What is congestive heart failure?
Are you wondering what congestive heart failure is?
If you are wondering what is congestive heart failure, this is basically a condition in which the heart’s capacity to send oxygenated blood to all parts of the body decreases. This heart problem can be categorized into two types which are classified according to the two actions involved in the pumping of the heart. They are systolic dysfunction or systolic heart failure and diastolic dysfunction or diastolic heart failure. The systolic dysfunction occurs when the heart is not contracting adequately to supply blood in the entire body. While diastolic heart failure is the result of inadequate amounts of blood being taken into the heart to ensure adequate circulation. Now do not take this heart problem lightly for it can lead to serious health problems later on.
The congestive heart problem is that type of disease that grows over time. Most doctors tend to categorize the development of this heart illness into four phases. So it is important therefore for us to understand what is congestive heart failure, and the different stages of development its victim will have to go through. The initial stages of congestive heart failure starts with the feelings of fatigue, tiredness and exhaustion when a person attempts to do some physical activity. Normally this stage goes unnoticed and at the same time not so dangerous. As the condition continues to develop to the second level, symptoms become more distinct in the day-to-day life of an individual. This time the patient can no longer perform routine exercise and starts to experience shortness of breathe with slightest of physical activity. The third stage now has massive effect on the daily routine of the person affected. His physical activity becomes limited. He now has to rest most of the time due to constant fatigue. The danger in this level is that even the slightest activity can lead to swollen ankles and rapid breathing. Then the final stage is the most complicated, wherein the person might experience extreme discomfort and his usual daily activities become impossible. He will experience shortness of breath, persistent dry cough, and bluish skin.
Having a clear understanding about what is congestive heart failure might help you prevent this illness. Although this is one of the scary diseases that a person may suffer unlike cancer the congestive heart failure do have available treatments for each stages. Among the medicines doctors always prescribe are the following, Diuretics, Digoxin and Beta Blockers. However it is always best to prevent such heart problem in the earliest possible time. The best way to do this is to follow a healthy lifestyle, for this decreases the risk of developing congestive heart disease.
↑ Back to Top