Heart failure is a critical situation in which heart is unable to pump the blood around the different parts of body properly. It is imperative to notice that proper circulation of the blood is very important for the efficient working of the body and if it does not happen then it may cause congestion and edema in the tissues. Heart failure is also known as Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) or Congestive Cardiac failure (CCF). This situation can be identified by checking a patient physically and can be confirmed by Echocardiography or echo test, various lab tests like electrolyte, liver function test, renal function, thyroid function and with the help of Angiography.
A pioneer in Heart Failure Surgeries, Dr. S.K. Sinha is one the most recognized name in India for performing various complex heart surgeries in India. Dr. Sinha with the support of world class technology at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket and highly dedicated and caring medical team has performed many successful heart surgeries, giving smile to many patients and their families.
Symptoms
- Shortness of breathing
- Swelling of legs, ankles, feet or hands.
- Increase in weight
- Tiredness
- Fainting
- Heart beat increases rapidly
Causes of Heart Failure
The effectiveness of the heart muscle or myocardium decrease can result into heart failure. The major causes of heart failure are-
- Hypertension or high blood pressure.
- Diabetes or blood sugar
- Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
- Valvular Heart diseases(heart valves diseases)
- Myocardial infarction
- Cigarette Smoking
- Obesity or over weight
- Cardiomyopathy which is a disease of heart muscle can be caused by alcohol, drugs, and virus
Types of Heart Failure
There are two types of dysfunction of heart which result in heart failure
1. Systolic Dysfunction
Systolic dysfunction is the condition in which heart fails to pump proper circulation of blood to the body. In this dysfunction heart also gets bigger in size and becomes weak. The walls of left chamber of the heart get weak and thin. This dysfunction is caused by damaged cardiac myocytes or damaged molecular components of myocytes. Systolic Dysfunction is more prevalent than the Diastolic Dysfunction. It causes around 70% of heart failure cases.
2. Diastolic Dysfunction
Diastolic Dysfunction is characterized by inability of heart to relax sufficiently and ventricular wall becomes more stiff. As a result heart is unable to generate required stroke volume because of insufficient filling in the ventricle. It can also result in increased end diastolic pressure.
Surgeries for treating Heart Failure
The types of Heart Failure surgeries routinely performed with minimal invasive technique
Heart Bypass Surgery –
When the heart arteries are damaged or blocked critically, blood vessels from patient’s leg, arm or chest is taken and the blocked artery of the heart is bypassed so that blood can circulate more freely through the patient’s heart.
Repair or Replacement of Heart Valve –
In conditions when heart valve not working properly causing heart failure it is advisable to repair the damaged valve. In severe conditions when Heart valve is damaged beyond repairable the damaged valve is replaced completely with a prosthetic valve.
Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) or biventricular pacing –
A pacemaker makes the heart to beat at the right pace by sending correct and timed electrical signals. Thus heart pumps the blood in a proper way. Pacemaker is a small machine which run on battery.
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICD) –
The function of the ICD is to keep a check on heart beat. If the pace or rhythm of heartbeats varies from its normal pace, which can be dangerous an ICD generates and sends an electrical shock so that heart pace come back to the normal.
Heart Pumps –
Also known as Left Ventricular Assist device or LVAD. Heart pump used to assist a weak heart to pump adequately. These devices are implanted into the body and then attached to the heart. It is useful when the condition of patient is such that he is not ready for heart transplantation or a new heart is not available to transplant and patient has to wait for transplantation.
Heart Transplant –
In critical heart failure cases when the conditions of patients cannot be cured with any other surgery or medicines, in such scenarios damaged heart is replaced with a donor heart, depending on the availability of the donor heart.