Heart failure can't be cured, but there are things you can do to help you improve your quality of life. You can manage your heart failure with lifestyle changes, medicines and sometimes surgery.
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.
How long can you live with congestive heart failure? 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.
Treatment for people with Stage A heart failure includes: Regular exercise, such as walking every day. No tobacco products. Treatment for high blood pressure (medication, low-sodium diet, active lifestyle).
There's no cure for heart failure. Treatment aims to relieve symptoms and slow further damage.
The life expectancy for congestive heart failure depends on the cause of heart failure, its severity, and other underlying medical conditions. In general, about half of all people diagnosed with congestive heart failure will survive 5 years. About 30% will survive for 10 years.
This is known as diastolic dysfunction, which is a condition in which the heart does not relax normally. Some patients with slightly reduced pump function, also known as mild systolic dysfunction, can have an ejection fraction in the range of 40- 49% or heart failure with mid-range ejection fraction.
Symptoms can develop quickly (acute heart failure) or gradually over weeks or months (chronic heart failure).
Most often, heart failure is caused by another medical condition that damages your heart. This includes coronary heart disease, heart inflammation, high blood pressure, cardiomyopathy, or an irregular heartbeat. Heart failure may not cause symptoms right away.
Healthcare providers often prescribe ACE inhibitors and beta blockers as first-line treatments. These drugs are especially helpful for people who have a reduced ejection fraction.
Heart failure is a lifelong condition in which the heart muscle can't pump enough blood to meet the body's needs for blood and oxygen.
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.
You may have trouble breathing, an irregular heartbeat, swollen legs, neck veins that stick out, and sounds from fluid built up in your lungs. Your doctor will check for these and other signs of heart failure. A test called an echocardiogram is often the best test to diagnose your heart failure.
Heart failure can happen at any age. It happens to both men and women, but men often develop it at a younger age than women. Your chance of developing heart failure increases if: You're 65 years old or older.
Remission of heart failure, defined by resolution of symptoms, normalization of left ventricular ejection fraction, and plasma concentrations of natriuretic peptides and by the ability to withdraw diuretic agents without recurrence of congestion is increasingly recognized among patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.
People 65 years or older have a higher risk of heart failure. Older adults are also more likely to have other health conditions that cause heart failure. Family history of heart failure makes your risk of heart failure higher. Genetics may also play a role.
Call your health care provider right away if you have heart failure and: Your symptoms suddenly become worse. You develop a new symptom. You gain 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms) or more within a few days.
A chest X-ray can be useful to identify evidence of heart failure or other lung pathology; however, a normal result does not rule out a diagnosis of heart failure. An electrocardiogram (ECG) is often abnormal in patients with heart failure, although up to 10% of patients may have a normal ECG.
Stress can cause a heart attack, sudden cardiac death, heart failure, or arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) in persons who may not even know they have heart disease.
Heart failure can be acute, like after a heart attack, or it may develop over time, for example because of permanently high blood pressure or coronary artery disease. Depending on how severe heart failure is, it may go unnoticed, only cause minor symptoms, or really affect your physical fitness.
Comorbidities mean spotting heart failure can take even longer. Dr Bottle and colleagues found that among people diagnosed with heart failure, those who also had COPD waited on average 1,189 days from the onset of symptoms to receive a diagnosis – over a third longer than those without COPD, at 888 days.
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.
Stage II: You don't have heart failure symptoms at rest, but some symptoms slightly limit your physical activity. Symptoms include fatigue and shortness of breath. Stage III: Heart failure symptoms noticeably limit your physical activity (but you still are asymptomatic at rest).
Exercise and weight loss can help to reverse heart failure when it's started early enough. However, losing weight and keeping fit is not always enough.