Congestive Heart Failure Case Study

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The pathophysiology of congestive heart failure is a viscous cycle. It starts out by some form of heart destruction or weakening of the heart muscle, usually caused by clogged arteries due to coronary artery disease or increased pressure on the left ventricular wall from chronic long term hypertension. This dwindling of the heart decreases stroke volume. The Medical Dictionary for Health Professionals and Nurses (2012) defines stroke volume as the volume pumped out of one ventricle of the heart in a single beat. So when stroke volume goes down, cardiac output also goes down. Medicinenet.com (2016) defines cardiac output as the amount of blood the heart pumps through the circulatory system in a minute, they describe that a normal adult has a cardiac output of 4.7 liters (5 quarts) …show more content…

The Mayo Clinic (2014) gives the definition of dilated cardiomyopathy as a disease of the heart muscle, usually starting in your heart 's main pumping chamber (left ventricle). They go on to explain that dilated cardiomyopathy might not cause symptoms, but for some people it can be life-threatening causing irregular heartbeats, blood clots or sudden death. Another thing that is seen in the heart muscle during congestive heart failure is that the walls of the ventricles are thickening. This is called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The American Heart Association (2016) explains that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy occurs if heart muscle cells enlarge and cause the walls of the ventricles (usually the left ventricle) to thicken. The ventricle size often remains normal, but the thickening may block blood flow out of the ventricle. In this situation the walls are getting thicker trying to pump more blood, but they are getting stiffer as well and there is less room for blood. Although the ventricle is trying to pump more blood, it is not being successful, which causes a progressive drop in stroke volume. Again, stroke volume is the amount of blood pumped out of the heart with each beat to the

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