The Causes Of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

Surgical method include a septal myectomy, surgically implanted devices, and a heart transplant. A septal myectomy is used to specifically treat hypertrophy cardiomyopathy which is where the heart muscle cells enlarge and cause the walls of the ventricles to thicken. The thickening of the walls may not affect the size of the ventricles but instead may affect the blood flow out of the ventricle. Usually along with the ventricles swelling, the septum in between the ventricles can become enlarged and block the blood flow causing a heart attack. When medication is not working well to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a surgeon will open the chest cavity and remove part of the septum that is blocking blood flow.

An ECG measures the rhythm of the heart in order to detect defects. There are many other strategies that are used by doctors in order to diagnose a heart attack, such as chest x-rays, stress tests, tilt table tests, and echocardiograms, to name a few. A myocardial biopsy involves looking at the heart cells, and is accomplished by collecting a sample of heart cells from the patient. If the results are positive, a heart attack is diagnosed. A heart MRI involves looking at images of the heart in order to detect heart failure.

Coronary Artery Disease is when the walls become narrow and rigid making it difficult for blood to flow to the heart. If blood does not flow to the heart, the heart cannot be replenished with oxygen. More plaque buildup can lead to a heart attack which is when the heart is forced to stop beating, due to the lack of oxygen. Symptoms of Coronary Artery disease is chest pains, shortness of breath, palpitations (irregular heartbeats), nausea, and dizziness. To diagnose a patient with this sickness, physicians can run an electro cardiogram, CT heart scan, and a Heart MRI.

Treatment – There are many different ways to treat a heart attack. In many cases, the patient is suffering extreme pain and an angioplasty will be performed to help unblock the arteries of the heart. A catheter will be used and inserted into the heart to remove the blocked and regain blood flow back to the heart. Veins and arteries may need to be rerouted in order for the blood to flow properly and in this case, the doctor will perform a coronary artery bypass graft. Many different medications can also be used to treat a heart attack.

There are multiple imaging tests that can be used to diagnose CHF such as CT scan, MRI, x-ray, and a coronary angiogram. In rare cases, a biopsy of the heart can also be performed. ("Heart failure", 2017) In an x-ray of a chest, congestive heart failure can be seen in different stages. In stage 1, the upper lobe vessels appear larger in width. In stage 2, kerley-b lines can be seen near the costophrenic angles.

They are three different ways to diagnose an individual with a heart attack an EKG, blood test, and angiography. After the MI is diagnosed they can treat it with clot busting medicine, coronary artery bypass or percutaneous artery intervention. Once the patient is treated they will still have trouble doing things the way did before. That’s where occupational therapy comes in play to help in cardiac rehabilitation. They work very carefully by using special tools to evaluate the patient’s cardiac rhythm and maintain balance between rest and activity to help while scar tissue builds.

Physically the patient’s body will show swelling caused by fluid retention and murmur in the heart, crackles in the lungs or any abnormal sounds in the heart or lungs can be found. These tests include BUN (normal range 6-20 mg/dl), creatinine clearance (compares the levels of creatinine in urine and blood), serum creatinine, serum potassium and urinalysis. The preferred test for diagnosing a blockage in the urinary tract would be an ultrasound. X-ray or MRI can also tell if there is a blockage, and the blood test will help reveal the underlying cause of kidney failure. Insufficient filtering of the blood by the kidney causing high levels of compounds containing nitrogen and other waste products is called azotemia.

See www.cmdtlinks.com Diagnosis of Heart Disease The diagnosis of this problem is based upon clinical history and physical exam. Confirmatory test include electrocardiography (electrodes are connected to the chest, and heart activity is monitored and measurement of the level of serum Creatine Kinase Enzymes released into the blood by the damaged muscle. Another method is the heart emagin technique called an angiography (injection of dye into the arteries followed by X ray). Most patients with unstable angina will exhibit electrocardiography change during pain. Commonly ST segment elevation.

The treatment plan should include the following (Jaarsma, 2005): A. Comprehensive overview of congestive heart failure a. Explanation of disease process – The heart’s job is to circulate blood throughout the body, but the pump is defective in one or more ways. This causes blood to back up into the lungs and blood vessels resulting in shortness of breath and fullness of the legs and abdomen. This may also make you feel tired easily.

In objective data the nurse can actually see what is going on with the patient. Objective data can include: • Noticed swelling in arms and legs • Seeing the patient vomiting • Monitoring lab results • Mo... ... middle of paper ... ...failure is patient education. Knowing the signs will determine how well they will be able to recover. Long term care of renal failure may result in taking medications for life, being on long term dialysis and possible kidney transplant. Living a healthy lifestyle by staying away from foods that are bad for you and maintaining adequate fluids and exercise.