Heart Failure

• The heart has four chambers: two on its right side and two on its left
• The right side of the heart receives blood from the whole body. This blood has a low oxygen and high carbon dioxide levels
• The right side of the heart pumps this blood into the lungs for getting more oxygen and getting rid of excessive carbon dioxide
• The purified blood comes to the left side of the heart and gets distributed in the whole body
• This repeated pumping process is responsible for keeping us alive

• High blood pressure
• Heart problems
  • Valve defects
  • Rhythm disorder
  • Heart muscle defects
  • Other disorders of the heart
  • Coronary heart diseases
• Lung problem
  • Poor blood supply to the lungs
  • Lung diseases like asthma, bronchitis, obstructed airways
  • High blood pressure in the lungs
• Lifestyle
  • Failure to take preventive medication
  • Diet (excessive salt and fluid intake)
  • Alcohol and drug misuse
  • Smoking
• Other medical conditions
  • Anaemia
  • Kidney diseases
  • Diabetes
  • Obesity
  • Thyroid

• Breathlessness, tiredness, and swelling in certain parts of your body, like the feet, legs, arms and stomach
• Other less common symptoms include stomach fullness, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, confusion and blacking-out/fainting
• These symptoms can occur during activity or rest or even sleep

• Ejection fraction (EF) is a measure of the blood that the left side of the heart pumps out with each beat
• A normal EF is between 55% and 70%

• If left untreated, heart failure gets worse and the symptoms will also get worse, requiring hospital admission for IV medications
• Eventually, it will make your daily activities (like dressing and bathing) more difficult
• It may also make you too tired to do things like spending time with friends and family

So, treatment is necessary to help you feel better and help keep your condition from getting worse

• Complete clinical history and clinical examination
• ECG, echocardiography and certain blood tests