Download A Guide to Congestive Heart Failure

A Guide to Congestive Heart Failure
May 6, 2016
Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) can be a scary and confusing diagnosis. Congestive heart failure has a number
of causes including heart attacks, infections, cardiac arrhythmias, high blood pressure and even genetics.
Once you are diagnosed with congestive heart failure it is important that you alter your lifestyle to limit the
impact that the disease has on your life. You may be stuck with congestive heart failure, but it doesn’t have
to define your life.
Let’s start at the beginning. What is Congestive Heart Failure?
Your heart is a pump. Its job is to pump old blood from your body to your lungs to be refreshed and then
to pump it once again, full of life giving oxygen, out to your body so that each and every cell can be
supplied. Congestive heart failure is the inability of the left side of your
heart to pump an adequate amount of blood out to your body. Because
your heart is weak and unable to pump all of its blood forward, some of it
backs up. Blood backs up from where it came. In the left side of your heart,
your lungs supply to be pumped out to your body. So, when your heart is
unable to pump that entire load of blood forward it backs up into your
lungs. The result is that your lungs become congested with blood and fluid.
Thus the name “congestive” heart failure. The congestion in your lungs
makes you feel short of breath. The more you exert yourself, the more
oxygen your body requires and the less able your heart it is supply it. That is why you may have a poor
tolerance of activity if your CHF is not well controlled.
Heart failure, left untreated, can cause damage to other important organs. Each and every organ in your
body requires a supply of oxygen and nutrients to do well. Your kidneys, your liver, your abdominal
organs, and even your lungs must be supplied constantly with an adequate supply of oxygen rich blood.
If your heart is unable to deliver that oxygen rich blood those vital organs will begin to fail over time.
Additional Resources:

An Overview of Heart Failure - Mayo Clinic

Different Types of Heart Failure and Their Causes

Overview of Heart Failure
Signs and Symptoms
Some of the signs and symptoms of heart failure may be easy to miss or to blame on other simpler
issues. They include:

Feeling tired more often and with less exercise

Experiencing shortness of breath with less and less exertion

Unexplained weight gain – especially the appearance of being bloated

Cough without the presence of a cold or sinus infection
Resources to help you recognize the signs and symptoms of heart disease:

Recognizing Congestive Heart Failure

Signs and Symptoms of CHF

Signs, Symptoms and Causes of CHF in Children
What Treatments are Available for Congestive Heart Failure?
Most treatment options for congestive heart failure involve the use of various medications. Your
physician will work closely with you to find the perfect combination of medications that help your heart
to work better and help your body to demand less. Managing CHF requires a delicate balance between
taking the work load off the heart and supplying enough oxygen and nutrients to the organs of the body.
There are a couple of things you can do to make that job just a bit easier for your heart. We will discuss
those a little later in the article.
There are invasive treatments for advanced congestive heart failure including heart transplantation and
even the implantation of a pump that helps the heart push the blood along, but they are beyond the
scope of this article. Let’s concentrate on some of the more common treatment options.
You may be prescribed a combination of the following medications to help with your heart failure.

Anticoagulants - (commonly known as blood thinners) – they don’t actually “thin” the blood,
but they prevent clot from happening. If your heart is not beating in an organized and strong
manner, sometimes blood can remain in small pockets of the atrium and form blood clots. This
increases your risk of stroke or blood clots in the lungs if they were to dislodge and travel there.
If you are on a blood thinner you will most likely require regular blood tests to check your levels.
You should be careful not to injure yourself and pay attention to symptoms that may indicate
internal bleeding such as dark stools.

Antiplatelet Agents – (Plavix) these medications also help with preventing blood clotting by
inhibiting platelets that play an important role in forming blood clots.

ACE Inhibitors – Decrease the work that the heart has to do in order to pump blood around the
body. They do this by dilating (widening) the blood vessels and decreasing the resistance that
the heart has to pump against. They also help keep blood pressure under control.

Beta Blockers – used to take the “workload” off of the heart. They slow your heart rate and
decrease the strength of contraction to allow your heart to pump using less energy. These are
used to control hypertension as well.

