The difference between right heart failure and left heart failure

There are several differences between right heart failure and left heart failure, as follows: first, the etiology is different, right heart failure is generally due to valvular disease or pulmonary disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease caused by pulmonary heart disease, while left heart failure is generally due to long-term hypertension, resulting in hypertensive heart disease or coronary artery disease caused by myocardial ischemia. Secondly, the clinical manifestations are also different. Right heart failure usually has symptoms of gastrointestinal and hepatic stasis, such as abdominal distension, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, some patients will have difficulty breathing, and edema will be found on physical examination, and the first edema in the sagging part of the body is called sunken edema. As the disease progresses, it can range from dyspnea after activity to sudden awakening after sleep, and then to a severe stage similar to an asthma attack, called cardiogenic asthma. In addition, patients may also experience coughing, coughing up sputum and hemoptysis. After the decrease in cardiac blood output leads to insufficient perfusion of organs, it will lead to symptoms of insufficient perfusion of various organs, such as weakness and decreased exercise tolerance, and insufficient perfusion of kidneys will lead to low urination, etc. Wet rales in the lungs can be heard during physical examination.