Symptoms Associated With Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive heart failure (CHF), also known simply as heart failure, is characterized by the heart's inability to efficiently pump an adequate supply of blood to the rest of the body. MayoClinic.com explains that the condition's full name "comes from blood backing up into---or congesting---the liver, abdomen, lower extremities and lungs." This is a chronic condition that develops over time and should be distinguished from acute heart failure, which happens suddenly and must be considered a potentially deadly medical emergency.

Types of CHF

• MayoClinic.com say the most common form of CHF is left-sided heart failure, which may cause shortness of breath as fluid and blood back up into your lungs. Right-sided heart failure, which sometimes may appear in combination with left-sided failure, usually causes blood to back up into the abdomen and lower extremities. In systolic heart failure, the left ventricle is unable to pump as vigorously as it should; in diastolic heart failure, the left ventricle can't relax adequately, making it difficult to fill the chamber.

Symptoms of CHF

• Common symptoms of CHF, according to MedlinePlus, include fatigue and feelings of faintness; sleeping difficulties; loss of appetite; indigestion; dyspnea (shortness of breath); fluid retention; weight gain; swelling of the abdomen, ankles and/or feet; and coughing. Other common symptoms include an irregular or rapid pulse; palpitations, an abnormal awareness of your heart beat; frequent nighttime urination; nausea and vomiting; and a slight decrease in alertness or ability to concentrate.

Causes

• The heart's inability to keep pace with all its responsibilities---the most telling characteristic of CHF---usually can be traced to some damage or weakening of the heart muscle. MayoClinic.com cites the following as possible causes of CHF: hypertension (high blood pressure), heart attack, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, congenital heart defects, heart valve problems and abnormal heart rhythms. The heart also can be weakened over time by such chronic diseases as amyloidosis, anemia, diabetes, emphysema, hemochromatosis, both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, and lupus.

Diagnosis

• To confirm a diagnosis of CHF, your doctor probably will order tests to measure heart function, as well as others to gauge your overall health. These may include blood tests, echocardiogram, electrocardiogram (EKG), chest X-ray, cardiac MRI or CT scan, stress test, and/or angiogram. Of particular significance is the echocardiogram, which measures your ejection fraction, described by MayoClinic.com as a "measurement of how well your heart is pumping" that can be used "to help classify heart failure and guide treatment."

Treatment

• The two main types of treatment for CHF are drug therapy and surgical, including the implantation of devices to help the heart function more efficiently. Widely prescribed CHF drugs include aldosterone antagonists, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), beta blockers, digoxin and diuretics. The most common CHF-related surgeries are for the implantation of cardioverter-defibrillators, biventricular pacemakers and heart pumps.