Heart Failure - Types, Symptoms, and Treatment

Our heart is a primary organ responsible for proper blood flow throughout the body. A malfunction in the heart’s systolic and diastolic activity can result in what we call a heart failure or cardiac arrest.

On that note, let's look at the types, symptoms and treatment for heart failure.

What Is Heart Failure?

Heart failure refers to the state when the organ stops performing normally.

The organ compensates for this inability to pump blood by performing either of these three actions -

Dilating the heart’s left ventricle by accumulating more blood.
Developing more muscle mass to help the heart pump more strongly.
Pumps faster to increase the heart's output.

The body may also try other methods to cope with this problem -

Blood vessels narrow and keep the pressure up.
The body diverts blood away from the less important tissues and organs.

It is for this reason that people are unaware of the heart’s condition until it has progressed considerably. Most patients don’t consult a healthcare professional until common symptoms like fatigue and breathlessness show up.

What Are the Types of Heart Failures?

A cardiac arrest can concern either the left side or the right side of the heart. Heart failure is also classified as systolic or diastolic.

Below is a look at the types of heart failure -

Left-sided Heart Failure: This is the most typical type of heart failure that occurs when the left ventricle ceases to pump blood efficiently. It leads to a build-up of fluid in the lungs and causes shortness of breath.
Right-sided Heart Failure: The heart’s right ventricle is responsible for pumping blood to your lungs. The failure occurs when it can't pump blood effectively, mostly after a left-sided heart failure. Accumulation of blood in the left lung causes the right ventricle to work harder, causing stress and failure.
Diastolic Heart Failure: This type of heart failure occurs when the heart muscles become stiffer because of any heart disease. Consequently, the heart is unable to pump blood properly throughout the body. Also known as diastolic dysfunction, this is more common in females than in males.
Systolic Heart Failure: Systolic heart failure occurs when the heart muscles lose their ability to contract. Known as systolic dysfunction, it is more common in males.

Both systolic and diastolic heart failure can occur on the left or the right side of the heart.

What Are the Symptoms of Heart Failure?

The most common symptoms of heart failure are -

A loss of appetite
Abdominal swelling
Fatigue
Heart palpitations
Irregular heart rate
Leg and ankle swelling
Persistent coughing
Protruding neck veins
Shortness of breath
Sudden weight gain

What Are the Risk Factors Associated With Heart Failure?

Coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, and heart attack are some common risk factors associated with heart failure.

Below is a list of risk factors for cardiac failure.

Age: Possibility of cardiac failure increases with age. People above the age of 64 are more at risk for heart failure.
Congenital Heart Disease: Some people developing heart diseases were born with conditions that put them at risk of cardiac failure.
Coronary Artery Disease: Narrowed arteries may cause less oxygen-rich blood to flow through the arteries, resulting in weakened heart muscles.
Diabetes: People with diabetes may have coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and kidney failure. All three put one at risk for heart failure. Moreover, intake of particular medicines for diabetes including Rosiglitazone and Pioglitazone may worsen or cause heart failure.
Ethnicity: African-American people are more likely to experience cardiac failure before 50 and die from it.
Family History and Genetics: People with cardiomyopathies are at an increased risk for this condition.
Gender: Men are at higher risk for heart failure, but women are more likely to experience diastolic heart failure.
Heart Attack: Damage to the heart’s muscles from a sudden attack can cause this condition when your heart is no longer capable of pumping blood as well as it should have.
Heart Valve Disease: If there is a pre-existing issue with the valves of your heart, it raises the risk for this condition.
High Blood Pressure: Heart muscles have to work harder in case a person has high blood pressure. Therefore, they are at risk for this condition.
Irregular Heartbeats: Abnormal rhythms of the heart, especially if they are frequent, put you at risk for this condition.
Lifestyle Factors: Smoking, drinking, drug abuse or a sedentary lifestyle are some of the risk factors of this condition.
Obesity: Obesity is a risk factor, especially in women.
Sleep Apnea: People with sleep apnea have a higher chance of heart failure as the organ has to work doubly hard.
Viruses: Certain infections from viruses can cause this condition

How Is Heart Failure Diagnosed?

There are multiple ways in which doctors diagnose heart failure. These are -

1. Physical Exam

The doctor may examine you physically for any of the following -

Leg swelling
Irregular heart rate
Bulging neck veins

Any of these symptoms indicate you may have heart failure.

2. Echocardiogram

An echocardiogram uses sound waves to form an image of your heart. It gives doctors a fair idea of the condition of your heart.

3. Blood Tests

Blood tests can tell if anything is wrong with your heart or if you have any other heart-related illnesses.

4. Electrocardiogram

An electrocardiogram measures the electrical signals generated from your heart to ascertain if anything is wrong with it.

5. Breathing Tests

Moreover, doctors conduct breathing tests to diagnose if the lungs are performing correctly or not. Some of these tests include spirometry and a peak flow test.

6. Chest X-ray

Chest x-rays check for fluid in your lungs, whether your heart is more enlarged than usual or whether some lung condition is the cause behind any symptoms.

How Is Heart Failure Treated?

The primary goal of treating heart failure is to increase a person's life span. Here are some of the treatment methods of heart diseases.

Medication

You can consume some of the below mentioned medicines as a part of the treatment for cardiac failure.

Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBS)
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
Beta-blockers
Blood thinners
Calcium channel blockers
Cholesterol-lowering medications
Nitrates

Surgery

Doctors may suggest any of the following surgeries to treat and prolong the lifespan of the patient.

Bypass Surgery: A healthy piece of the artery will be attached to a blocked one to divert blood flow. This is known as coronary bypass surgery.
Angioplasty: A blocked artery is opened with a catheter attached to a small balloon. A stent or mesh is then attached to your blocked artery to keep it permanently open for better blood flow in angioplasty.
Pacemakers: Those with irregular heart rhythms require a pacemaker to make the heartbeat regular. It is a small device attached to the organ.
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD): This small device helps detect irregular heartbeats and shocks the organ if it detects an abnormal rhythm. Those with an ejection fraction of less than 35% require this treatment.
Transplant Surgery: This is required if all other methods are ineffective. The entire heart or a part of it will then be removed and replaced with a heart from a donor.

Frequently Asked Questions

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What are the causes of heart failure?

Most commonly, coronary artery disease causes heart failure. Other causes that put a person at risk for cardiac failure include an overactive or underactive thyroid, cardiomyopathy, a disorder of the heart muscle that causes the organ to become weak, specific cancer treatments, etc.

What are the symptoms of a heart attack?

The symptoms of a heart attack are cold sweats, crushing chest pain, discomfort in the chest, such as squeezing or tightness, discomfort in the upper body, including numbness or a coldness, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, rapid heart rate, and vomiting.