Congestive heart failure is a typical condition which is characterized by the inefficiency of the heart muscles to pump adequate blood through the heart valves and the remaining part of the blood circulatory system. In this case, either of the ventricle or sometimes both the right as well as the left ventricle might be equally involved. As the left ventricular myocardium fails, blood usually backs up into the lungs with the increase in pressure, thus causing a shortness of breath or dyspnea, orthopnea and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea along with the accumulation of certain fluids in the lower body parts, such as the swelling of the feet, ankles and the abdomen.

 

There are many causes of severe coronary atherosclerosis, among which the ischemic myocardium that is frequently scarred by previous myocardial infarctions, acute and chronic valvular heart disease and some other cardionmyotahties are usually prominent.

 

The prognosis of congestive heart failure patients is very poor usually, and in majority of the cases, patients with severe conditions and symptoms have expired within a year. In some of the less severe cases of heart failure, 50% people die in about 3-4 years time.

 

The most important factor that determines prognosis of congestive heart failure is the function of the left ventricle, which is reflected in the individual’s left ventricular ejection fraction of the blood that is literally pumped out with every heart beat.

 

Other relevant factors that show promising prognostic value include the functional classification – electrolyte abnormalities like the lower levels of sodium in blood; increased level of plasma catachlamines; poor stress tolerance; the prominence of a trial fibrillation and also coronary artery diseases, such as etiology of heart failure.

 

Most of the patients suffering from heart failure, approximately 30% to 40% of the cases, die all of a sudden, due to ventricular arrhythmias. Furthermore, elevated heart failure is often associated with escalated incidence of the ventricular arrhythmias, which is likely to be decreased due to aggressive and successful heart failure therapy or by some preventive measure to be taken for lowering magnesium or potassium in our blood.

 

Once the patients are having symptoms of congestive heart failure, they also start suffering from moderate to severe symptoms of ventricular systolic dysfunction, which leads to an increase in the mortality rate at an average of 10% every year. Studies have revealed that the ACE inhibitor administration with enalapril or caotopril has been associated with reduced morbid events, which indicate an apparent slow down of the left ventricular dysfunction progression. This is a potential trend towards reduced mortality rate.

 

Incase of the elderly, vasodilator therapy for mild heart failure can be an appropriate option. The fall in the mortality rate with the use of vasodilator therapy accounts for subgroup of patients suffering from congestive heart failure in patients above 65 years.

 

Two beta-blockers—metropolol and bisoprolol, used for treating the condition have been proved to have significant benefits on the mortality rate and death caused by progressive heart failure. When these medications are combined with standard therapy using angiotensin-converting enzyme or ACE inhibitors and diuretics, the rate of mortality can be significantly reduced.

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Filed under: Congestive Heart Failure Signs Symptoms

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