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Why Heart Failure happens and what are some of the latest treatments.

#heartfailure #whatisheartfailure #heartfailuretreatments

What is Heart Failure:
Heart failure happens when your heart can't pump blood the way it's supposed to.

Heart Failure Symptoms:
* shortness of breath (dyspnoea)
* tiredness and weakness
* swollen feet, ankles, and legs (fluid retention)
* loss of appetite (more severe)

Causes of heart failure:
* Coronary artery disease
* High blood pressure (Hypertension)
* Endocrine disorders, e.g. diabetes, hypo/hyperthyroidism, acromegaly, Cushing‟s syndrome, aldosteronism, phaeochromocytoma
* Valvular heart disease
* Alcohol
* Cardiomyopathies
* Familial cardiomyopathy
* Infections, such as viral myocarditis
* Congenital heart disease
* Infiltrative conditions, such sarcoidosis, amyloidosis, haemochromatosis
* Drugs, such as chemotherapy agents, methamphetamines, cocaine
* Nutritional, such as obesity, thiamine deficiency
* Chronic arrhythmias, e.g. uncontrolled AF, or bradycardia (complete heart block)

Lifestyle treatments:
* Physical activity - start gently with small amounts of regular exercise and build up gradually
* Save your energy eg rest for an hour after lunch, sit to do jobs - like preparing food or having a shower
* Stop smoking
* Maintain a healthy diet
* Avoid alcohol
* Keep a healthy body weight

References:
1. National Heart Foundation of Australia and Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand: Guidelines for the Prevention, Detection, and Management of Heart Failure in Australia 2018 https://www.heartlungcirc.org/article/S1443-9506(18)31777-3/fulltext
2. Aliti G.B, Rabelo E.R, Clausell N, Rohde L.E, Biolo A, Beck-da-Silva L.
Aggressive fluid and sodium restriction in acute decompensated heart failure: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2013; 173: 1058-1064 https://www.heartlungcirc.org/servlet/linkout?suffix=e_1_5_1_2_289_2&dbid=8&doi=10.1016/j.hlc.2018.06.1042&key=23689381&cf=
3. Albert N.M, Nutter B, Forney J, Slifcak E, Tang W.H. A randomized controlled pilot study of outcomes of strict allowance of fluid therapy in hyponatremic heart failure (SALT-HF). J Card Fail. 2013; 19: 1-9 https://www.heartlungcirc.org/servlet/linkout?suffix=e_1_5_1_2_290_2&dbid=8&doi=10.1016/j.hlc.2018.06.1042&key=23273588&cf=
4. Exercise-based rehabilitation for heart failure: systematic review and meta-analysis: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25685361/
5. Efficacy and safety of exercise training in patients with chronic heart failure: HF-ACTION randomized controlled trial: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19351941/
6. Thirty Years of Evidence on the Efficacy of Drug Treatments for Chronic Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.116.003529
7. Impact of Sacubitril/Valsartan on Patient Outcomes in Heart Failure: Evidence to Date https://www.dovepress.com/impact-of-sacubitrilvalsartan-on-patient-outcomes-in-heart-failure-evi-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-TCRM
8. Perlman A, Hirsh Raccah B, Matok I, Muszkat M. Cognition and dementia-related adverse effects with sacubitril-valsartan: analysis of the FDA adverse event report system database. J Card Fail. 2018;24(8):533–536. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29746915/