What is heart failure]
Heart failure (abbreviated as heart failure) is a group of clinical syndromes characterized by insufficient blood perfusion to organs and tissues and stasis of blood in the body and/or pulmonary circulation caused by various cardiac diseases, which cannot meet the metabolic needs of the body. Heart failure is a progressive disease with progressive development, often the end stage of various cardiac pathologies, the final destination of most cardiovascular diseases, and the leading cause of death. The main clinical manifestations are dyspnea, weakness, decreased exercise tolerance and fluid retention.
What are the categories of heart failure?
I. According to the speed of its development, it can be divided into acute and chronic, with chronic being common.
Second, according to the site of occurrence can be divided into left heart, right heart, total heart failure.
Third, according to whether the left ventricular ejection fraction is normal or not, it can be divided into reduced ejection fraction and normal ejection fraction.
What are the causes of chronic heart failure?
I. Basic etiology.
1, primary myocardial damage.
2. Excessive cardiac load.
Second, the causative factors.
1, infection: respiratory tract infection is the most common and important causative factor.
2, arrhythmia: various arrhythmias can be induced, especially atrial fibrillation.
3, excessive physical or psychological stress: overexertion, emotional excitement, excessive mental stress.
4, pregnancy and childbirth: increased cardiac load and increased myocardial oxygen consumption.
5, increased blood volume: excessive sodium intake, excessive and rapid transfusion of fluids or blood.
6, other: improper treatment (such as inappropriate discontinuation of digitalis drugs); rheumatic heart valve disease with rheumatic activity; combined with hyperthyroidism or anemia, etc.
What are the symptoms of chronic heart failure?
I. Left heart failure is dominated by pulmonary stasis and reduced cardiac output performance.
1, dyspnea: the most important symptom of left heart failure.
2, cough, sputum and hemoptysis.
3, fatigue, weakness, dizziness and palpitations.
4, oliguria and kidney damage symptoms.
Second, right heart failure is mainly manifested by body venous stasis, mainly manifested by gastrointestinal symptoms and exertional dyspnea.
How many levels of cardiac function are there?
Class I: the patient has heart disease, but usual general activities do not cause symptoms such as fatigue, palpitations, dyspnea and angina pectoris.
Grade II: Mild limitation of physical activity. No conscious symptoms at rest, but the above symptoms can occur with usual general activities and are relieved soon after rest.
Grade III: Physical activity is significantly limited. No symptoms at rest, but the above-mentioned symptoms can appear below the usual amount of general activity and are relieved after a longer period of rest.
Class IV: unable to engage in any physical activity. The symptoms of heart failure are also present at rest and worsen after physical activity.
What should patients with chronic heart failure pay attention to]
I. Prevention of exacerbation.
Actively treat the primary disease; avoid various triggers; control pregnancy and delivery in women of childbearing age under the guidance of a doctor.
Prevent infection.
1, pay attention to the prevention of colds, prevent cold, according to the temperature changes at any time to increase or decrease clothing, after sweating pay attention to keep warm.
2, according to the heart function of appropriate participation in physical exercise. Exercise training can improve the clinical symptoms of patients with chronic heart failure, can reduce the activity of neurohumoral, slow down ventricular remodeling and slow down the process of heart failure.
3, it is best to wear a mask when going out in winter and spring, and try not to go to densely populated places.
III. Rest.
It is an important method to reduce the load on the heart, including physical rest and mental relaxation. The rest method and time depends on the patient’s heart function. Cardiac function class I should avoid heavy physical work; cardiac function class II should be fully rested, can increase nap time and night sleep time, can engage in light physical work and domestic work; cardiac function class III should be strictly limited physical activity, bed rest, but daily life can be self-care or self-care with the assistance of others; cardiac function class IV should be bed rest, self-care activities by others to assist, for long-term bedridden patients, should often change position For long-term bed-ridden patients, they should change position frequently, do breathing exercises and passive and active activities of lower limbs in bed to avoid complications such as pressure sores, pulmonary infections, deep vein thrombosis of lower limbs and muscle atrophy, and gradually increase the amount of activities after remission, so as not to cause breathing difficulties and fatigue.
IV. Diet.
The principle is low sodium, low calorie, light, easy to digest, adequate amount of vitamins, inorganic salts, moderate amount of fat, less gas-producing food, prohibit smoking and alcohol, eat less and more meals, prevent full meals from triggering or aggravating heart failure, pay special attention to control sodium.
V. Medication.
1, chronic heart failure needs to rely on long-term drug control, long-term medication as prescribed can effectively reduce symptoms, such as panic, chest tightness, dyspnea, fatigue and weakness, eliminate edema, so as to improve heart function, when the heart function is improved, the quality of survival will be improved.
2.Familiar with the name, dose, time, method, possible adverse reactions and ways of prevention of the drugs used.
(1) When taking vasodilators, pay attention to the blood pressure should be measured regularly and recorded during the medication. Move slowly when changing position to avoid dizziness, blurred vision, or even fainting.
(2) When taking diuretics, it is often necessary to use them intermittently and adjust the dose according to the condition. Patients should observe whether there are symptoms of fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting in recent days, and should eat more potassium-rich foods every day, such as fresh orange juice, tomato juice, bananas, dates, apricots, figs, raisins, dried plums, potatoes, spinach, cauliflower, etc. The time to take diuretics should be in the morning or daytime, not too late, so as not to It is advisable to take diuretics in the morning or daytime, not late, so as not to interfere with sleep by urinating several times, and to measure body weight at the same time every day to monitor the degree of weight loss, and to make a record of it, so that it can be provided to the doctor for reference in assessing the effectiveness of the medicine at the next follow-up.
(3) When taking digitalis preparations, be sure to take it on time and in the amount prescribed by the doctor, remember not to make up for missed doses, learn to measure your pulse, suspend taking the drug when your pulse is below 60 beats per minute, follow up regularly, and stop taking the drug for medical treatment if there are adverse reactions such as nausea, vomiting, panic, chest tightness, yellow-green vision, etc.