Understanding Heart Failure

Your Heart is a Muscle

Your heart is a muscle that pumps oxygen rich blood throughout your body. When you have heart failure, it means that your heart muscle doesn’t pump as much blood to meet your body’s blood and oxygen needs. Heart failure does not mean that your heart has stopped beating. It means that your heart isn’t pumping as well as it should.

When you have heart failure, your body will try to make up for your heart’s decreased ability to pump. It may do such a good job in the beginning that you don’t notice you have a disease. Over time, however, your body will be unable to keep up and you will experience symptoms from heart failure. These are some ways your body can make up for the decrease in blood pumped from the heart:

• The heart muscle gets bigger.
• The heart pumps faster to get more blood into the body.
• Your body will hold onto (retain) salt and water to increase the amount of fluid in the blood.

Causes of Heart Failure

Heart failure is common, affecting about 6.2 million adults in the United States. Heart failure occurs from different conditions that cause damage to the heart, including:

• Heart attack
• High blood pressure
• Coronary artery disease
• Diabetes
• Chemotherapy
• Heart problems you were born with
• Alcohol and recreational drugs (i.e., methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin)
• Infection of a heart valve
• Infection or inflammation of the heart muscle
• Fast, slow or irregular heart rhythms, including the common heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation

Types of Heart Failure

There are two different types of heart failure (see image below). The left ventricle is the last place where the blood goes in the heart, just before the heart pumps that blood into the rest of the body. When this part of the heart does not work properly, it can affect how much blood your heart pumps out with each beat. Your healthcare team measures how much blood is pumped out as a percentage called the “ejection fraction.”

Symptoms of Heart Failure

You will work closely with your healthcare team to manage symptoms from heart failure. Symptoms occur because of  the damage to the heart and  the buildup of fluid in the body. This can affect your breathing, energy levels and your ability to do your daily activities.

There is no cure for heart failure, but there are many treatment options. Your healthcare team will work with you on a plan that can help you feel better, live longer  and have a more active life.

HEART FAILURE SYMPTOMS INCLUDE:

Short of breath or trouble breathing

Feeling tired when you do everyday activities, such as getting dressed or walking across a room

Swelling in ankles, feet, legs or stomach

Weight gain from the extra fluid in your body

Cough or shortness of breath that gets worse when lying down

Feeling bloated or less hungry

Dizzy or feeling faint