A Failing Heart - Dr harold Gunatillake

A Failing Heart – Dr harold Gunatillake

Heart failure occurs when the heart is too weak or stiff to pump blood adequately throughout the body.

Promoting good health for Sri Lankans, globally When we’re born, we have a healthy heart that works well. But if we’re born with a heart problem, it can cause issues later in life. Today, we’re talking about how to keep our hearts healthy. One important thing is to stay healthy, as being overweight can put extra pressure on the heart and weaken it over time.

Being overweight also increases the risk of heart problems like heart failure. This happens because fatty tissue can build up in the heart and cause it not to work correctly. Further, the heart must pump more force to distribute blood to the extra tissues formed due to obesity.

What happens if obesity is left untreated?

Carrying extra fat leads to serious health consequences such as cardiovascular disease (mainly heart disease and stroke), type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders like osteoarthritis, and some cancers (endometrial, breast and colon).

Can an obese person live a long life?

Obesity is associated with a reduced life expectancy, mainly because obese individuals are at increased risk of so many medical complications. However, not all obese individuals are the same, and some do not have the metabolic abnormalities that often accompany obesity.

Failing heart is sometimes called congestive heart failure, although this name is not widely used now.

Heart failure does not mean your heart has stopped working. It means it needs some support to help it work better.

It can occur at any age but is most common in older people.

Heart failure is a chronic condition that gradually worsens over time. Early detection and intervention can help restore normal heart function. When detected late, still with medication, the heart can be kept functioning poorly, and symptoms can be controlled for many years. Please avoid getting into that stage, as you may feel that life is not worth living.

So, this presentation will help you to get sufficient knowledge to prevent such an eventuality.

Now, how do we know that you are getting into heart failure in the early stages? Breathlessness would be one of the earliest symptoms, at rest or after activity.

Why do you get breathless at this stage?

If your heart isn’t pumping enough oxygen-containing blood around the body, your body responds by breathing faster to try to get more oxygen into your body, making you feel short of breath. You may feel lightheaded or fainting.

With further neglect of the cause, you may get early pitting oedema around your ankles, spreading onto the lower part of your legs. Some people also experience other symptoms, such as a persistent cough, a fast heart rate and dizziness.

Symptoms can develop quickly in the condition called acute heart failure or gradually over weeks or months, and then we call it chronic heart failure.

Now, how do you stop shortness of breath with heart failure? Doing these things can help you breathe more easily:

Eat a healthy diet and don’t use salt (sodium). … Pay attention to what your body is telling you. …

Weigh yourself. Sleep with a few pillows propped behind your head and shoulders.

…Take your heart failure medicines as prescribed. Pay attention to the swelling of your feet.

How do you know if your shortness of breath is heart-related?

In the early stages of heart failure, you may have trouble breathing after exercise, getting dressed, or walking across a room. But as the heart weakens, you may feel breathless even when lying down. See your doctor if that’s happening to you. They can recommend medicines and treatments that can help.

What is one of the last signs of congestive heart failure? These are the common symptoms of end-stage heart failure: Pain, breathlessness on minimal exertion or at rest.

Persistent cough. fatigue (extreme tiredness), limited physical activity, depression and anxiety, constipation, loss of appetite and nausea (feeling sick)

During the last phase of Congestive Cardiac Failure, that is, the last 48 hours of life, what are the symptoms to expect?

Two hundred consecutive hospice patients were studied. The incidence was noted of pain, dyspnea, moist breathing, nausea and vomiting, confusion, restlessness, jerking and twitching, difficulty in swallowing, incontinence and retention of urine, sweating, moaning and groaning, and loss of consciousness.

So, viewers, you need to know these symptoms during the last 48 hours and attempt to obtain proper treatment to prevent such a situation.

Further causes of congestive heart failure are:

High levels of cholesterol and triglyceride in the blood. High blood pressure. Poor diet. A sedentary lifestyle.

Diabetes. Smoking. Being overweight or obese, as mentioned earlier, and stress.

The most common cause of CCF is ischaemic heart disease. Other common causes include hypertension, heart valve disease and cardiomyopathy. Tests needed to assess CCF include x-rays, echocardiography, ECG, coronary angiography and others.

Hypertension remains a significant risk factor for the development of congestive heart failure CHF), with various mechanisms contributing to both systolic and diastolic dysfunction. The pathogenesis of myocardial changes includes structural remodelling, left ventricular hypertrophy, and fibrosis.

So, keep your blood pressure regular to avoid heart failure.

There is mounting evidence that chronic kidney disease itself is a significant contributor to severe cardiac damage and, conversely, that congestive heart failure is a major cause of progressive chronic kidney disease.

So, in early CHF, you need to check your blood creatinine level and eGFR to check whether there are early signs of chronic kidney failure.

Can diabetes cause CCF?

The longer you have diabetes, the higher your chances of developing heart disease and, over time, heart failure. Diabetes is a significant risk factor for heart failure, but

it works the other way, too — heart failure can be a risk factor for diabetes. So, if you have diabetes, check your blood test, HbA1C, every three months, and keep it below seven units.

So, viewers, I hope this video article will help you keep your ticker working well until the last moment of your life. Stay safe, Goodbye until we meet again.