Heart attack recovery takes anywhere from two weeks to three months. During this time, it's important to begin adopting lifestyle changes that can lower your risk of a future heart attack. These include adding more exercise to your day, following a heart-healthy diet and quitting smoking.
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.
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.
Heart muscle damaged by a heart attack heals by forming scar tissue. It usually takes several weeks for your heart muscle to heal.
Shortness of breath with activity or when lying down. Fatigue and weakness. Swelling in the legs, ankles and feet. Rapid or irregular heartbeat.
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.
Heart Failure: Quick Facts
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.
Cardiomyopathy can lead to serious complications, including: Heart failure. The heart can't pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. Untreated, heart failure can be life-threatening.
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.
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.
One of the biggest differences is that heart disease happens gradually over time while a heart attack occurs suddenly and is an emergency. Heart failure occurs when the muscles of the heart become weak and have difficulty pumping enough blood to nourish your body's many cells.
Ms Eriksen recommends doing an aerobic activity (something where you're moving most of your body, which will increase your heart and breathing rate a little, such as moving to music or walking around) and resistance work, where you add light weights to build muscle strength.
Cardiomyopathy is disease in which the heart muscle becomes weakened, stretched, or has another structural problem. It often contributes to the heart's inability to pump or function well. Many people with cardiomyopathy have heart failure.
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.
A pacemaker can slow down the progression of heart failure. It may help keep you out of the hospital and help you live longer. If you get a pacemaker, you still need to take medicines for heart failure. You'll also need to follow a healthy lifestyle to help treat heart failure.
“When the blood vessels become blocked, that restricts blood flow to the heart, which can weaken it.” Other causes for cardiomyopathy include: Valvular heart disease – When the mitral or aortic valve is tight or leaky, that forces the heart to work much harder.
blood tests – to check whether there's anything in your blood that might indicate heart failure or another illness. an electrocardiogram (ECG) – this records the electrical activity of your heart to check for problems. an echocardiogram – a type of ultrasound scan where sound waves are used to examine your heart.
Feeling tired all the time can be a symptom of heart failure, as well as of other conditions.
In men, this typically starts around age 45, and in women, around age 55.
Your risk for heart disease increases with age, especially with people of color and for those who are over 65. While the average age for a heart attack is 64.5 for men, and 70.3 for women, nearly 20% of those who die of heart disease are under the age of 65.
Stage I is considered “pre-heart failure.” High-risk individuals include patients with high blood pressure, diabetes, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and coronary artery disease. A family history of alcohol abuse, rheumatic fever, cardiotoxic drug therapy, or cardiomyopathy can increase your risk.
Many people with heart disease take either aspirin or clopidogrel (Plavix). These drugs help prevent blood clots from forming in your arteries. This can lower your risk of a stroke or heart attack. Coumadin (Warfarin) is recommended for people with heart failure who have a higher risk for blood clots.