What Causes Heart Failure?
Heart failure is most often caused by other conditions, such as atherosclerosis or coronary artery disease (CAD), a heart attack, high blood pressure, problems with the heart valves, genetics, and drug, alcohol, or drug abuse. Sometimes the damage occurs for no known reason. This is called idiopathic cardiomyopathy (idiopathic means "no known cause") and many of them find that heart failure is inherited.
Risk factors for heart failure
Unrecognized or untreated health problems will increase your
lifetime risk of developing heart failure. Some of these disease includes:
Coronary artery diseases (the most common type of heart
disease) and heart attacks
Arterial hypertension
Diabetes
Obesity
Unhealthy behaviors can also increase your risk of heart
failure, especially for people with any of the conditions listed above.
Unhealthy behaviors include:
Smoking or using tobacco
Use of illegal drugs, such as methamphetamines or even heavy
alcohol use.
Eat foods high in fat, cholesterol, and sodium.
Not getting enough physical activity
Treat heart failure
Early diagnosis and treatment can improve the quality and
length of life for people with heart failure. Treatment generally involves
taking medications, participating in daily physical activity, and reducing the
salt or sodium you eat in your diet. People with heart failure need to monitor
their weight and symptoms every day so that they can discuss these symptoms
with their healthcare team.
Managing heart failure is a treatment strategy that can
improve your heart function, reduce your symptoms, and prolong your life. The
strategy combines several treatments, including lifestyle changes, medications,
and cardiac interventions.
The past two years have been thrilling for new drugs to be
offered to patients with heart muscle weakness. These are in addition to our
other proven medications that can actually help improve heart function in many
people, reduce hospital admissions, and improve heart failure survival.
The newer combination drug called sacubitril-valsartan
(called RNAI, ARB with a neprilysin inhibitor) has been studied and shown to
improve outcomes in patients with weak heart muscle when drugs such as
lisinopril (an ACE inhibitor) are replaced. ) or losartan (an ARB or
angiotensin). Receptor blocker). Another commonly known medication for treating
diabetic patients called dapagliflozin (a gliflozin) has been shown to improve
outcomes in patients with heart muscle, even without diabetes, when used in
combination with other medications. For patients whose heart muscle has a
reduced ejection fraction (EF <40%), quadruple therapy is recommended:
A beta blocker (carvedilol or metoprolol succinate)
An aldosterone antagonist (spironolactone or eplerenone)
An SGLT2 inhibitor (dapagliflozin)
Some heart failure patients may need surgery or procedures
to open blocked heart arteries or open heart surgery. They may need heart valve
repair or replacement. Many often need procedures to help reduce abnormal heart
rhythms. Some patients with advanced heart failure may need a heart transplant
or a mechanical heart pump.
Living with heart failure
There are five things that patients diagnosed with heart
failure should do at home every day to manage their heart failure. The
following acronym for MAWDS can help you remember, and follow, these basic
steps:
Medications: Take your medication as prescribed by
your doctor and cardiac care team, let them know if you cannot tolerate your
medications and if they run out.
Activity: Be active every day, do what you can to
keep your body strong.
Weight - Weigh yourself every day, recognize when weight
changes mean you are retaining more fluid.
Diet: Follow your diet, that is, low in salt (<2
grams per day) and limit water intake (<2 liters per day).
Symptoms: Recognize
your symptoms and know when to call for help.