Calcium Channel Blockers – used to decrease the work load of the heart. They are also used to
control arrhythmias (irregular heart rhythms). The most common in congestive heart failure is
atrial fibrillation.

Statins – used to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. They have also been shown to help raise
HDL (good) cholesterol levels and lower triglycerides. All patients with any type of heart disease
are generally prescribed a statin.

Digitalis Preparations – used to keep the heart rhythm regular with patients who have a
problem with atrial fibrillation along with congestive heart failure. They are also used in
advanced stages of the disease.

Diuretics – cause the body to excrete excess water. This prevents the heart from becoming
overloaded and backing up into the lungs causing symptoms of congestive heart failure,
particularly shortness of breath. In addition, they prevent the buildup of fluid in the body such
as the legs and ankles.

Vasodilators (Nitroglycerin) – is given to reduce the amount of oxygen needed by the heart
muscle and to dilate the coronary arteries to increase the amount of oxygen available to the
heart muscle. Used to treat the pain of angina.
For more information regarding medications used to treat congestive heart failure:

Common Heart Failure Medications

Why do I take all those Meds for CHF?

Additional Medication Options for CHF
Because you will be taking multiple medications at multiple times during the day it is essential that you
develop a system that works for you. Perhaps purchasing a pill box that you can fill once a week and use
each day may help. It is imperative that you be 100% compliant with your medication regimen. Each
medication is designed not only to work with your body, but to work with each other to maximize your
heart’s ability to pump blood. It can be dangerous to take your medications at wrong times or in wrong
dosages.
Keeping your Heart Failure from Progressing
There are some relatively straight forward recommendations that may help to keep your congestive
heart failure at bay. The first we have already dealt with: 100% compliance with medication.

Regular visits with both your PCP and your Cardiologist. Congestive heart failure must be
monitored closely and any changes treated promptly. You should weigh yourself at least weekly
and any 3lb weight gain should be reported to your physician. It may be a result of your body
retaining fluid.

Dietary Changes – If you are even slightly overweight, weight loss is imperative to prevent
further damage to your heart muscle. The larger your body, the harder your already damaged
heart has to work in order to supply much needed oxygen and nutrients. Even moderate weight
loss can have a large impact on your congestive heart failure management.

Exercise – can be a challenge because of the symptoms of congestive heart failure. However,
any increase in activity is of utmost importance. Simple things like parking far away from the
store instead of looking for the closest place. Walking is a great low impact exercise for patients
with congestive heart failure. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, or you don’t have a safe, level
place to walk, try the local shopping mall. Many malls open early and even place distance
markers to be used by people who utilize the mall for exercise. It’s a great way to meet people,
have some fun and stay healthy too! Just be careful not overdo it. You always have to consult
your doctor before you start exercising and more so when have CHF.

Avoid Fluid Overload – restricting fluid intake is important. Remember that too much fluid that
the heart is unable to pump forward causes symptoms of congestive heart failure. The result is
backup. It only stands to reason that if you decrease your fluid intake you can reduce the
amount of fluid that your heart has to deal with.

Salt Intake – where there is salt there is water. If you have a lot of salt in your body, you will
retain fluid. It is important to avoid foods with high salt content and to refrain from salting
foods.

Smoking – an absolute no-no!

Stay healthy – it takes a lot of energy for your body to fight off everyday illnesses like the flu
virus. Be sure to stay current on flu and pneumonia vaccinations. A respiratory disease may
cause a decompensation of your heart failure, so it's not a good idea to take the risk.

Smoking – an absolute no-no!
Additional resources to help with healthy life style changes in patient with congestive heart failure:

Lifestyle Changes for Congestive Heart Failure

Diet Recommendations for Patients with Congestive Heart Failure

Controlling Salt in your Diet - Help with Heart Failure

Activity Guidelines for Heart Failure Patients

Safe Exercise for Patients with Heart Disease
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Written by David Patterson and last updated May 6, 2016
https://www.acls.net/guide-to-congestive-heart-failure.htm