After reporting your symptoms to your doctor, they may refer you to a heart specialist, or cardiologist. The cardiologist will perform a physical exam, which will involve listening to your heart with a stethoscope to detect abnormal heart rhythms.
There are a variety of tests used to diagnose heart conditions. Because these tests measure different things, your doctor may recommend a few to get a full picture of your current condition. Blood tests can check for abnormal blood cells and infections. This includes testing for blood count, kidney function, and liver function. They can also check the level of BNP , a hormone that rises with heart failure. Chest X-rays can be used to asses heart size and fluid build up in the lungs and blood vessels.
This is usually one of the first tests your doctor will recommend. That could be a warning sign for a heart attack. Stress tests show how well your heart performs under different levels of stress. Cardiac catheterization can show blockages of the coronary arteries.
Your doctor will insert a small tube into your blood vessel and thread it from your upper thigh groin area , arm, or wrist. At the same time, the doctor can take blood samples, use X-rays to view your coronary arteries, and check blood flow and pressure in your heart chambers.
An MRI takes pictures of your heart. There are several things you can do to lower your risk of heart failure, or at least delay onset. Secondhand smoke is also a health hazard. If you live with a smoker, ask them to smoke outdoors. A heart healthy diet is rich in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. You also need protein in your diet. Things to avoid include:. As little as 1 hour of moderate aerobic exercise per week can improve your heart health. Walking, bicycling, and swimming are good forms of exercise.
If you feel unmotivated to work out alone, consider taking a class — it can even be online — or sign up for personal training at a local gym. Having obesity or overweight can be hard on your heart. Follow a healthy diet and exercise regularly. You can also consult a dietitian or nutritionist. Drink alcohol only in moderation and stay away from illegal drugs. Be sure to ask your doctor how much physical activity is safe and if you have any other restrictions.
Sometimes anaemia , drinking too much alcohol, an overactive thyroid or high pressure in the lungs pulmonary hypertension can also lead to heart failure.
Treatment for heart failure usually aims to control the symptoms for as long as possible and slow down the progression of the condition. A cure may be possible when heart failure has a treatable cause.
For example, if your heart valves are damaged, replacing or repairing them may cure the condition. Heart failure is a serious long-term condition that'll usually continue to get slowly worse over time. It can severely limit the activities you're able to do and is often eventually fatal.
But it's very difficult to tell how the condition will progress on an individual basis. Patients with undiagnosed diabetes were 1. Patients with undiagnosed diabetes showed a lower cardiovascular risk profile compared with people with diabetes, but mortality rates were similar between the two groups.
Heart failure relapses that require hospitalization often indicate a bad outcome. These symptomatic relapses also point to progression of the condition. The 30 days after initial hospitalization are viewed as a high-risk period and require intensive follow-up and monitoring. The first step is to become familiar with any family history of heart disease and learn about all the possible symptoms.
Don't ignore suspicious symptoms: let your healthcare provider know about them. Regular exercise and managing concurrent conditions can also help keep CHF under control. People who are diagnosed with heart disease have no reduced mortality risk linked to weight loss, but ongoing and sustained physical activity are associated with considerable risk reduction.
Another study examined patients with diabetes who were hospitalized for heart failure. The inverse relationship between obesity and reduced mortality rate may be explained by the age of the obese patients, who were younger than the normal-weight or underweight patients in the study. By employing healthy lifestyle choices such as exercise, eating a better diet, and other behavior interventions, both weight loss and lowering hemoglobin A1C can be reached.
Medication to manage weight may improve glycemic and metabolic control in both people with diabetes and obese patients, and, when deemed appropriate, bariatric surgery may be an option for obese and diabetic patients. Before you begin any sort of weight-loss program, consult with your cardiologist and diabetes management team first.
Diabetes is associated with the risk of developing heart failure. Consequently, people with diabetes and heart failure are treated and managed by cardiologists. To reduce the risk of death, continued blood glucose control is also key. Angiotensin-converting enzyme or ACE inhibitors are often used as an adjunct therapy in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. ACE inhibitors have a number of benefits for these conditions and are linked with a lower mortality rate and fewer hospitalizations.
Angiotensin II receptor blockers, or ARBs, have also shown similar effectiveness in heart failure patients with and without diabetes. In heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, a few medications have been shown to reduce mortality and hospitalizations.
Specifically, healthcare providers may prescribe the following medications in some combination:. In heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, no medications have been shown to improve mortality, but there is some suggestion of benefit when using spironolactone. Heart failure prognosis has improved due to new drug therapies. However, the effectiveness of these therapies can change over time. New symptoms, or worsening ones, that surface should be reported to your cardiologist, who can evaluate you for possible changes in your treatment.
Although the prognosis for CHF may be unnerving, there are numerous lifestyle changes and medications that can help slow down the progression of the condition and increase your chances of survival. You can be proactive in managing the condition by monitoring your symptoms, eliminating unhealthy habits, exercising regularly, and eating a healthy diet. The heart also enlarges a bit to make room for the blood.
The lungs fill with fluid, causing shortness of breath. With or without treatment, heart failure is often and typically progressive, meaning it gradually gets worse.
More than 5 million people in the United States have congestive heart failure. One in nine deaths has heart failure as a contributing cause.
The best way to avoid congestive heart failure is to avoid the conditions that contribute to it, or to carefully manage these conditions if they develop, says Jones. Also steer clear of secondhand smoke. Eat in heart-healthy ways. The foods that help you are those that contain little saturated fat, trans fat, sugar or sodium. Get practical ideas to eat for heart health in Eat Smart. Along with diet , being physically active helps achieve this goal and is also great for your heart.
If you have another type of heart disease or related condition, closely follow your treatment program. Ongoing care and adherence to prescribed medications, such as statin drugs to treat high cholesterol, can make a big difference. Your doctor will consider your medical history, family history, a physical exam and the results of various tests. These tests can include:. Chest X-ray : A picture of the heart, lungs and other chest structures that reveals whether the heart is enlarged or there are signs of lung damage.
BNP blood test: B-type natriuretic peptide BNP is a hormone that is a marker of severity and prognosis of heart failure. Echocardiogram : An ultrasound image of the heart.
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