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.

Surgery

In some cases, your doctor may recommend surgery to treat the problems that are causing your heart to fail. This can include heart valve repair or replacement, or coronary bypass surgery to treat congestive heart failure. This procedure uses blood vessels harvested from other parts of the body to serve as detours around the clogged or blocked arteries. The damaged arteries are closed off once the new routes are in place and blood is flowing freely once again.

Another option is the Dor Procedure. Since 1999, the Florida Hospital Cardiovascular Institute has performed 124 such procedures, which restore a dilated, poorly functioning left ventricle to a more functional state. The technique was developed by Dr. Vincent Dor and the institute’s surgeons traveled to Italy for special training on the procedure.

In cases of severe failure that medications or surgery can’t correct, the diseased heart may have to be replaced with a donor organ during a heart transplant procedure.

Medical Management

Heart failure can be treated with medications. Your physician may also recommend nitrates for chest pains, calcium blockers to lower blood pressure and increase circulation and/or blood thinners to prevent blood clots from forming.

Following are just a few of the drugs used to treat heart failure:

ACE inhibitors: These lower blood pressure and reduce the heart’s workload. The can also reduce the effects of salt and water retention.

Angiotensin II: These work the same as ACE inhibitors but without some of the side effects.

Beta-blockers: This drug slows the heart rate and lowers blood pressure. They can also alleviate some of the symptoms of heart failure.

Digoxin: Increases the strength of the heart and slows the heartbeat at the same time.

Diuretics: These can control the build up of sodium and fluid in the body, making breathing easier.