Heart failure - its causes and signs

The heart is responsible for pumping blood to the rest of the body parts. Effective heart function to provide oxygen and nutrients to the different parts of the body to enable them to achieve their unique features. When there is an interruption in the contractile capacity of the heart, the heart tries to cope with mechanisms that would help to remedy the disruption of muscle contractility. Failure of these mechanisms leads to reduction of cardiac output, then congestive heart failure.

Definition: congestive heart failure (circulatory failure) is the inability of the heart to pump enough blood, oxygen and nutrients to the different parts of the body to's metabolic needs.

Heart failure is not a disease condition. This is a syndrome that results from other pathophysiological conditions taking place in other parts that place increasing demands on the heart. Heart failure can be acute or chronic.
TYPE: There are two types of heart failure - left ventricular function and right failure face (heart failure).

1 For left ventricular function: insufficiency ventricular results left the inability of the left ventricle to pump enough blood from the left side of the heart in the aorta where it is distributed to the rest of the body parts.

Causes of left ventricular failure
i. infarction (coronary artery occlusion)
II. valvular defects
III. pregnancy (when there is an underlying disease)
Anemia IV.
v. rheumatism
Pericarditis VI.
Sepsis VII.
hypertension VIII.
Arrhythmias IX.
x. heart disease syphilis
Obesity XI.
XII. Prolonged lack of food for example beri beri
XIII. pulmonary heart disease due to disorders of the lungs, e.g. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
XIV. Paget's disease
Hyperthyroidism XV.
XVI. transfusion and infusion overload
XVII. emotional stress.

Signs and symptoms of the FEG
i. fatigue
II. to exercise Dyspnea (breathing)
III. cough
Orthopnoea IV.
v. mental confusion
VI. paroxysmal nocturnal Dyspnea (cardiac asthma)
VII. anorexia, loss of appetite for food)
VIII. Decreased exercise tolerance
Tubal pulmonary IX.
x. reduces urinary flow (oliguria)
XI. rapid irregular pulse