Watch Out for These Warning Signs of Heart Failure

MONDAY, Aug. 15, 2022

Heart failure can develop at any age, however it may be prevented or handled, one heart specialist says.

Heart failure occurs when the heart turns into too stiff or weak, not in a position to sustain with the physique’s calls for for pumping blood. The major trigger is heart disease, however the coronary heart muscle also can stiffen as a result of of poorly managed high blood pressure or diabetes. More not often, cardiomyopathies or myocarditis from a virus could cause the situation.

Some different danger components embrace sleep apnea, some cancer drugs and poor life-style behaviors.

“Maintaining a wholesome diet, treating obesity, avoiding tobacco use and secondhand smoke, and avoiding alcohol may help forestall heart failure,” stated Dr. Gosia Wamil, a heart specialist at Mayo Clinic Healthcare in London.

Wamil’s coronary heart failure analysis contains research geared toward understanding and breaking the connection between diabetes and heart disease, in addition to utilizing novel medical imaging strategies to identify coronary heart failure early.

Among the signs of coronary heart failure are ankle swelling, breathlessness, chest pain, fatigue throughout exercise and a fast or irregular heartbeat.

“There are different signs that folks might not affiliate with coronary heart failure. Those embrace a persistent cough, abdominal swelling, fast weight gain, nausea and a lack of appetite,” Wamil stated in a Mayo Clinic information launch. ”People who expertise any of these signs ought to contact their well being care supplier.”

Treatments might differ relying on what’s inflicting an individual’s coronary heart failure. It cannot be cured, however the signs can typically be managed for years.

“After coronary heart failure is identified, sufferers might want to handle the situation for the remainder of their lives, normally by way of care at specialised coronary heart failure clinics,” Wamil stated.

Treatments embrace medicine, surgically implanted gadgets and, in superior instances, coronary heart transplants. Researchers are additionally working to find new therapies.

“Over the previous couple of years, we have now noticed vital advances with the introduction of new lessons of drugs to handle coronary heart failure,” Wamil stated. Those embrace drugs referred to as SGLT2 inhibitors, initially developed to decrease blood sugar ranges in sufferers with diabetes.

SOURCE: Mayo Clinic Healthcare, information launch, Aug. 10, 2022

By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter

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In the U.S., 1 in every 4 deaths is caused by heart disease.
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