Chronic heart failure in the early stages is treated well and has a very optimistic prognosis

Chronic heart failure is a disease in which, for various reasons, the heart can not provide the body with the right amount of blood. Statistics show that such a disease is quite common, especially among older women. Some patients, when symptoms of heart failure appear, attribute them to the general aging of the body. As a result, for a long time they do not receive the necessary treatment, which often causes death.

Chronic heart failure may occur as a consequence of heart diseases such as ischemia, cardiomyopathy and changes after a heart attack. In this case, the myocardium can not develop efforts to effectively expel blood from the left ventricle. In some cases, chronic failure occurs due to heart valve flaws , arterial hypertension, vasoconstriction, etc. There are other factors that have a big impact on the development of this disease: dependence on alcohol and drugs, violations in the hormonal sphere, inflammation of the heart muscle of an infectious nature, etc.

At the beginning of the disease, in order to maintain blood circulation is normal, the heart begins to beat much more often, and also increases in volume and thickens. But the compensatory reserves of the myocardium are not unlimited and it starts the development of such irreversible consequences as the replacement of muscle cells by connective tissue. As a result, the heart largely loses its ability to contract. It is at this time and begins to emerge a clinical picture, characteristic of such a disease as chronic heart failure.

The first symptoms of this disease are rapid fatigue and weakness. But such manifestations can be in other diseases. Chronic heart failure, detected in the early stages, is better treatable, and the patient has a better life prediction. Patients with this diagnosis often have a breathing disorder - a dyspnoea, which arises from the fact that the liquid accumulates in the lungs.

Edema in heart failure can be considered one of the main symptoms. The heart can not cope with the entire volume of blood that circulates in the body, and it can accumulate in the stomach, liver, and also in the legs - the feet, thighs and calves. Thus, and there are swelling, which leads to a sharp increase in weight. The accumulation of fluid inside the abdominal cavity can lead to the development of a very dangerous condition - ascites. In some cases, when fluid enters the lungs, pulmonary edema develops.

One of the main manifestations of chronic cardiac insufficiency is shortness of breath, which first appears only with physical exertion, and then at rest. Often, with such a disease, blue spots are visible, mostly of the fingers and lips.

Various methods and studies are used to diagnose heart failure, including listening to heart and lung sounds , blood and urine tests, an echocardiogram, magnetic resonance imaging, an electrocardiogram, a chest X-ray , etc.

How to treat heart failure, written a lot. But it is very important to combine medical treatment, which is prescribed by both the doctor and the patient's adequate behavior. The patient should completely abandon such harmful habits as smoking, excessive consumption of alcohol. It is necessary to observe a diet with a low salt content and maintain weight at a normal level. It is also very important the presence of physical activity, which corresponds to the patient's condition. For the body is equally harmful as its complete absence, and overexertion.