Popular knowledge of heart failure prevention and treatment (II)

Chronic heart failure treatment of the golden period – (pre or adaptive period) chronic heart failure, that is, heart failure of the A stage and B stage, the A stage is for the “former heart failure stage” (Pre-Heart Failure ), including the high risk of heart failure population, but there is no cardiac structural or functional abnormalities; this population mainly refers to hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, but also includes obesity, metabolic syndrome and other patients who can eventually involve the heart, that is, the backup population of heart failure. This group of people mainly refers to hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus, etc., but also includes obesity, metabolic syndrome and other patients who can ultimately involve the heart, that is, the back-up population of heart failure. Developing from simple hypertension and coronary heart disease to ventricular hypertrophy, valvular heart disease or myocardial infarction is a longer process, and we have more than enough time to prevent and control it, such as controlling blood pressure and blood glucose, decreasing body weight, controlling metabolic syndrome, and so on, even though these patients are not yet related to heart failure. Taking hypertension as an example, it is important to explain clearly to patients that perhaps 50% of hypertensive patients will eventually develop heart failure, so many residents in rural or remote areas often reduce or even discontinue their medications after their blood pressure has been measured and normalized, which is undesirable. Hao Enkui, Department of Cardiology, Thousand Buddha Mountain Hospital, Shandong Province, China Stage B is the “Pre-Clinical Heart Failure Stage” (Pre-Clinical Heart Failure). The patient has developed structural heart disease from no symptoms and/or signs of heart failure, such as left ventricular hypertrophy, asymptomatic valvular heart disease, and a history of myocardial infarction. This stage is equivalent to asymptomatic heart failure. Even if it progresses to stage B, we have enough room to control the delayed onset of symptomatic heart failure because the heart itself has very good adaptive characteristics, and this adaptive process is actually the remodeling process. Cardiac remodeling is a beneficial and detrimental process, whereby “cardiac enlargement” is exchanged for stabilization of cardiac function to delay the onset of symptomatic heart failure. For example, after myocardial infarction, despite the enlargement of the heart and the decrease in the ejection fraction of the heart, the coordination of myocardial contraction is significantly better than before (just after myocardial infarction) because of a remodeling process of the myocardium, e.g., an increase in the inner diameter of the left ventricle by 5 mm and a decrease in the ejection fraction of the left ventricle by 10 percent, the ejection volume of the heart per contraction can still be up to 70-80 ml, without the symptoms of heart failure. This process can continue for a long time, ranging from years to even decades, and professional guidance is essential, depending on the continuity of the patient’s out-of-hospital care and the accuracy of hemodynamic judgments. Many people subjectively believe that the patient’s ejection fraction has decreased below normal and the heart is enlarged, which is heart failure, and classify it as symptomatic heart failure without individualized hemodynamic analysis and evaluation, which is incorrect. When this phase is well controlled, the patient has a very good quality of life, and the extension of this adaptive time, which is also the extension of the life expectancy of the heart failure patient, is one of the most important phases, which, together with phase A, is the golden period for controlling heart failure. During this period, it is essential to target regular visits to a physician familiar with the condition, to regularly assess the structure and function of the heart (cardiac ultrasound), and to adjust the medication regimen and exercise prescription according to the individual patient’s condition.