Preventing heart failure

What is heart failure?

Heart failure means that the heart cannot pump a sufficient amount of blood, and therefore oxygen, to the organs. Patients experience a lack of oxygen and therefore also labored respiration, shortness of breath, and edema.

Classification of heart failure

According to the New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification system, heart failure can be divided into four classes. Heart failure can affect the cardiac muscle (myocardial) or other parts of the heart (extramyocardial), e.g. the aortic valves. In addition to the causes, the classifications are also based on the period of discomfort (chronic, acute) and the extent (regional, global).

Heart failure and high blood pressure

High blood pressure is one of the main causes of heart failure. If a patient has hypertension, regular blood pressure measurements should be taken in order to prevent long-term damage to the heart and the secondary illnesses that accompany this.
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Heart failure and heart attack

Depending on gender, the hardening of the coronary vessels (coronary heart disease) also plays a major role - more so for men than women. Coronary heart disease is one of the greatest risk factors for a heart attack. The heart is also weakened after a heart attack, because parts of the cardiac muscle tissue mortify. As a result, the cardiac muscle is less able to pump blood and the cardiovascular system is put under (greater) strain.

Other causes and effects of heart failure

Rheumatic heart disease and other illnesses may reduce the heart's ability to pump blood around the body.
The consequences of heart failure are damage to the vessels, growth of the cardiac muscle wall (myocardial hypertrophy) and reduced renal function (nephrosclerosis), which may lead to kidney failure. In the long term, the heart cannot continue to pump blood.

Preventing heart failure

In most cases, sufferers of heart failure can make positive improvements themselves. In additional to medical treatment, a lifestyle change (before the onset of the illness) with regular exercise and weight control plays a central role.