Heart Failure

Heart failure affects more than five million Americans. Heart failure occurs when the heart can no longer pump blood efficiently to the body’s other organs, resulting in those organs failing as well. This can lead to the development of some or all of the following symptoms: fatigue, swelling in the feet, ankles, or abdomen, shortness of breath, and/or cough. Those at risk include diabetic patients, patients with high blood pressure, and patients with a history of heart attack.

Dilated Cardiomyopathy
Dilated cardiomyopaty is when your heart’s main pumping chamber (the left ventricle) becomes enlarged and can’t pump blood to your body as well as it should, it’s called dilated cardiomyopathy. It is a common cause of heart failure, since the heart can’t pump enough blood to supply the body’s tissues and organs. Left untreated, dilated cardiomyopathy can lead to death.Symptoms can include shortness of breath, even when you’re just lying down, reduced ability to exercise, persistent coughing or wheezing, lightheadedness, dizziness or feeling faint, swelling of the legs, ankles and feet, sudden weight gain, difficulty concentrating or decreased alertness and palpitations of the heart.
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Chronic Heart Failure
Chronic Heart failure occurs when then heart’s pumping power is weaker than normal. Since an inadequate amount of blood is being pumped through the heart and body, your heart has to work harder. As a result, the heart becomes dilated in order to hold more blood or the chambers become stiff. This allows the heart to compensate in the short term, but in time, the heart simply can’t keep up. Heart failure can be caused by heart valve disease, a heart attack, diseases that directly affect the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy0, or certain conditions that overwork the heart, including high blood pressure (hypertension), kidney disease or valve disease. Symptoms can include congested lungs, fluid and water retention, weight gain (from the retention of water), bloating in the stomach, loss of appetite or nausea, swollen ankles or legs, dizziness, fatigue or weakness and rapid or irregular heartbeats.
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Heart Transplant
In 2008, Florida Hospital was awarded a Certificate of Need by the State of Florida to establish a heart transplantation program to serve the Central Florida community. Florida Hospital has more than 35 years of experience in bone marrow and organ transplantation with excellent clinical outcomes. Heart (and lung) transplantation is a natural outgrowth of that experience. The Florida Hospital Cardiovascular Institute works closely with the Florida Hospital Transplant Center to provide heart transplantation services. To learn more about the Transplant Center and their team, click here. When a heart transplant is performed, it does not guarantee success. The heart can still fail, largely because the body’s immune system is designed to defend against foreign bodies, which can include a transplanted heart. When heart failure occurs following a transplant (the five year survival rate is still less than 50%), it is usually because the body has rejected the organ and that efforts to suppress the immune system through medication has either failed or the body has created its own blockage of blood vessels to the new heart, something akin to scar tissue.
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