Can you live with damaged heart muscle?

If your heart muscle becomes too weak, you may develop heart failure (a serious condition that needs special treatment). Most people are only mildly affected by cardiomyopathy and can lead relatively normal lives. However, people who have severe heart failure may need a heart transplant.

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How long can you live with heart muscle damage?

In general, more than half of all people diagnosed with congestive heart failure will survive for 5 years. About 35% will survive for 10 years. Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a chronic, progressive condition that affects the heart's ability to pump blood around the body.

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What happens if your heart muscle is damaged?

In the damaged area, scar tissue may form and doesn't contract or pump as well as healthy muscle tissue. As a result, the extent of damage to the heart muscle can affect how well the heart pumps blood throughout the body. How much pumping function is lost depends on the size and location of the scar tissue.

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Can you live a normal life with a damaged heart?

It is possible to lead a normal life, even if you have Heart Failure. Understanding and taking control of Heart Failure is the key to success. Your doctor and healthcare providers will provide guidelines and a treatment plan. It is your responsibility to follow the treatment plan and manage your Heart Failure.

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Can you fully recover from a damaged heart muscle?

The heart is unable to regenerate heart muscle after a heart attack and lost cardiac muscle is replaced by scar tissue. Scar tissue does not contribute to cardiac contractile force and the remaining viable cardiac muscle is thus subject to a greater hemodynamic burden.

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Stimulating Heart Muscle to Regrow After Injury

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How do you know if your heart muscle is damaged?

After an electrocardiogram (ECG), an echocardiogram (echo) is most often the best first test for people when heart failure is being evaluated. Your provider will use it to guide your treatment. Other imaging tests can look at how well your heart is able to pump blood, and how much the heart muscle is damaged.

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Can weak heart muscle be cured?

For most people, heart failure is a long-term condition that can't be cured. But treatment can help keep the symptoms under control, possibly for many years. The main treatments are: healthy lifestyle changes.

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What is life expectancy with a weak heart?

About half of people who develop heart failure die within 5 years of diagnosis. 3. Most people with end-stage heart failure have a life expectancy of less than 1 year.

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How do you fix a weak heart muscle?

7 powerful ways you can strengthen your heart
  1. Get moving. Your heart is a muscle and, as with any muscle, exercise is what strengthens it. ...
  2. Quit smoking. Quitting smoking is tough. ...
  3. Lose weight. Losing weight is more than just diet and exercise. ...
  4. Eat heart-healthy foods. ...
  5. Don't forget the chocolate. ...
  6. Don't overeat. ...
  7. Don't stress.

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How serious is a weak heart muscle?

If your heart muscle becomes too weak, you may develop heart failure (a serious condition that needs special treatment). Most people are only mildly affected by cardiomyopathy and can lead relatively normal lives. However, people who have severe heart failure may need a heart transplant.

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What does a weakened heart muscle feel like?

Rapid or Irregular Heartbeat The heart may speed up to compensate for its failing ability to adequately pump blood throughout the body. Patients may feel a fluttering in the heart (palpitations) or a heartbeat that seems irregular or out of rhythm. This often is described as a pounding or racing sensation in the chest.

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Can you live 20 years heart failure?

In general, about half of all people diagnosed with congestive heart failure will survive 5 years. About 30% will survive for 10 years. In patients who receive a heart transplant, about 21% of patients are alive 20 years later.

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What causes heart muscle damage?

The heart muscle can be damaged by certain infections, heavy alcohol use, illegal drug use and some chemotherapy medicines. Your genes also can play a role. Any of the following conditions also can damage or weaken the heart and cause heart failure. Coronary artery disease and heart attack.

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Can a weak heart become strong again?

Although heart failure is a serious condition that progressively gets worse over time, certain cases can be reversed with treatment. Even when the heart muscle is impaired, there are a number of treatments that can relieve symptoms and stop or slow the gradual worsening of the condition.

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What causes muscle damage around the heart?

uncontrolled high blood pressure. an unhealthy lifestyle, such as a lack of vitamins and minerals in your diet, drinking too much alcohol and using recreational drugs. a viral infection that causes inflammation of the heart muscle. a heart valve problem.

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Can you feel a damaged heart?

Chest pain, chest tightness, chest pressure and chest discomfort (angina) Shortness of breath. Pain in the neck, jaw, throat, upper belly area or back. Pain, numbness, weakness or coldness in the legs or arms if the blood vessels in those body areas are narrowed.

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Is heart damage always permanent?

Once you've been diagnosed with heart disease, you can't be cured. But you can treat the things that contributed to the development of coronary artery disease. In turn, this can reduce how the condition impacts your body.

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Should I exercise with heart failure?

Exercising when you have heart failure can lead to a reduced risk of being hospitalised. “If you keep your body moving, you'll help your muscles and lungs work better, which in turn puts less strain on your heart,” says Gill Farthing, a nurse at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

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What are the 4 signs your heart is quietly failing?

Warning signs and symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, chronic coughing or wheezing, swelling, fatigue, loss of appetite, and others.

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Can exercise reverse a weak heart?

Can heart failure improve with exercise? It's important to remember that exercise will not improve your ejection fraction (the percentage of blood your heart can push forward with each pump). However, it can help to improve the strength and efficiency of the rest of your body.

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Which are two signs of worsening heart failure?

Signs of Worsening Heart Failure
  • Shortness of breath.
  • Feeling dizzy or lightheaded.
  • Weight gain of three or more pounds in one day.
  • Weight gain of five pounds in one week.
  • Unusual swelling in the legs, feet, hands, or abdomen.
  • A persistent cough or chest congestion (the cough may be dry or hacking)

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What is the most common injury to the heart muscle?

A myocardial contusion, or cardiac contusion, is a bruise on your heart muscle. Common causes include car crashes and falls. Treatment depends on the complications that may happen after this blunt cardiac injury.

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What is the average age to get heart failure?

In men, this typically starts around age 45, and in women, around age 55.

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Can you have heart failure for years and not know it?

You may not have any symptoms of heart failure, or the symptoms may be mild to severe. Symptoms can be constant or can come and go. The symptoms can include: Congested lungs.

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How old are most people with heart failure?

As you get older, you are more likely to have heart failure — it's the leading cause of hospitalization for people over age 65. But men and women under 65 also are at risk for developing heart failure.

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