Heart failure is a serious condition that develops over time and affects approximately 5 million Americans and results in about 300,000 deaths each year, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. In heart failure, the heart's ability to pump blood to the rest of the body declines. Heart failure patients experience symptoms that negatively impact their daily life, which typically results in them being prescribed medicine and in severe cases undergoing surgery.
Shortness of Breath
You start having trouble breathing when doing physical activities such as exercising or climbing the stairs due to fluid leaking from your pulmonary veins into your lungs. Over the years you may begin to have trouble breathing during everyday activities such as showering, walking or doing laundry.
Fatigue
Your heart cannot pump an efficient amount of blood to the rest of your body, so less blood goes to your limb muscles, causing you to feel tired and more fatigued, especially with activities that make you short of breath.
Persistent Cough
The leakage of fluid from your pulmonary veins causes fluid buildup in your lungs, resulting in you having a cough that will not go away. Your cough may happen more frequently at night when you are lying down and may accompany pink, foamy mucus.
Edema and Weight Gain
Your body has trouble returning blood to your heart causing swelling (a buildup of fluid) in certain tissues, commonly your hands, legs, ankles or feet. This extra fluid accumulates rapidly, causing you to suddenly gain weight.
Medication
You may be prescribed a combination of medications depending on your symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic. Some common drugs taken for heart failure and how they work:
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are a drug that widens your blood vessels to improve your blood flow so your heart doesn't have to work as hard. ACE inhibitors prevent salt and water retention, decreasing your symptoms of edema and weight gain.
Digoxin helps your heart to produce more forceful contractions, supplying your body with more blood. Digoxin tends to slow your heart rate and improve your symptoms. Digoxin aids in living with heart failure.
Diuretics allow you to excrete extra water accumulation in your body by having you urinate more frequently. Diuretics decrease your symptoms of swelling, weight gain and shortness of breath. Your doctor will monitor your magnesium and potassium levels through blood samples if you are taking diuretics.
Surgery
Your physician may recommend surgery to treat underlying problems of heart failure, according to the Mayo Clinic. Common surgery procedures for the treatment of heart failure:
Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) monitors your heart rhythm and shocks your heart when it begins to go into a dangerous rhythm. The ICD is implanted under your skin and is attached to your heart by wires. ICD may be used in combination with biventricular pacing. Biventricular pacing sends timed electrical impulses to your ventricles (the lower chambers of your heart) so they contract at the same time in a coordinated manner.
The last treatment option is a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). An LVAD is an implantable mechanical device that is placed inside your abdomen and attaches to your heart. The LVAD aids in pumping blood to the rest of your body.
