The number of new cases of HF in the USA is growing faster than the population is growing. People are living longer than ever before, and this phenomenon will increase the burden on the heart, more than ever before.
A broad variety of treatments have been recommended to most patients with heart failure. These treatments are often based on patient preferences and values as well as expertise and knowledge from the expert panel. Clinicians can implement evidence-based treatment in a clinical practice.
Heart failure has no known single obvious cause. The underlying mechanisms that lead to heart failure are quite complex and are likely due to multiple factors. Most heart failure happens when cells in the heart, such as cardiomyocytes start breaking down and dying. While we cannot know for sure, it is likely that heart failure is a group of diseases with different causes. A heart failure epidemic may occur, with many different causes contributing to the condition.\n
Heart failure is a condition in which parts of the heart stop working smoothly and fail to pump blood effectively. It is associated with shortness of breath, swelling of the legs, increased fluid in the legs and abdomen (fluid retention), and tiredness. The symptoms may be episodic or constant. These symptoms may improve or worsen over time and can be more severe when exercising, when lying down, with standing up, and during waking hours than during sleep. Symptoms such as dizziness, shortness of breath, and fluid in the lower legs (fluid retention) are the key symptoms of heart failure. Many people with a diagnosis of heart failure go on to have heart attacks (myocardial infarction).
Symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, heaviness, coughing, and/or tiredness. Other signs include poor appetite, fluid in the chest, swollen legs, leg cramps, and swelling. The symptoms and signs most common in heart failure are similar between men and women.\nquestion: What is the diagnosis of depression? answer: The assessment of signs and symptoms in depression may lead to the differential diagnosis of common conditions, including major anxiety and somatoform disorders, endocrine disorders, sleep disorders, and endocrine illnesses such as hypothyroidism and Cushing's disease.
Treatment of heart failure remains largely unsatisfactory in terms of symptoms and life quality. However, many of the problems are partially manageable to some extent, in the form of new symptomatic and symptomatic treatments. Consequently, most individuals need help in order to improve their state of health. There is need for improved pharmacological and medical device therapies and better medical management of the cardiovascular system.
There were many recent studies proving that pharmacotherapy is effective for heart failure. However, there has not been a study that demonstrated pharmacotherapy was an absolute cure for heart failure. Instead, many studies showed that the treatment was effective, with a substantial improvement in the patients' HRQoL. However, to have a treatment with a large effect on the survival, the patient compliance with the new pharmacotherapy should be ensured.
Although there was some variability among individual physicians, the majority of practicing physicians, nurses, and patient participants were eager for clinical trial participation in a variety of HF therapeutic areas. Clinicians felt it would be important to include patients and providers in studies, and the majority felt there were ethical dilemmas regarding clinical trial participation in HF.
The majority of studies found in this review were of low-quality and had many limitations. However, the studies that were included suggested that in all patients with symptoms or New York Heart Association class IV or unstable heart failure, transcatheter cardiac stenting with the objective of reducing morbidity is a reasonable treatment option. For asymptomatic patients in New York Heart Association class III, with either poor left ventricular function or with a low ejection fraction, a heart transplant surgery has not been shown to be safe or helpful.
Cardiovascular disease is the most common primary cause of heart failure. However, in patients with mild heart failure, there is no demonstrable difference in the primary cause of heart failure compared to the non-heart failure group. A further prospective study for elucidating the primary cause of heart failure is clearly indicated.
The estimated average heart failure ages in Germany are 75 years for men and 80 years for women. On the other hand, in England, women get heart failure about a year earlier than men.
In the most common clinical presentations (NYHA II), it is difficult to predict how serious heart failure will become. As such, patients not responding to optimal medical care will be best served if an assessment of prognosis is performed in the initial presentation in addition to determining the clinical presentation and results of the echocardiogram. Such an approach will allow for optimal referral and resource utilization since patients will be assessed prior to being referred to the appropriate specialty and the potential need for subsequent intervention will be more obvious. The clinical presentation and results of the echocardiogram allows for the prioritization of which patients may benefit from referral to an advanced care facility.