Heart Failure or Congestive Heart Failure - Essay Example

"Heart Failure or Congestive Heart Failure" is a great example of a paper on the cardiovascular system.
Prepare a list of the clinical manifestations and complications of both acute and chronic HF; relate the symptoms to the pathophysiology of HF.

Clinical manifestations (symptoms and signs) of both acute and chronic HF include:

Fatigue (nausea); chronic coughing (wheezing); tachycardia (irregular heartbeats and/ or increased heartbeats); lack of appetite; weight gain; fluid build-up in body tissues (edema); mental confusion; Dyspnea (breathlessness)

Complications of both acute and chronic HF include:

Stroke; liver damage; kidney failure and/ or damage; Cardiac Cachexia; pulmonary edema (congestion due to fluid build-up in the lungs and the heart); Left bundle branch block (LBBB); Ventricular tachycardia; ventricular fibrillation

Present the pathophysiology of both right- and left-sided HF with the clinical manifestations associated with each; compare and contrast the pathophysiology and manifestations.

Fatigue (nausea) – Heart becomes unable to pump enough blood to the body. Due to the lack of enough blood which contains oxygen to the body, fatigue and body weakness set in.

Chronic coughing – Due to fluid build-up in the lungs which later proceeds to the heart, an individual experiences chronic coughing and/ or wheezing. In some instances, the phlegm is accompanied by bloodstains.

Tachycardia – Systolic Heart Failure causes the left ventricle muscles to become weak. In turn, the muscles may get worked up trying to pump more blood to the veins. This leads to irregular heartbeats due to the urge to pump more blood to the body.

Lacks of appetite – Due to fluid build up in the liver as well as the digestive system; blood is not supplied as required. As such, an individual may feel satisfied even when hungry.

Weight gain – Fluid build-up leads to rapid weight gain.

Fluid build-up in body tissues (edema) – Since heart failure leads to kidney complication, the kidneys release hormones that cause water and salt preservation in the body. As such, these substances lead to swelling of body parts such as ankles, legs etc.

Mental confusion – Substances such as sodium when in excess can cause memory loss. In addition, the lack of enough blood to the brain can lead to mental confusion or memory loss.

Dyspnea (breathlessness) – When the heart muscles (either left or right) fail to pump enough oxygenated blood to the body and lungs, breathlessness is experienced.

Identify and present the rationale and measures that improve left ventricular (LV) function through the following components: decreasing intravascular volume, decreasing venous return, decreasing afterload, improving gas exchange, improving cardiac function, and reducing anxiety.

Decreasing intravascular volume status: This is a decrease of blood component – plasma. This has its benefits such as the improvement of the LV function where blood circulation in the body is monitored and regulated. This measure is different from that of depletion of intravascular volume which may lead to severe conditions such as fast pulse rates etc.

Decreasing venous return: This will lead to a reduced pre-load on the LV, as such; it will lead to a decrease in the cardiac output. The consequence of this is reduced blood pressure levels which could lead to cardiogenic shock in extreme cases.

Decreasing afterload: When the after-load is decreased, the stress to the walls of the LV while ejecting blood is also decreased. As such, this improves LV functions.

Improving gas exchange: Improvement of gaseous exchange in the heart leads to a reduction in tension of the LV to pump more blood into the body.

Improving cardiac function: The improvement of cardiac function leads to better heart muscles performance. This in turn leads to better LV functioning.

Reducing anxiety: When the blood pressure is low due to less stress, this causes a reduction in anxiety. As such, the blood pressure is regulated since the LV muscles do not pump blood at irregular pulses.