Congestive Heart Failure Case

Running head: CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE CASE
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Congestive Heart Failure Case
Student’s Name
University

CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE CASE
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Congestive Heart Failure Case
Introduction
Congestive heart failure is one of the common conditions among the aged population in
the US. According to Vigen, Maddox, & Allen (2012) suggest that as the aged population in the
US continues to expand, the development of heart failure risk factors like hypertension and
coronary heart attack also increases as seen in the recent statistics which indicate that 80% of
heart failure patients are 65 years and above. This means that the threat is real which calls for the
need to have proper management processes. This condition is characterized shortness of breath,
irregular heartbeat, chest pain, coughing and sneezing and sometimes even fainting.
Brief literature review.
Congestive heart failure is a syndrome where patients have an abnormality of their
cardiac structure that increases symptoms of heart failure requiring urgent treatment. Despite the
fact that this condition can be managed at home sometimes patients get exposed to triggers that
make it difficult for them to manage the condition thus leading to hospitalization.
Description of the conditions
Congestive heart failure is a condition where the patient experiences abnormality of the
cardiac structure leading to symptoms and signs of heart failure that require urgent treatment.
This is a chronic progressive condition that affects the pumping of blood to the heart muscles
(Díez-Villanueva & Alfonso, 2016). This is commonly referred to heart failure but it happens as
a result of the buildup of fluids around the heart causing the heart to pump inefficiently. This
means that the problem develops when the heart ventricles are unable to pump enough blood to
the body which becomes life-threatening. This means that left-sided heart failure is the common
types which occur in two conditions: systolic heart failure and diastolic failure. In the former, the

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left ventricle fails to contract normally reducing the available fore for pushing blood into
circulation. This means that the condition makes the heart fail to pump properly. On the other
hand, the latter happens when the left ventricle muscles become making it difficult for the heart
to relax thus making it difficult for filling of blood for circulation. Not all the conditions that lead
to heart failure can be reversed but rather treatments are used to improve the signs and symptoms
of heart failure making one live longer. This means that the condition is more of managing rather
than treatments since it requires stabilizing medications and lifestyle changes like exercise, diet,
losing weight and managing stress.
There are several causes or factors that can lead to congestive heart failure: hypertension,
coronary artery disease, valve conditions, and faulty heart valves. Hypertension happens when
the blood pressure is higher than normal due to narrowed arteries making it harder for blood to
flow through them. Coronary artery disease is caused by cholesterol or any other fatty substances
that block the coronary arteries making them narrows thus difficult to supply enough blood to the
heart. Valve conditions regulate blood flow through opening and closing to let blood in and out
of the chambers. The means that when they fail to open and close correctly the ventricles have to
work harder to achieve the necessary blood flow. Lastly, faulty heart valves make it difficult for
the heart to pump enough blood thus leading to difficulties in the flow of blood. This means that
congestive heart failure is a condition that relates to working of the heart where there are changes
in the working of the heart which affects blood flow. This means that the condition cannot be
treated but rather requires management to keep the required blood flow and circulation in the
body.
Discussion and synthesized literature findings

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According to Diez-Villanueva & Alfonso (2016), heart failure is a public problem with
80% of the patients suffering from the condition being the elderly. This means that the number of
patients with the condition keeps on increasing as the older population keeps in increasing with
time. As the majority of American hit the 65 age bracket, the challenge of heart failure becomes
eminent and a threat to the national healthcare costs. This means that there is a need to
understand the condition and the factors that lead to the condition.
Different studies have been carried out to identify trends in congestive heart failure
among the aged. In one Vigen, Maddox, & Allen (2012) reviewed the epidemiology of heart
failure among the aged population to understand the phenotype, management complications and
the implication of these challenges to the country. The study analyzed the impact of heart failure
from pharmacotherapies, device-initiated therapies, comorbidities, and fratility. All these factors
are related to the response towards the treatment of congestive heart failure thus calling for the
need to develop shared decision making and new approaches to therapies. This is because the
fatalities related to heart failure are still increasing despite the availability of mechanisms to curb
the condition. Further, some researchers have questioned the validity of the randomized control
trials and the nature of data that is used on them. This means that since the nature of the patients
keeps on increasing and changing then there is need to understand the changes in the population
and how they affect the way patients respond to therapies.
In another study, Komanduri, Jadhao, Guduru, Cheriyath, & Wert (2017) did a multistage
probability sampling design with the CDC revealed that the primary factors for the advent of
congestive heart failure are hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and obesity. Thus this study revealed
that the risks of congestive heart failure still remain the same despite the fact that there is
improved population awareness and advancement in both diagnostic and therapeutic processes.