“No, this is not possible, I cannot have heart failure,” said Abdul Qayyum, 50 years old bureaucrat with clenched fists and raised eyebrows. His argument were, “I can walk around and attend my office, so I cannot be too unwell!”It took him some time to accept the diagnosis. His next question was, “Is it the end of story? Shall I ask for retirement and confine my activities?” He was very happy to learn that firstly, heart failure was not synonymous with cardiac arrest/death and secondly, near to normal life was possible with new medical treatment. Some new drugs have effects on improving the outlook of disease and new technology is evolving to mitigate the suffering of patients with heart failure.
Heart failure is the end result of many diseases that effect the heart. Some diseases effect muscles of heart either through infections or deprivation of blood supply – coronary artery disease. Certain diseases effect the doors of heart called valves, either by restricting their motion or rendering them incompetent and leaky. High blood pressure puts extra load on heart and heart muscle has to generate higher pressure to pump blood. This extra effort taxes heart and eventually leads to heart failure. Heart tries to compensate by either beating fast or increasing in size, but eventually gives in. This stage is called heart failure as heart cannot meet the demands of body.
For the management of heart failure, prompt and accurate diagnosis of the disease causing heart failure is of paramount importance. There are several causes of heart failure. Several different tests are required to determine the exact cause of heart failure. In some cases the cause of heart failure can be reversible (such as a heart valve defect) or treatable (such as a thyroid problem) but in a majority of cases drug treatment is used to reduce the symptoms and improve the outlook.
How to work up heart failure? In patients with symptoms suggestive of heart failure, many tests may be required. Recently there has been a lot of research on a special blood test called brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), which can be used to diagnose heart failure and correlates well with severity of failure. The level rises when heart failure worsens. Electrocardiography (ECG) and Chest X-ray are the bare minimum cardiac tests. Echocardiography (echo) is the best and simplest way to determine heart function and whether it is systolic or diastolic heart failure. Echocardiography can also help to determine the cause of heart failure and help guide treatment decisions.
Nuclear scanning – a non invasive nuclear test is done to identify areas of the heart that are not receiving adequate blood flow (ischemic areas) and assess the left ventricle’s ability to function. Cardiac blood pool scan (radionuclide ventriculography) is often used when echocardiography results are less likely to be accurate due to a person’s weight or breast size of the presence of severe lung disease. Radionuclide ventriculography provides an accurate method for assessing the pumping ability of the left ventricle. However, it is less useful for evaluating the presence of heart valve disease and thickening of the heart muscle. ThalliumRadionuclide ventriculography provides an accurate method for assessing the pumping ability of the left ventricle. However, it is less useful for evaluating the presence of heart valve disease and thickening of the heart muscle. ThalliumRadionuclide ventriculography provides an accurate method for assessing the pumping ability of the left ventricle. However, it is less useful for evaluating the presence of heart valve disease and thickening of the heart muscle. Thallium/MIBI scan can detect reduced blood flow to heart. Cardiac catheterization and angiography can be used to identify blocked or narrowed coronary arteries and to measure pressures inside heart. Test results can help diagnose conditions that might cause or worsen heart failure symptoms.
_____________________________________________
Ref: Heal Thy Heart written by Prof: Dr. Muhammad Hafizullah
Heart failure is the end result of many diseases that effect the heart. Some diseases effect muscles of heart either through infections or deprivation of blood supply – coronary artery disease. Certain diseases effect the doors of heart called valves, either by restricting their motion or rendering them incompetent and leaky. High blood pressure puts extra load on heart and heart muscle has to generate higher pressure to pump blood. This extra effort taxes heart and eventually leads to heart failure. Heart tries to compensate by either beating fast or increasing in size, but eventually gives in. This stage is called heart failure as heart cannot meet the demands of body.
For the management of heart failure, prompt and accurate diagnosis of the disease causing heart failure is of paramount importance. There are several causes of heart failure. Several different tests are required to determine the exact cause of heart failure. In some cases the cause of heart failure can be reversible (such as a heart valve defect) or treatable (such as a thyroid problem) but in a majority of cases drug treatment is used to reduce the symptoms and improve the outlook.
How to work up heart failure? In patients with symptoms suggestive of heart failure, many tests may be required. Recently there has been a lot of research on a special blood test called brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), which can be used to diagnose heart failure and correlates well with severity of failure. The level rises when heart failure worsens. Electrocardiography (ECG) and Chest X-ray are the bare minimum cardiac tests. Echocardiography (echo) is the best and simplest way to determine heart function and whether it is systolic or diastolic heart failure. Echocardiography can also help to determine the cause of heart failure and help guide treatment decisions.
Nuclear scanning – a non invasive nuclear test is done to identify areas of the heart that are not receiving adequate blood flow (ischemic areas) and assess the left ventricle’s ability to function. Cardiac blood pool scan (radionuclide ventriculography) is often used when echocardiography results are less likely to be accurate due to a person’s weight or breast size of the presence of severe lung disease. Radionuclide ventriculography provides an accurate method for assessing the pumping ability of the left ventricle. However, it is less useful for evaluating the presence of heart valve disease and thickening of the heart muscle. ThalliumRadionuclide ventriculography provides an accurate method for assessing the pumping ability of the left ventricle. However, it is less useful for evaluating the presence of heart valve disease and thickening of the heart muscle. ThalliumRadionuclide ventriculography provides an accurate method for assessing the pumping ability of the left ventricle. However, it is less useful for evaluating the presence of heart valve disease and thickening of the heart muscle. Thallium/MIBI scan can detect reduced blood flow to heart. Cardiac catheterization and angiography can be used to identify blocked or narrowed coronary arteries and to measure pressures inside heart. Test results can help diagnose conditions that might cause or worsen heart failure symptoms.
_____________________________________________
Ref: Heal Thy Heart written by Prof: Dr. Muhammad Hafizullah
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