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Congestive Heart Failure - Causes, Symptoms, Types, Stages & Treatment

It is known to all that the heart is one of the most vital organs of the human body. Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a chronic, life-threatening condition that affects the essential duty of a heart, which is pumping blood. This condition causes rapid fluid buildup in the heart, reducing the heart’s efficiency to pump blood.

Are you concerned about congestive heart failure and want to know more about it? Then, stick till the end of this article to know all its symptoms, treatment and prevention measures!

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What Causes Congestive Heart Failure?

The term heart failure might sound like the heart has stopped working. However, in reality, it means that the heart works inefficiently. This is no exception in CHF as well. The heart comprises two atria and two ventricles. While the ventricles pump blood to the body cells and tissues, the atria receive the blood and circulate it back in the other body parts. Once you develop CHF, your ventricles fail to pump enough volume of blood to your body.

There can be various causes of congestive heart failure. The following section discusses the same.

Hypertension: High blood pressure is often one of the most significant causes of heart failure. Hypertension might occur because of the hardening of your arteries. It increases pressure in the arteries, ultimately causing congestive heart failure.
Coronary artery disease: This disease affects the arteries supplying blood and oxygen to the heart. As a result of this condition, the arteries decrease blood flow to the heart muscles. As a result, the heart can starve for oxygen and nutrients if the arteries are blocked or narrowed.
Cardiomyopathy: Heart can also be damaged due to other other infections than artery or blood flow problems. Moreover, if you are addicted to alcohol or other substances, it might also end up damaging your heart, causing cardiomyopathy.
Heart attack: If your coronary artery gets blocked, it stops the blood flow to the heart muscles. It causes a heart attack. Ultimately, it damages the heart muscles, resulting in a scarred area within the heart.

What Are the Symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure?

The symptoms of congestive heart failure usually keep changing based on the stages of the disease. The following table discusses the same.

Initial Symptoms	Moderate Symptoms	Severe Symptoms
Swollen feet, ankles and legs	Coughing developed from congested heart	Rapid breathing
Weakness and fatigue	Irregular heartbeat	Chest pain
Increased urination frequency (particularly at night)	Shortness of breath	Fainting and dizziness
Unintentional weight gain	Wheezing	Skin looking blue (from lack of oxygen)

Now, if you are wondering about the symptoms of CHF in infants and children, it mainly includes the following.

Excessive sweating
Lack of appetite
Difficulty breathing

While these conditions might seem similar to respiratory infection or colic, parents should immediately take notice of these signs and visit a physician for diagnosis. Some of the early signs and symptoms of congestive heart failure include coughing, excess fluid in legs and ankles, fatigue, lack of appetite and weight gain. Anytime you see these symptoms, do not hesitate to diagnose.

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What Are the Types of Congestive Heart Failure?

Now that you know the causes of CHF, you must be curious to know the types of this disease. Generally, two types of congestive heart failure are left-sided and right-sided. The two kinds of left-sided CHF are discussed below.

Systolic heart failure: When your left ventricle fails to perform its duties efficiently, you develop this disease. It reduces the level of force in blood circulation, ultimately minimising the efficiency of the heart to pump blood.
Diastolic heart failure: When the muscles of your left ventricle become stiff, you develop this disorder. As it can no longer relax, your heart fails to fill your body with blood between the beats.

On the other hand, right-sided CHF might occur if your right ventricle cannot pump blood to your lungs. As blood backs up in your vessels, your body faces fluid retention in the abdomen and other vital organs.

What Are the Different Stages of Congestive Heart Failure?

Now that you know what congestive heart failure is, you should know its various stages. The following table will guide you regarding the stages of congestive heart failure.

Stages	Symptoms	Outlook
Class 1	You hardly experience any symptoms in this stage.	Doctors mainly suggest slight changes in your lifestyle and prescribe heart medications.
Class 2	It is comfortable initially. However, with physical activities, you might face fatigue, shortness of breath, and palpitations.	Careful monitoring is added in this stage besides lifestyle change and heart medicines.
Class 3	Physical activities are minimal, as slight movements can cause fatigue, shortness of breath, and palpitations. However, you are comfortable when at rest.	Treatment becomes more complicated in this stage. Consult with your doctor, as your condition will determine the correct procedure.
Class 4	You will hardly manage to carry out any physical activities in this stage without facing the symptoms mentioned earlier. Moreover, you can even do these while resting.	There is hardly any cure for CHF in this stage. However, you can still consult your doctor and take other opinions for proper treatment.

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Who Is at Risk of Developing Congestive Heart Failure?

