Heart Failure

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Heart Failure

NIH - Heart Failure: Summary "Heart failure is a condition where the heart cannot pump enough blood throughout the body. ... The most common symptoms of heart failure are shortness of breath, feeling tired, and swelling in the ankles, feet, legs, and sometimes the abdomen."

NIH - Medical Encyclopedia Heart failure "The most common causes of heart failure are hypertension (high blood pressure) and coronary artery disease (for example, you have had a heart attack). Other structural or functional causes of heart failure include the following: • Valvular heart disease • Congenital heart disease • Dilated cardiomyopathy • Lung disease • Heart tumor Heart failure becomes more common with advancing age. You are also at increased risk for developing heart failure if you are overweight, have diabetes, smoke cigarettes, abuse alcohol, or use cocaine."

NHS – Heart Failure “Symptoms of heart failure The main symptom of heart failure is extreme tiredness. This happens because of a lack of blood getting from your heart to your muscles. The other symptoms of heart failure tend to differ depending upon which side of your heart has been affected. Heart failure on the left Heart failure on the left side can also make you breathless. This can happen at any time but often happens when you are active or laying in bed. During the night you may feel the need to sit up in bed or even to get some fresh air. The breathlessness can also be accompanied by a cough and a frothy spit. Heart failure on the right The main symptom of heart failure on the right side is swollen ankles and legs because of excess fluid building up in the legs. The liver and stomach can also become enlarged, due to excess fluid. Heart failure on either or both sides Other symptoms of heart failure (on either side of the heart) can include: • dizziness, • feeling sick (nausea), • constipation, and • loss of appetite.”

Highlighted Articles

[Obesity and heart failure.] (Internist (Berl). 2008) “Obesity doubles the risk of heart failure independent of comorbidities like hypertension or coronary artery disease …”

Aerobic exercise reverses signs of heart failure "In an editorial, Dr. Stanley A. Rubin, at the UCLA School of Medicine, urges caution before starting heart failure patients on an exercise training program. Rubin outlines the considerations to be taken into account when starting a patient on an exercise training program -- including pre-training evaluation, as well as the type, degree, and venue of exercise training."

Superior Cardiovascular Effect of Aerobic Interval Training Versus Moderate Continuous Training in Heart Failure Patients. A Randomized Study. (Circulation. 2007) "CONCLUSIONS: Exercise intensity was an important factor for reversing LV remodeling and improving aerobic capacity, endothelial function, and quality of life in patients with postinfarction heart failure. These findings may have important implications for exercise training in rehabilitation programs and future studies."

Antithrombotic therapy for congestive heart failure. (Int J Clin Pract. 2006)

"Aspirin may be detrimental for heart failure due to a possible interaction with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, leading to increased hospitalisations from decompensated heart failure."

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Heart Failure

General Information

NEWS:

Coenzyme Q-10 Depletion Linked to Worse Heart Failure Outcomes “Low plasma concentration of coenzyme Q-10 is an independent predictor of reduced survival in patients with chronic heart failure, according to a prospective cohort study conducted in New Zealand. Coenzyme Q-10 (CoQ-10) is "an essential cofactor for mitochondrial electron transport and myocardial energy supply," …”

Doctors Uncertain About Approaches To Care For Heart Failure Patients, Study Finds

Heart Failure Boosts Bone Fracture Risk “People with heart failure are much more likely to suffer bone fractures than other cardiac patients, in part because they're less likely to exercise, a new study says.”

Heart Failure Hospitalization Rates Rise Among Nation's Seniors “Heart failure is reaching epidemic levels among seniors in the United States, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2008. … “Because heart failure disproportionately affects the elderly, there is no doubt that the burden of heart failure will increase unless innovative strategies are implemented. The key is to prevent risk factors for the disease.” These risk factors include high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, valvular heart disease, diabetes, stroke, obesity and lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, physical inactivity and fatty food intake. Efforts also should be made to prevent chronic kidney disease and pneumonia as they contribute to heart failure as well, Liu said.“

ARTICLES:

NGC - Heart failure in adults. (2007)

JOURNAL ARTICLES:

Cardiac dysfunction and cognition in older adults with heart failure. (Cogn Behav Neurol. 2008)

Decreasing body temperature predicts early rehospitalization in congestive heart failure. (J Card Fail. 2008) “CONCLUSION: Decreasing body temperatures can predict readmission, decreased time to rehospitalization, and (in combination with hypothermia) decreased survival.”

Diabetic retinopathy and risk of heart failure. (J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008) “CONCLUSIONS: The presence of diabetic retinopathy signifies an excess risk of HF, independent of known risk factors. This further supports a contribution of microvascular disease to the development of HF in people with diabetes.”

Insomnia and chronic heart failure. (Heart Fail Rev. 2008)

Low blood pressure in the very old, a consequence of imminent heart failure: the Leiden 85-plus Study. (J Hum Hypertens. 2008) “In conclusion, among the oldest old, low systolic blood pressure correlates with low cardiac output.”

Major depression and disability in older primary care patients with heart failure. (J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol. 2008)

Nutrient intake and serum cytokine pattern in elderly people with heart failure. (Eur J Heart Fail. 2008)

Psychological predictors of prognosis in chronic heart failure. (J Card Fail. 2008)

Role of Diet and Fuel Overabundance in the Development and Progression of Heart Failure. (Cardiovasc Res. 2008) “This review discusses the effects of dietary extremes (e.g., high fat and high carbohydrate consumption) and substrate overabundance in the context of heart failure development and progression. Emerging data suggest that substrate excess leads to cardiac dysfunction and heart failure, which may be prevented or slowed by maintaining low body fat and high insulin sensitivity and consuming a diet of low glycemic load that is high in mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids.”

The emerging role of the gut in chronic heart failure. (Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2008) “PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Chronic heart failure is a multisystem disease with increased sympathetic tone, an anabolic/catabolic dysbalance, and chronic inflammation. Recent studies suggest an altered morphology, permeability, and absorption of the digestive tract in chronic heart failure. Due to nonocclusive mesenterial ischaemia and disturbed intestinal microcirculation, bacterial endotoxin is thought to enter the bloodstream through the hypoperfused, oedematous gut wall, thereby triggering an inflammatory response. Circulating cytokines act as cardiosuppressors. Their plasma levels predict increased mortality in chronic heart failure.”

The pathophysiology of acute heart failure--is it all about fluid accumulation? (Am Heart J. 2008)

The prevalence of erectile dysfunction in heart failure patients by race and ethnicity. (Int J Impot Res. 2008)

Ventricular arrhythmias in heart failure patients. (Cardiol Clin. 2008)

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