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:

Heart Failure Linked To Cognitive Impairment “Nearly half of patients with heart failure (HF) have problems with memory and other aspects of cognitive functioning, reports a new study published in the February issue of Journal of Cardiac Failure.”

New Tests Provide New Insight Into Why Patients Are In Heart Failure “Heart failure is becoming increasingly common as people survive heart attacks but live with heart muscles that are too weak to contract and/or relax properly. Blood comes into the right side of the heart from the body then to the lungs then back to the left side of the heart which pumps it out to the body. In heart failure, fluid backs up in the lungs and the rest of the body, causing swelling and making it hard to breathe. Patients often require frequent hospitalization and five-year survival rates are about 50 percent. Treatment includes lifestyle changes such as losing weight, restricting sodium and drug therapy such as diuretics, to help kidneys eliminate excess fluid and sodium.“

Waist Size Found To Be Predictor Of Heart Failure In Both Men And Women “A life-threatening condition that develops when the heart can no longer pump enough blood to meet the body's needs, heart failure (also known as congestive heart failure) is usually caused by existing cardiac conditions, including high blood pressure and coronary artery disease. Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization among patients 65 and older, and is characterized by such symptoms as fatigue and weakness, difficulty walking, rapid or irregular heartbeat, and persistent cough or wheezing. … "By any measure – BMI, waist circumference, waist to hip ratio or waist to height ratio –our findings showed that excess body weight was associated with higher rates of heart failure," explains Levitan.”

ARTICLES:

Heart Failure

JOURNAL ARTICLES:

Albuminuria in chronic heart failure: prevalence and prognostic importance (The Lancet 2009)

Brain injury in autonomic, emotional, and cognitive regulatory areas in patients with heart failure. (J Card Fail. 2009)

Chronic heart failure and the substrate for atrial fibrillation (Cardiovascular Research 2009) “Conclusion: Chronic HF causes alterations in ion channel expression and ion currents, resulting in attenuation of the APD and atrial contractility and a substrate for persistent AF.”

Daily walking performance as an independent predictor of advanced heart failure: Prediction of exercise capacity in chronic heart failure. (Am Heart J. 2009)

Depression and clinical outcomes in heart failure: an OPTIMIZE-HF analysis. (Am J Med. 2009)

Effects of Atrial Fibrillation on Long-Term Outcomes in Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure in Japan. (Circ J. 2009)

Mild Anaemia is Associated with Increased All-cause Mortality in Heart Failure. (Heart Lung Circ. 2009)

Mild hyperkalemia and outcomes in chronic heart failure: A propensity matched study. (Int J Cardiol. 2009) “CONCLUSION: Serum potassium 4-4.9 mEq/L is optimal and 5-5.5 mEq/L appears relatively safe in HF. Despite lack of an intrinsic association , the bivariate association of mild-hyperkalemia with mortality suggests that it may be useful as a biomarker of poor prognosis in HF.”

Six-minute walking test predicts long-term cardiac death in patients who received cardiac resynchronization therapy. (Europace. 2009)

Urinary Incontinence and Overactive Bladder in Patients With Heart Failure. (J Urol. 2009) “CONCLUSIONS: Urinary incontinence and overactive bladder are prevalent in patients with heart failure. Evidence of late stage heart failure, higher fatigue-depression composite and higher body mass index were associated with overactive bladder. Sex, age and diuretic use were not associated with urinary incontinence and overactive bladder.”

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