Heart Failure Archive

Articles

The future of heart rhythm monitoring?

Small, wireless skin patches may offer a convenient way to diagnose—or rule out—arrhythmias.

An abnormal heart rhythm—when your heartbeat is too slow, too fast, or irregular—may be a fleeting, harmless event. But it might be a sign of a more serious heart condition. If you have frequent palpitations (which feel like your heart is pounding, racing, or fluttering) or unexplained fainting spells, your doctor may recommend a Holter monitor. This portable electrocardiogram (ECG) machine records your heart rhythm over a day or two.

Ask the doctor: Pacemakers and MRI scans

Q. I have a pacemaker and was told to never have an MRI scan. Is there any way around that?

A. In the past, people with pacemakers were told never to have magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but in certain cases it may be safe.

Treating mild high blood pressure reduces heart problems

A recent study in Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that people with mild high blood pressure and no symptoms of heart disease can still benefit from taking blood pressure medication.

When your blood pressure tips above 140/90 mm Hg, most doctors suggest medication—in addition to healthy diet and exercise. The higher your blood pressure, the greater the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and death. What experts disagree on is how low you should shoot for once your blood pressure is clearly above the 140/90 threshold.

Avoiding fluid overload if you have heart failure



Image: Thinkstock

Learn ways to limit liquids without feeling too thirsty.

If your heart is weakened by heart failure, your kidneys may not get enough blood to work as well as they should. As a result, your body retains salt and water in a misguided attempt to boost your blood volume. That causes fluid to build up throughout the body, leading to the classic heart failure symptoms of weight gain, swollen ankles or feet, and shortness of breath.

What's new with the LVAD?

The left ventricular assist device continues to find new roles in the treatment of advanced heart failure.

The left ventricular assist device (LVAD) had its moment in the media spotlight in 2010 when former Vice President Dick Cheney received the miniature implantable unit to boost his weak heart function until he became eligible for a transplant. But the expanding role of the LVAD in the treatment of people seriously ill with heart failure goes well beyond the machine's brief star turn. Over the next few years, the LVAD is poised to become the most frequently used surgical treatment for advanced heart failure, likely surpassing the number of heart transplants.

Avoiding afib hospitalizations

Image: Thinkstock

What you need to know about this common heart condition.

Almost three million people in the United States struggle with the irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation (afib), in which the heart's upper chambers (the atria) quiver futilely, rather than pumping steadily. This can lead to blood clots forming in the slow-moving blood. If clots form and travel in the blood to the brain, they can cause a stroke. Afib can also cause the heart's main pumping chambers (the ventricles) to pump too fast. The rapid heartbeat and quivering atria can combine to cause heart failure.

Digoxin: Old friend or old foe?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Image: Thinkstock

Foxglove has dramatic spikes of tubeshaped flowers. The leaves are a source of digitalis, a potent heart drug.

The controversial heart failure drug has a new role in limiting hospital stays.

Should an abnormal electrocardiogram be a cause for worry?

Here's the truth about left and right bundle branch blocks that show up on some ECG readings.

Your doctor has told you that you have a bundle branch block. Although the phrase evokes images of a suburban subdivision, bundle branch blocks are abnormalities of the heart's conduction system that show up on a tracing of the electrical activity in the heart, called an electrocardiogram (ECG) reading.

From hot dogs to heart failure

 

 

 

 

 



Image: Thinkstock

Men who eat processed red meats such as sausages and cold cuts may boost their risk of heart failure, say Swedish researchers reporting in the journal Circulation.

A large study examined the eating and health behaviors of over 37,000 middle-aged men for approximately 12 years. Over that period, the individuals who ate the highest quantities of processed meats—75 grams a day or more—were twice as likely to die from heart failure and had a 29% greater chance of developing the condition than those who consumed 25 grams or less daily. (An average serving of 2 ounces of roast beef deli meat equals about 57 grams.) However, no such difference was noted when comparing the heart failure rates of the highest and lowest consumers of unprocessed red meats (such as beef, pork, and hamburger).

Heart failure with 'preserved ejection fraction': What does it mean?





Image: Thinkstock

Heart muscle damage is 
already well advanced by the time symptoms appear. Getting a correct heart failure diagnosis is key.

A variety of factors can lead the heart to fail even when pumping capacity appears normal.

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