Heart Failure Causes, Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
Heart failure is a decreased ability of the heart to fill and empty. The major purpose of the heart is to circulate blood, which carries oxygen and nutrients around the body, including itself).
Common causes of heart failure include Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), hypertension, heart valve disease and a variety of other causes.
Depending on what part of the heart is involved, impaired pumping may result in fluid retention in your lungs and shortness of breath (Congestive Heart Failure or CHF), or other parts of your body (peripheral edema). When your motor doesn’t work well heart failure is also associated with a decreased ability to do things and early fatigue.
The most common cause of heart failure is CAD.
If heart failure is caused by permanent damage from previous heart attacks, increased blood supply may not help improve heart function. However, if there is impaired blood supply to an otherwise healthy heart muscle, restoring the blood flow back to normal may improve heart function significantly.
Heart failure may be the result of one or many factors. Whatever the cause, it results in the inability to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the body’s needs.
The Stages of Heart Failure – NYHA Classification:
|
Class |
Patient Symptoms |
|
Class I (Mild) |
No limitation of physical activity. Ordinary physical activity does not cause undue fatigue, palpitation, or dyspnea (shortness of breath). |
|
Class II (Mild) |
Slight limitation of physical activity. Comfortable at rest, but ordinary physical activity results in fatigue, palpitation, or dyspnea. |
|
Class III (Moderate) |
Marked limitation of physical activity. Comfortable at rest, but less than ordinary activity causes fatigue, palpitation, or dyspnea. |
|
Class IV (Severe) |
Unable to carry out any physical activity without discomfort. Symptoms of cardiac insufficiency at rest. If any physical activity is undertaken, discomfort is increased. |
Symptoms
It is all about Fluid Congestion
As your heart becomes less efficient as a pump it results in diminished blood flow to your body. Your kidneys will try to compensate for it by water retention causing extra fluid build-up, which results in pooling and congestion in different parts of your body:
