Understanding Heart Failure: Know Its Causes And Treatment

Heart failure is a condition characterised by weakened heart muscles, resulting in insufficient blood pumping through the body.

This leads to fluid accumulation, causing symptoms such as breathlessness, weakness, palpitations, dizziness, and leg swelling.

Common causes include heart muscle weakness from a previous heart attack, viral infections, and genetic factors.

Less common causes include certain medications, thyroid problems, and excessive alcohol consumption.

Lifestyle changes play an important role for heart failure treatment, including a low-salt diet, reduced fluid intake, and regular exercise.

Medications play a crucial role, addressing various aspects of the condition such as reducing fluid, decreasing heart workload, and slowing the heart rate.

In some cases, devices like pacemakers, such as CRT, ICD, or a combination called CRTD, prove beneficial.

One myth to be addressed here is that Heart Failure and Heart Attack are not the same.

The perception of heart failure as an immediate life-threatening situation is inaccurate.

Heart failure has a chronic nature thereby distinguishing it from the acute emergency of a heart attack

Inputs by: Dr. Anjan Siotia, Director- Department of Cardiology, BM Birla Heart Research Centre, Kolkata