Congestive cardiac failure is commonly seen in older adults, particularly those aged 65 years or above. Moreover, several disorders such as high blood pressure, thyroid disease, valve disease, kidney disease, diabetes, etc., can overwork the heart. Over time, it can end up in heart failure. Thus, people suffering from such conditions are at higher risks of developing CHF.

How Is Congestive Heart Failure Diagnosed?

For diagnosing congestive heart disease, your general physician might refer a cardiologist to handle your case after observing your symptoms. The diagnosis of congestive heart failure starts with a physical examination. The doctors will use a stethoscope to detect your heart rhythms to check irregularity possibilities. Moreover, they might suggest other tests for checking the conditions of your blood vessels, heart valves and chambers.

Blood tests: You might have to undergo blood tests for checking the possibilities of abnormal blood cells and infections. These tests include checking blood count, liver function and kidney functions. Moreover, it can also check the BNP level, a hormone that can rise with heart failure chances.
Electrocardiogram: Doctors use this to check your heartbeat and rhythm. Abnormalities such as rapid or irregular heartbeat can suggest the chances that your heart chambers are thicker than usual. It shows possibilities of a heart attack.
Chest X-ray: This is another valuable tool for diagnosing CHF. It helps assess heart size and fluid buildup within your blood vessels and lungs. Doctors suggest x-rays before starting your treatment.
Echocardiogram: Doctors use this test as a way of using sound waves to record your heart’s structure and motion. It helps them determine if you are having issues with blood flow, muscle damage or contract of heart muscles.
Cardiac catheterisation: It can show blockage of coronary arteries. Doctors will insert a small tube into your blood vessels while threading it from your upper thigh, wrist or arm.
MRI: This test is used to take a picture of your heart, both still and moving. It helps doctors understand the current state of your heart and analyse its possible damages.

What Are the Treatment Options for Congestive Heart Failure?

When diagnosed in the advanced stages, there are hardly any proper treatments for congestive heart failure. However, this disease is more curable if you start treating it from the initial stages. Doctors mainly suggest tight control on the lifestyle and medications and other monitoring.

Medication

Doctors mainly suggest Vasodilators, Diuretics and Aldosterone inhibitors for fluid retention and expanding the blood vessels. Moreover, ACE inhibitors, Digitalis glycosides and Anticoagulants are also considered effective medications for congestive heart failure. These help improve heart contractions, prevent blood clots, and improve heart functions.

Lifestyle Changes

It is a primary requirement in treating CHF. It includes the need to quit smoking and drinking. In addition, doctors will ask you to change your diet with a little to no salt for controlling blood pressure. Moreover, they can also restrict your daily fluid intake.

Surgical Procedures

Doctors prefer surgeries as a treatment of congestive cardiac failure in the most severe cases. It is used to open or bypass blocked arteries while replacing heart valves. Moreover, patients can also use a pacemaker, helping them to normalise their irregular heartbeat. Ventricular assist devices are used in some cases for heart transplantation. It is required only in the advanced stages of CHF.

How to Prevent Congestive Heart Failure?

Now that you know all about congestive heart failure, you must be curious to know how to prevent it. Doctors usually suggest the following activities which can lower the risks of developing this disease.

You should quit smoking and reduce alcohol consumption.
Maintain a balanced diet including fruits, vegetables and whole grains. In addition, you should try to avoid salt, sugar and solid fats in your daily diet.
Work on your physical activities by including at least one hour of aerobic exercise. Doctors also suggest walking, cycling and swimming for this.
Maintain a healthy weight. Often, obesity can be a significant reason behind cardiovascular diseases.
If you already have faced other heart damages, take proper consultation from your doctor regarding the preventive measures in your lifestyle.

What Is the Prognosis of Congestive Heart Failure?

Your ability to survive congestive heart failure depends on the stage at which you are diagnosed. If you can get it diagnosed early, your chances of survival will be higher. According to a 2017 review, the five-year survival rate is about 97% when diagnosed in stage A but reduces to only 20% when diagnosed in Class 4..

With the advancement of medical science, your chances of surviving this disease are also high. You can improve it with proper medication, surgery, or lifestyle changes. However, the treatment and survival largely depend on your health conditions. For instance, people with acute diabetes and blood pressure have lower survival chances.

Therefore, as you can see, congestive heart failure is a severe health concern. When fluids build up in your system, blocking the activities of the heart, you develop this disease. Doctors suggest patients get it diagnosed in the initial stages so that the treatment begins early. The survival rates are usually high when diagnosed in the early stages.

Frequently Asked Questions

All

How quickly does CHF progress?

CHF is a chronic disorder. The symptoms develop over weeks or months along with the stages.

How much water should you drink if you have CHF?

Usually, doctors suggest reducing the amount of fluid in this disease. For example, you can drink up to about 1.5 - 2 litres of water in a day.

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