The Facts About Heart Failure: What You Need to Know

Heart failure does not mean that the organ has stopped beating. The chronic medical condition occurs when this vital organ works less efficiently and can no longer pump enough blood and oxygen to support the remainder of the body. The chambers of the heart may stretch to hold more blood and develop more muscle mass. Your heart may also beat faster to increase output. While this helps to keep blood flowing in the short term, the muscle walls will ultimately weaken and not be able to pump as strongly. Eventually, your heart will not be able to keep up. When this occurs, you will experience fatigue, breathing problems and other symptoms. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this chronic progressive medical condition affects approximately 5.7 million Americans. More than half a million new cases are diagnosed annually. A combination of nutritional and medical approaches can reduce symptoms and delay the progression of the disease.

Causes and Risks

Although it is more likely to develop as you age, heart disease is a serious, long-term cardiovascular condition that affects people of all ages. It is one of the most common reasons for hospital admission among patients 65 and older. The most common risk factors include high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and a previous heart attack. Diabetes is another risk factor. Unhealthy lifestyle choices like smoking, not getting sufficient exercise, being obese and consuming a poor diet can increase the risk for developing heart failure. Other factors that can contribute to heart disease include genetics, toxins and infections.

Signs and Symptoms

Common symptoms include shortness of breath and persistent coughing or wheezing. This is caused by a buildup of fluid in the lungs. There may also be a buildup of excess fluid in various bodily tissues like the abdomen and the extremities, including the feet and ankles. You may also experience fatigue. These symptoms can prevent you from enjoying routine daily activities. Other symptoms include nausea and a loss of appetite as well as confusion, memory loss and impaired thinking because of poor blood flow to your digestive tract and brain.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Early diagnosis enables you to take control of your condition and still live a long full life. Heart failure is typically diagnosed based on your symptoms and a full medical examination as well as any required tests. While there is no cure, you can stop the disease from getting worse by following your doctor’s treatment advice, including taking prescribed medications and changing your lifestyle. Prescription medications often include ACE inhibitors that are designed to relax your arteries and heart as well as diuretics that reduce excess fluid and relieve shortness of breath. Medication can also control any atrial fibrillation, or irregular heartbeats. A pacemaker may be installed if your condition fails to respond favorably to medication. A surgical procedure known as ablation may remove small amounts of excess heart muscle or destroy small portions of diseased tissue. Along with avoiding nicotine products, other lifestyle changes include reducing sodium in your diet, maintaining a healthy weight and engaging in daily physical activity to strengthen your heart. A diet of low-fat proteins, fruits, vegetables and whole grains is often recommended.

Heart failure can compromise your health and endanger your life. Working with your doctor, following recommended treatment protocols and making necessary lifestyle changes can relieve symptoms and improve your quality of life.

Healthy Habits can Fight Even Genetic Heart Disease

A new study involving more than 55,000 adults looked at the effect of four lifestyle factors on the incidence of heart disease. The conclusion: Even those with a known genetic predisposition to heart disease can influence the outcome by avoiding unhealthy habits and pro-actively developing healthy ones.

The study assigned a risk factor based in part on whether or not participants carried any of 50 genes known to be associated with increased risk of heart disease. It also looked at the four following healthy lifestyle factors:

1. No current smoking
2. Lack of obesity (BMI less than 30)
3. If they engaged in physical exercise at least once a week
4. Healthy dietary pattern

Participants were ranked based on the number of healthy lifestyle factors they had. The study found that although genetic factors can dramatically increase the risk of heart disease -- by as much as 90 percent in some cases -- every health lifestyle factor helped reduce the risk.

This runs counter to what many people believe about genetic health factors. Most people wrongly believe that if you have "bad" genes, there is no fighting it. You might as well throw in the towel.

But this is not true. Diet and lifestyle make a significant impact on health outcomes, even for those individuals born at high risk due to known genetic factors. The more positive lifestyle factors, the more positive impact.

If you have genetic factors for heart disease, you can work on reducing your risk by doing the following things:

Eat Healthy
This means fewer processed foods and more fresh fruits and vegetables. It also means avoiding saturated fats, trans fat and cholesterol. Limit salt and sugar and eat a high fiber diet.

Be Active
You should exercise at least once a week. But you should also avoid sitting for excessive periods of time. If you work a desk job, get up and walk around a little every hour or so. Your heart will thank you.

Maintain a Healthy Weight
If you are underweight or overweight, work on gradually getting to a healthy weight. Then work at maintaining a healthy weight. Yo-yo dieting -- losing weight and then packing it back on -- is worse than just carrying a few too many pounds.

Avoid Tobacco and Limit Alcohol Use
If you smoke or use other tobacco products, give it up. Drink alcohol only in moderation.

Contrary the popular belief that genetic predisposition to heart disease is destiny, new studies are showing that lifestyle factors can help mitigate genetic risk. If you are at high risk, eat right, exercise, keep your weight down and avoid tobacco.

Your Job Can Influence Your Heart Health

You job and career can influence your level of risk for heart disease and stroke, according to a new study.

Middle-aged people who work in food service, office jobs, or sales jobs have more risk factors for heart disease than people in managerial or professional jobs.

Firefighters, police, health care support workers, and truckers are all more likely to have these markers, the researchers said.

Individuals who are older than 45 and who are in office or sales jobs are more likely to eat an unhealthy diet, smoke, be sedentary, and struggle with high blood pressure.

People in food service tended to have the worst diets, while truckers tended to have the highest smoking rates.

People employed under the "service" umbrella were much less likely to have ideal cholesterol and blood pressure, as well as a lower incidence of healthy BMI.

This heart risk profile is poor, and it was especially pronounced and frequent among protective service workers, which encompasses police, firefighters, and security guards.

To draw these conclusions, the researchers examined health data for more than 5,500 women and men over age 45 to assess heart health. They based the assessment on the American Heart Association's "Life's Simple 7," which include diet, BMI, smoking, physical activity, blood sugar, and cholesterol.

More than 88 percent of employees over the age of 45 did not smoke, and 78 percent of employees we healthy blood sugar levels. However, less than 41 percent had ideal heart health in the remaining five areas.

More than 20 percent of the transportation workers smoked; this was the highest rate among occupation groups in the study.

Two-thirds of sales and office workers had poor cholesterol levels and eating habits, and 80 percent were sedentary. Ninety percent of security guards, firefighters, and police were overweight or obese, and seventy five percent had poor blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Researchers found generally poor cardiovascular health in lower-paying jobs, compared to high-paying jobs.

The nature of the job can create challenges to being healthy. For example, people with desk jobs tend to have trouble getting enough active time.

To combat these challenges on the job, try taking a walk after lunch each day, meal prep your food for the week, or look into a stand-up desk.