Heart failure, the incidence of which is increasing day by day in Turkey, develops as a result of the heart's inability to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs and can be a cause of sudden death. Heart failure, which manifests itself with symptoms such as swelling in the feet and difficulty in breathing, can also be seen in different situations such as the weakening of the heart muscle every hour and the heart working faster than usual due to rhythm disturbance. Hisar Intercontinental Hospital Cardiology Department Specialist Prof. Dr. Mustafa Sağlam gave information about the diagnosis and treatment methods applied in heart failure.
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The most important and risky conditions underlying heart failure are cardiovascular occlusion, heart valve diseases, high blood pressure disease. and heart attacks. If dead tissue has formed due to a heart attack, heart failure is not a reversible condition. However, if there are stenosis due to vascular occlusion that does not cause a heart attack, heart failure can be treated by opening these stenosis. While continuous rapid heartbeat may cause arrhythmia and cause heart failure, the disease can still be treated when rate control is achieved.
Heart failure may occur without any symptoms.
Diagnosis can be made based on the patient's physical examination and complaints. The diagnosis of heart failure can be revealed through check-up examinations, even without any complaints from the patient. In diagnostic methods, heart failure can be diagnosed by measuring the contraction force of the heart in chest x-ray, electrocardiography (ECG) and, most importantly, heart ultrasound (echocardiography). If the contraction is weak, heart failure can be diagnosed. With echocardiography, the strength and functions of the heart muscle can be examined in detail.
It affects the right lung, while left heart failure affects the body.
When heart failure is mentioned, everyone generally thinks of left heart failure. Since the heart has difficulty in pumping blood forward in left heart failure, water accumulation in the lungs may cause complaints of shortness of breath. In the advanced stage of left heart failure, water accumulates in the lungs and the valves that pump blood to the right lung leak back, resulting in enlargement of the right heart. Along with this, complaints such as congestion in the liver and swelling in the legs may occur.
However, even if the patient does not have left heart failure, right heart failure may also occur if the lung blood pressure is very high due to lung diseases such as COPD. In right heart failure, water accumulation is seen in the body, called edema, which is more noticeable in the veins of the legs, abdomen and neck. Left heart failure can occur together with right heart failure. If left heart failure is not intervened, it can lead to right heart failure over time.
The recovery rate increases with early diagnosis.
In general, early diagnosis and regular treatment are of great importance in heart failure. Heart failure is a disease whose course can be normalized and life-threatening risks can be minimized with treatment. The chance of recovery is high if the disease is diagnosed at an early stage. However, in heart failure diagnosed very late, recovery can be achieved depending on the damage it causes to the heart. When right heart failure occurs due to left heart failure, the treatment method used for left heart failure can be applied. However, if the patient's left heart is preserved and right heart failure develops due to lung disease, the treatment method may differ. Although edema and dehydration treatment method is applied, it may require treatments such as treatment of lung disease that causes right heart failure and adjustment of heart rate.
If the diet is not changed, the disease may recur.
A person with heart disease should definitely adopt a diet low in salt. After treatment, salty foods such as olives, pickles and cheese can cause heart failure again due to an increase in blood pressure and an increase in the pre-workload of the heart. Smoking and alcohol use should definitely be stopped, if there is excess weight, weight should be lost with a balanced diet and fluid intake should be restricted due to edema in the body. It is also recommended that sick people exercise at a gentle pace after treatment, without getting tired.
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