All it takes is a simple trek up the stairs to have you huffing and puffing. You can’t even get relief from your shortness of breath when you lay down on your bed. It might be time for you to make a doctor’s appointment.
When you go, they tell you that your symptoms point toward heart failure. What is heart failure? The name suggests something much more lethal than it actually is.
As long as you have the right treatments, you’ll continue living a full life for years to come. Check out this heart disease information to learn what you’re dealing with and how to combat it.
What Is Heart Failure?
So, first thing’s first. What is heart failure? To sum it up, it’s a chronic condition where your heart can’t pump enough blood throughout your body.
Your essential organs can’t get the blood and oxygen they need to function. Your heart does try to make up for this in a few ways. It may make itself bigger to keep up with your body’s demand for that life-giving liquid.
It may also begin to pump faster or take blood away from organs that aren’t as critical as the others. As you can imagine, any of these things could lead to a hospital visit after a while.
Causes of Heart Failure
There are several things that can contribute to this disease. The most common one is heart disease. Having a heart attack will weaken your heart to the point of experiencing heart failure as well.
You could also have abnormal heart valves, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, or some kind of viral disease. If you smoke or use certain drugs, you increase your chances of developing this condition. In some cases, it’s a simple matter of genetics.
Symptoms to Look Out For
The good news is that it’s easy to spot the symptoms of heart failure. We went over the first sign in our opener: shortness of breath.
A few other symptoms include fatigue, lightheadedness, dizziness, and a build-up of fluid in the lungs. These problems can randomly flair up and vary in seriousness as the day goes on.
Treatment Options
After your doctor performs a few heart failure tests and confirms that you have the condition, they’ll go over the treatment options with you. Rather than surgery, the idea is to treat the symptoms. This should increase the heart’s ability to pump blood.
The main way to do this is with medications. On top of the prescription, your doctor may also suggest that you eat less salt, start exercising, and put down the cigarettes and alcohol.
Everything You Need to Know About Heart Failure
What is heart failure? Contrary to popular belief, it’s not a death sentence. As long as you follow along with your doctor’s instructions, you’ll be able to live a full life.
It also helps if you inform yourself about the condition. We hope that reading this article has helped with that. You can check out our blog for more helpful health information like what you’ve read here.
