Heart Failure Part 2: Who is most at risk for heart failure?
In this second part of a two-part series on heart failure, we explore who is most at risk and new heart failure treatment options to improve quality of life with the Director of the Women’s Heart Failure Clinic at the Cleveland Clinic and Chair of the WomenHeart Scientific Advisory Council, Dr. Eileen Hsich.
Lisa Nelson RD: Who is most at risk for heart failure?
Dr. Hsich: Heart failure risk is greatest for the people who have had heart attacks. That is the most common risk factor, for both men and women. Once you’ve had a heart attack, you’re at the highest risk to have heart failure. High blood pressure is more common in women than men as the cause. So is valvular disease. Diabetes is a common risk factor for both women and men.
Lisa Nelson RD: How about in regards to age or race? Is there any predominance in one group versus another?
Dr. Hsich: Yes. Women are more likely than men to develop heart failure due to high blood pressure and valvular disease, and develop it at older ages, as well as with stronger hearts. Men tend to develop heart failure with weaker hearts, younger ages and due to heart attack.
Patients who are African American often have high blood pressure as the underlying cause. They can develop heart failure with a weak heart or a strong heart. High blood pressure is often the underlying cause. I always refer to it as the silent killer. None of us can feel our blood pressure. It’s really important that we get checked. Diabetes is also something that you don’t necessarily know until you get checked.
All You Need To Know About Living With Heart Failure
Guest post provided by registered nurse Lydia Nabwami.
Being diagnosed with heart failure can be frightening for you and your loved ones. To many people, the word heart failure sounds like the heart no longer works or having a broken heart and life coming to an end. It can raise all sorts of questions about what you can and can’t do and what your future is going to be like. However, having heart failure means that for some reason your heart is not pumping enough blood around the body to meet the body’s demands for blood and oxygen.
Why Heart Failure Happens
The most common reason heart failure occurs according to British Heart Foundation (BHF) is because your heart muscle has been damaged. Examples of how your heart becomes damaged are, after a heart attack and other heart conditions such as coronary artery disease and high blood pressure.
Symptoms of Heart Failure
Living with heart failure, you will experience the following symptoms:
- Shortness of Breath – You will have shortness of breath during everyday activities like walking, while at rest or sleeping which may be sudden and wake you up. You will often feel anxious and restless and have difficulty breathing while lying flat. To help this, you can to prop up the upper body and head on two pillows. Shortness of breath happens because the heart can’t keep up with the supply of blood, therefore, it causes fluid to leak into the lungs. If this fluid is left unmanaged, it can build and spread to your stomach area and sit beneath your lungs. This reduces the lung’s ability to expand and makes you short of breath.
- Swelling of your extremities- Swelling of your feet, ankles, legs, stomach, lower back areas and weight gain are not uncommon symptoms. Swelling happens because as blood flows out of the heart, it slows down. The blood coming back to the heart through the veins backs up causing fluid to build up in the body tissues.
- Generalized weakness- You may feel unusually tired or weak most times and find it difficult with everyday activities such as walking, climbing stairs, shopping. Weakness happens because the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet all the needs of the body tissues. The body diverts blood away from less vital organs, particularly muscles in the limbs, and sends it to the heart and brain.
Managing Heart Failure
Heart failure is a long-term condition, and usually, there’s no cure. You can do a few things to help cope with the condition.
- Learn how to manage symptoms – The best thing you can do is to learn how to manage your symptoms and keep your condition under control. Symptom management is different for everyone but will help you do many of the things you enjoy in life.
- Find Support in Family and Friends – It’s helpful to have the support of family and friends who understand your condition. Talking openly and honestly to them about how you feel can be a great source of both practical and emotional support that can help you all move forward.
- Take your Medicine as Prescribed – The British Heart Foundation recommends managing your heart failure medication as prescribed to control your symptoms.
- Make Small Changes – BHF also recommends making some small changes in life and coming to terms with these changes. For example, getting some help with housework, changing jobs to something suitable for you will help you feel more in control and make your health your number one priority.
Heart failure is a very frightening heart condition with various unpleasant symptoms. Getting organized, coming to terms with the condition and taking control of your heart condition are very important factors in managing heart failure.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Will a Checklist Reduce your Risk of Being Readmitted to the Hospital?
Do you go to your doctor’s appointment with a checklist? Creating a checklist is an easy way to go prepared and ensure you go home with what you need to know.
A small study was conducted on patients admitted to the hospital for heart problems. Half the patients went through a 27 steps checklist prior to discharge, while the other half received standard discharge instructions.
So in this study, this was a checklist DOCTORS used to ensure they covered everything prior to discharging a patient. The checklist served as a reminder to doctors and prompts them to be sure and cover things like medication recommendations, diet instructions, warning signs to watch for, referrals to other health professionals if applicable, and so on.
The study found those who were discharged using the checklist were more likely to take their medications as prescribed. For patients discharged with doctors utilizing the 27 step checklist, only 2% were readmitted to the hospital within one month. For the other patients that were discharged without the checklist, 20% found themselves readmitted to the hospital within a month.
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Prevent Heart Failure with Lifestyle Changes
The way you choose to live, impacts your risk for disease. A new study published in the September issue of Circulation: Heart Failure has found that not smoking, losing weight, being active, and eating a diet high in vegetables may decrease your risk for heart failure.
Heart failure is the condition where the heart becomes weakened and does not pump blood and oxygen throughout your system effectively.
Researchers followed over 18,000 men and close to 20,000 women in Finland. Participants ranged in age from 25 to 74 years-old and were followed for about 14 years. During this 14 year time period, 445 women and 638 men developed heart failure.
Smoking and Excess Weight Increase Heart Failure Risk
Researchers concluded that men who smoked were at an 86 percent increased risk of heart failure compared to non-smokers. For women the risk increased 109 percent for smokers.
Metabolic Syndrome Bigger Problem for Heart Disease Than Obesity
A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology has found individuals with a healthy weight and metabolic syndrome are at increased risk of heart failure when compared to overweight individuals that are metabolically healthy.
Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is the name given to a group of risk factors that increase your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
Here are the five conditions considered risk factors for metabolic syndrome:
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Heart Failure and Statin Drugs
The type of heart failure you have may determine the effectiveness of a statin medication.
Types of Heart Failure
Systolic heart failure is when the heart does not contract forcefully enough to pump blood out of the aorta and into circulation.
Diastolic heart failure is when the heart does not relax properly to allow an adequate volume of blood to fill the left ventricle.
Statin Drug Treatment and Potential Complications
