What is congestive heart failure?
Congestive heart failure occurs when your heart doesn’t pump blood as effectively as it should. In most cases, CHF is chronic and doesn’t go away, but it can be successfully managed with the right medical treatments and lifestyle changes. If these do not improve the symptoms of congestive heart failure, then other complex therapies need to be started. Treatment of congestive heart failure is usually centered around treating the symptoms, slowing the disease, and improving your quality of life.
If you have congestive heart failure, you might experience certain symptoms, such as:
- Shortness of breath, unexplained cough –usually due to fluid buildup in the lungs.
- Weakness and fatigue.
- Rapid or irregular heartbeat (palpitations)
- Decreased ability to exercise
- Increase need to urinate during the night.
- Disturbed sleep (waking up with shortness of breath, insomnia to name a few).
CHF can lead to complications. The most serious can be increased hospitalizations, increased mortality, decreased quality of life, or sudden death.
What causes congestive heart failure?
Numerous factors can cause or exacerbate congestive heart failure, such as:
- Narrowed arteries in your heart
- Coronary artery disease
- High blood pressure
- Faulty heart valves
- Damage to the heart muscle
- Myocarditis
- Heart defects
- Diabetes
Heart failure can occur in one or both sides of your heart and it usually develops following other conditions that have weakened or damaged your heart muscle.
What are the treatments for congestive heart failure?
There are a number of treatments available for congestive heart failure, ranging from medical interventions to lifestyle changes. In some patients, device therapy is needed to optimize the functioning of the heart. Dr. Chavira offers a range of solutions for congestive heart failure, including:
- Medications
- Lifestyle changes
- Nutritional counseling
- Fitness guidance.
- Stress management
- Devise therapies (pacemakers, RCT, ICD, etc.)
One way to prevent heart failure is to control the conditions that can cause CHF, such as high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, obesity, and diabetes.
Losing excess body weight can improve your heart health and lower your risks for various conditions. Dr. Chavira can work with you to determine the best way to lose weight and enhance your overall wellness. Some cases of heart failure warrant surgery to treat the underlying cause, such as repairing a heart valve or implanting a special device.
If you have concerns about your heart health, call Dr. Alberto Chavira or schedule online.
