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N
early 5 million Americans
live with congestive heart
failure. The condition
leads to more than
1 million hospital stays each year,
including many repeat visits, and is
the leading cause of hospitalization
among the elderly.
Every day at Kadlec Regional
Medical Center, hospitalist Asif
Malik, MD, cares for patients with
congestive heart failure (CHF), a
potentially life-threatening condition.
It does not mean the heart has
stopped pumping, just that it is
failing to meet the body’s need for
blood and oxygen.
While CHF cannot be cured, for
many it can be successfully managed.
What is CHF?
Heart failure is a serious, chronic
condition. When the heart cannot
pump enough blood, the body
begins to compensate. The heart
may work harder by enlarging its
chambers, thickening its walls or
beating faster.
While this may work initially,
eventually the heart loses pumping
capacity and cannot keep up.
healthy
heart
HEALTH NEWS AND INFORMATION
Spring 2012
A service of Kadlec Regional Medical Center–Tri-Cities
Blood backs up into the liver,
abdomen, ankles, feet or lungs.
Symptoms subsequently develop
and include fatigue, shortness of
breath, coughing and leg swelling.
“Congestive heart failure can
easily fool you,” said Dr. Malik,
who has done fellowship work
in CHF and cardiac transplant.
“Patients don’t always know
something is going on with the
heart when they experience some
of the symptoms. But if a person
has a cough, it could be CHF. If
the person has trouble sleeping, it
could be CHF. If there is a lack of
appetite, it could be CHF.
WHAT IS
CONGESTIVE
—continued on page 4
If you have heart failure, there
are some important things you
can do to take care of yourself.
■■
Watch the salt.
Too much salt
can lead to fluid retention, which
can make symptoms worse.
Weight gain and swelling are
signs that fluid is building up in
your body.
■■
Take your medicine.
Your
doctor may prescribe ACE
inhibitors, beta-blockers, diuretics
or other drugs. Know what
you’re taking and any potential
side effects and drug interactions.
■■
Exercise.
Your doctor can
recommend the best activities for
you.
■■
Talk to your doctor
about
what to do if your symptoms
get worse or if new symptoms
develop.
■■
Learn all you can about
heart failure.
For more information, visit the
website of the National Heart,
Lung, and Blood Institute at
www.nhlbi.nih.gov
or the Heart
Failure Society of America
site at
www.abouthf.org
.
Take care to
control heart failure
Asif Malik, MD, a hospitalist at Kadlec
Regional Medical Center, said the
symptoms of congestive heart failure
can be deceptive.
www.kadlec.org
heart
FAILURE?