Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive Heart Failure

Introduction

Congestive heart failure, which is a chronic health problem, can develop suddenly without warning. It refers to a medical condition whereby the heart's ability to pump blood to the rest of the blood becomes weak, though very commonly it is misunderstood as cessation in the functioning of the heart. A patient suffering from the condition experiences slow movement of blood through the body. This slow movement causes congestion and increases the heart's pressure. As a consequence, the chambers have to hold more blood and pump harder causing thickness and stiffness.

The normal functioning of the heart entails pumping blood that is oxygen rich from the left side of the heart to the entire body. It is this left side that gives the heart most of the force required to pump oxygen rich blood. When the left side of the heart is unable to perform its function properly, it has to work harder to perform the same job. The paper discusses the pathophisiology, signs and symptoms of the medical condition, medical management, treatment interventions, nursing education and Prognosis of the disease.

Discussion

Pathophisiology

In order to understand the pathophysiology of congestive heart failure, it is first imperative to establish an understanding of the function of the most important organ of the human body. A small blood vessel closer to the heart called the artery is supposed to provide oxygen to heart. This oxygen is then mixed with blood and supplied to the rest of the body. When this vessel becomes narrow, it is not able to supply ample amount of oxygen to the heart. Congestive heart failure can be a congestion of the left side or that of the right side of the heart. Among the various causes of congestive heart failure, one of the most common cause is coronary artery disease. This is commonly referred to as CAD (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2011).

Another very common cause of congestive heart failure is high blood pressure or hypertension. Most patients of high blood pressure have been found to be ignorant towards the management of their medical condition. Hence, they undermine the risks associated with long term high blood pressure and end up suffering from congestive heart failure or other medical problems.

Other causes of heart failure may include any infection that may affect the overall health of the heart. For instance, the heart may get damaged and leak. Or the injury may cause a disharmony in the rhythm of the heart. This is to say that the beating of the heart is not periodic or consistent. It either starts to beat too fast or rather slow (Baliga & Sapsford, 2009).

Signs and symptoms

The signs and symptoms of heart failure are not easily noted. This means that they begin slowly and are often ignored. The person is generally active and fails to see why there must be a problem. The problems eventually show later when the condition has reached a higher stage. For instance, a person may notice problem with breathing even ...