Recognizing congestive heart failure symptoms
Symptoms of congestive heart failure, or simply symptoms of heart failure is a condition that occurs when the heart can not pump enough blood to meet the normal requirements of the tissues of the body. Congestive heart failure interferes with normal kidney function to remove excess sodium and waste from the body. Congestive heart failure can affect the right side, left side or both sides of the heart. There are many diseases that can compromise the efficiency of pumping and congestive heart failure symptoms like fatigue, decreased exercise, shortness of breath and swelling. Today, however, there are many effective measures that can be used to improve symptoms and survival of patients with renal heart failure.
While all cardiac conditions carry similar symptoms of chest pain and shortness of breath, congestive heart failure has a very specific set of symptoms and laboratory results, doctors give a solid set of tracks on which to base a definitive diagnosis.
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, along with severe edema (when the body retains fluid to the point of holding the imprint of an object that is inserted into the skin for several minutes) are usually the first symptoms pointing to congestive heart failure. Heart failure results in the heart can not pump blood efficiently throughout the body, and as a result, fluid accumulates instead of being removed and causes the body to swell like a water balloon. Non-pitting edema or fluid retention that does not have a seal, is not caused by heart failure and indicates that another diagnosis should be made. The patient may also produce a pink frothy sputum when you cough.
In addition to the symptoms associated with fluid accumulation, general weakness and malaise, especially in times of physical exertion are common symptoms patients suffering from congestive heart failure, and should not be ignored. This is due to a lack of nutrients and oxygen from the blood into body tissues, and may be in permanent damage to internal organs if they are left without these vital elements for an extended period of time. Anuria or lack of urine is also evidence of heart failure as fluid accumulates in the tissues rather than excreted normally. Patients may suffer from an altered mental status due to toxins accumulate in the body.
As soon as the doctor suspects heart failure based on physical evidence, blood samples will be sent to the laboratory. BNP or Beta-natriuretic peptide, is excellent for the detection of suspected cases of heart failure. This hormone is produced in greater quantities by the muscle failing heart as it increases the levels of liquids, with a level of between one hundred and five hundred pg / mg suggesting congestive heart failure and more than five hundred being satisfactory diagnosis, however, an elevated BNP should not be considered as sufficient evidence on which to base a critical diagnosis, as conditions, such renal failure, ventricular strain, tumors or hypoxia can also cause levels of BNP increase excessive. Arterial blood gases may be analyzed to determine the degree of hypoxemia. A decrease in erythrocyte sedimentation rate, proteinuria (protein in urine), and mild azotemia (elevated urea blood) is evident in the early mild disease. An increase in serum creatinine, hyperbilirubinemia (increased bilirubin in the blood) and dilution hyponatremia (Decreased serum sodium levels) are also evidence that the patient is suffering from an advanced case of heart failure.
Radiology can also perform imaging studies to assess the condition of the heart. A chest x-ray usually shows cardiomegaly (enlargement the heart) and pleural effusion (fluid around the heart). An echocardiogram is performed to study the internal structures of the heart to assess the presence of anomalies structural, as in the case of mitral stenosis. This provides a confirmation to determine the underlying cause of congestive heart failure, especially in suspected cases valvular heart disease.
The doctors are like detectives, that once these tests have been run to collect the pieces of evidence for form a fairly accurate picture of the patient's condition, allowing an accurate diagnosis leading to proper treatment.
Today there are many effective measures that can be used to improve symptoms and survival of patients with congestive heart failure.
About the Author
Mark has suffered with a congestive heart problem since 1994 and is now severely disabled. He now maintains a website for anyone who wants information on congestive heart problems.
More informative articles on Heart Disease are available here
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