Complications of heart failure depend on the severity of heart disease, your overall health and other factors such as your age. Possible complications can include:. The key to preventing heart failure is to reduce your risk factors. You can control or eliminate many of the risk factors for heart disease by making healthy lifestyle changes and by taking the medications prescribed by your doctor. Heart failure care at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products.
Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Overview Heart failure — sometimes known as congestive heart failure — occurs when the heart muscle doesn't pump blood as well as it should. Heart failure Open pop-up dialog box Close. Heart failure Heart failure occurs when the heart muscle doesn't pump blood as well as it should.
Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Chambers and valves of the heart Open pop-up dialog box Close. Chambers and valves of the heart A typical heart has two upper and two lower chambers.
Enlarged heart, in heart failure Open pop-up dialog box Close. Enlarged heart, in heart failure As the heart weakens, as it can with heart failure, it begins to enlarge, forcing the heart to work harder to pump blood on to the rest of the body. Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Heart failure. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Accessed Oct. Ferri FF. Heart failure. In: Ferri's Clinical Advisor Elsevier; Colucci WS. Determining the etiology and severity of heart failure or cardiomyopathy.
Evaluation of the patient with suspected heart failure. Heart failure HF. Merck Manual Professional Version. Vasan RS, et al. Epidemiology and causes of heart failure. Goldman L, et al. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. Warning signs of heart failure.
American Heart Association. Rakel D, ed. Chest pain that radiates through the upper body can also be a sign of a heart attack. If you experience this or any other symptoms that may point to a severe heart condition, seek immediate medical attention.
It can be difficult to recognize heart failure in infants and young children. Symptoms may include:. These symptoms can easily be misunderstood as colic or a respiratory infection. Poor growth and low blood pressure can also be signs of heart failure in children.
You and your doctor may consider different treatments depending on your overall health and how far your condition has progressed.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme ACE inhibitors open up narrowed blood vessels to improve blood flow. Beta-blockers decrease the work the heart has to do and can reduce blood pressure and slow a rapid heart rhythm. Beta-blockers should be taken with caution with the following medications, as they may cause an adverse reaction:. Some medications may not be listed here.
You should always consult your doctor before taking any new medications. CHF can cause your body to retain more fluid than it should. Diuretics should be taken with caution with the following medications, as they may cause an adverse reaction:. This is an abbreviated list with only the most common drug interactions. You should always talk with your doctor before taking any new medications.
Angioplasty , a procedure to open up blocked arteries, is one option. Your cardiologist may also consider heart valve repair surgery to help your valves open and close properly. As mentioned, early signs of congestive heart failure may not be very noticeable.
Here are some early warning signs to discuss with your healthcare provider:. Blood and other fluids can back up in certain areas and cause swelling edema. CHF may result from other health conditions that directly affect your cardiovascular system. When your blood pressure is higher than normal , it may lead to CHF. Hypertension has many different causes.
Among them is the hardening of your arteries, which increases pressure in the arteries. Cholesterol and other types of fatty substances can block the coronary arteries, which are the small arteries that supply blood to the heart.
This causes the arteries to become narrow. Your heart valves regulate blood flow through your heart by opening and closing to let blood in and out of the chambers. This can be a result of a heart infection or defect. While heart-related diseases can lead to CHF, there are other seemingly unrelated conditions that may increase your risk, too.
Severe infections and allergic reactions may also contribute to CHF. There are two kinds of left-sided heart failure:. Right-sided CHF occurs when the right ventricle has difficulty pumping blood to your lungs.
Blood backs up in your blood vessels, which causes fluid retention in your lower extremities, abdomen, and other vital organs. Usually, the disease starts in the left side and then travels to the right when left untreated. About 6. A report from the American Heart Association estimates that about 50 percent of people diagnosed with CHF live past 5 years. An older study showed results that some lower-risk patients who were diagnosed prior to the age of 50 had life spans of about 20 years after diagnosis.
Of these, coronary heart disease and heart attack are the most common causes. Heart failure is more common in elderly people. The survival rate for people with this disorder depends on the severity of their condition.
Most common treatments for heart failure are medications and self-managed lifestyle changes. Some less-common treatments may require insertion of implantable cardiac devices or valve replacement. The heart is a double pump made up of four chambers. Deoxygenated blood blood without oxygen from the veins enters the right upper chamber right atrium , is passed to the right lower chamber right ventricle , and then pumped to the lungs.
Oxygenated blood from the lungs enters the left upper chamber left atrium and then enters the left lower chamber left ventricle. The blood is then pumped around the body, under pressure, via arteries. This leads to increased pressure in the atria upper chambers and the nearby veins. This backlog of blood can affect the kidneys and lungs — interfering with their function and leading to a build-up of fluid oedema in the lungs, abdominal organs and legs. In some people with heart failure, rather than failed pumping of the blood from the ventricle, there is failed relaxation of the ventricle.
This can cause pressure build up and can put strain on the heart. This page has been produced in consultation with and approved by:. Aortic stenosis may be congenital present from before birth , but is often diagnosed during teenage years. Healthy eating and lifestyle changes can help to manage high blood pressure. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, can increase your risk of heart attack, kidney failure and stroke.
0コメント