow stops altogether))
(other diseases that may have symptoms similar to ‘heart failure’ include ‘obesity’, ‘kidney failure’, ‘liver problems’, ‘anemia’, and ‘thyroid disease’)
(the condition is diagnosed based on the history of the symptoms and a physical examination with confirmation by ‘echocardiography’)
(‘blood tests’, ‘electrocardiography’, and ‘chest radiography’ may be useful to determine the underlying cause)
(treatment depends on the severity and cause of the disease)
(in people with ‘chronic stable mild heart failure’, treatment commonly consists of lifestyle modifications such as ‘stopping smoking’, ‘physical exercise’, and ‘dietary changes’, as well as ‘medications’)
(in those with ‘heart failure’ due to ‘left ventricular dysfunction’, ‘angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors’ or ‘angiotensin receptor blockers’ along with ‘beta blockers’ are recommended)
(for those with severe disease, ‘aldosterone antagonists’, or ‘hydralazine’ with a ‘nitrate’ may be used)
(‘diuretics’ are useful for preventing fluid retention)
(sometimes, depending on the cause, an implanted device such as a ‘pacemaker’ or an ‘implantable cardiac defibrillator’ may be recommended)
(in some moderate or severe cases ‘cardiac resynchronization therapy’ (CRT) may be suggested or ‘cardiac contractility modulation’ may be of benefit)
(a ‘ventricular assist device’ or occasionally a ‘heart transplant’ may be recommended in those with severe disease despite all other measures)
(‘heart failure’ is a common, costly, and potentially fatal condition)
(in ‘developed countries’, around 2% of adults have ‘heart failure’ and in those over the age of 65, this increases to 6–10%)
(in the year after diagnosis the risk of death is about 35% after which it decreases to below 10% each year)
(this is similar to the risks with a number of types of cancer)
(in the ‘United Kingdom’ the disease is the reason for 5% of emergency hospital admissions)
.
(‘heart failure’ has been known since ‘ancient times’ with the ‘ebers papyrus’ commenting on it around ‘1550 BCE’)
.
.
*👨🔬🕵️♀️🙇♀️*SKETCHES*🙇♂️👩🔬🕵️♂️*
.
.
.
👈👈👈☜*“DISORDERS”* ☞ 👉👉👉
*THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM*
.
.
💕💝💖💓🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤❤️💚💛🧡❣️💞💔💘❣️🧡💛💚❤️🖤💜🖤💙🖤💙🖤💗💖💝💘
.
.
*🌈✨ *TABLE OF CONTENTS* ✨🌷*
.
.
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥*we won the war* 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