Acute Decompensated Heart Failure Treatment

When you suffer from acute decompensated heart failure, it essentially means that the vascular disease causing the inability of your heart to pump a sufficient amount of blood has suddenly deteriorated often to the point of respiratory distress. Often referred to as simply ADHF, the issue is usually a result of a muscular weakening coupled with the onset of a medical event or condition. Not only do you experience an abrupt or drastic reduction in blood flow, but also the transport of oxygen and other nutrients to your internal organs.

Causes

• In most cases of acute decompensated heart failure, heart failure is already present and being treated, but another condition may prompt this sudden deterioration in your heart's ability to pump a sufficient amount of blood throughout your body. This could include the onset of another condition, like pneumonia, bronchitis and anemia, or the sudden development of an arrhythmia or murmur. In some situations, the poor management of high blood pressure can cause ADHF. Even a heart attack or cardiac arrest can cause heart failure to abruptly decompensate.

Supplemental Oxygen

• Of all the treatments, supplemental oxygen is typically the first mode of care. This is largely due to the decrease in oxygen throughout the body as a result of the limited blood flow associated with heart failure. However, this is only given when the oxygen levels in the blood are fairly low.

Medications

• Another common treatment is the use of prescription medication. The type of medication is typically dictated by the underlying cause of the decompensated heart failure. Diuretics are commonly used, especially if the "decompensation" is linked to the accumulation of fluid, but your doctor may also prescribe vasodilators, inotropic agents and other heart-related medications, if suitable. Though this type of medication is usually used in cases of high blood pressure, the relaxation that occurs within the blood vessels reduces the amount of resistance in blood flow. Since the resistance has lessened, your heart no longer needs to pump as hard as it has been, decreasing muscular stress and lowering blood pressure.

Ultrafiltration

• For others, acute decompensated heart disease may necessitate ultrafiltration, which is essentially the management of liquids in the body through the manual extraction of fluids. In most cases, a catheter is used to remove the excess fluid in your system in hopes of reversing the heart failure.

Surgery

• Depending on the cause of ADHF, a surgical procedure may be necessary to fix or correct a rupture, regurgitation or defect that is contributing to the onset of the condition. This may be done after other treatments have failed to provide results or as soon as the patient has arrived at the medical facility.