Congestive Heart Failure

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Heart failure occurs when weakened heart muscles are unable to pump enough blood through the body. Healthy heart muscles pump blood throughout the body. Unhealthy heart muscles lose that ability. Think about it this way. If you try and lift a fifty-pound package and can’t, the package can’t get to where it needs to go. That’s what happens to your blood when the heart muscles weaken.

Seniors Congestive Heart Failure — Congestive Heart Failure

What Happens When Somepne Has Heart Failure

There are a number of things that happen to a person with heart failure. For example:

Blood circulation slows causing pressure in the heart to increase
The heart may adjust to hold more blood to pump through the body by stretching or becoming stiff. In either case, this is a sign the heart is weakening and becoming less efficient.
As the heart struggles it becomes less efficient at moving oxygen and nutrient through the body.
Retention of water and salt causing fluid buildup in the body or lungs.

Symptoms of Heart Failure

Heart failure can also occur on either side of the heart. Consequently, depending on where the failure is, left or right, the sufferer can have different symptoms.

For example, right-side heart failure can have these symptoms:

Fluid build-up
Stomach bloating – causing nausea
Swelling, weight gain
Fatigue, weakness, low energy
Decrease in urination from low blood flow through kidneys causing fluid buildup
Changes in the need to urinate -more or less often at night
Decreased appetite (related to bloating in the stomach)
Fluid buildup in the abdomen
Enlarged or swollen liver, spleen, or neck veins

Left-side heart failure, for example, can have these symptoms:

Fatigue manifesting as low energy, and tiredness
Blue or pal skin caused by low blood oxygen levels
Wheezing or loud breathing sounds
General restlessness, confusion and anxiety
Hacking, bloody, or dry coughing
Fluid buildup in lungs
Breathing complications like difficulty breathing or fast breathing
Difficulty breathing while lying down
Fast or irregular heart rate

Treatment For Heart Failure

Unfortunately, heart failure does not have a cure. However, there are lots of treatments that help sufferers live longer, more active lives with fewer symptoms. Treatments also vary depending on the type of heart failure diagnosed. But treatments do fall into the following categories: lifestyle changes, diet changes, and medical treatments.

Lifestyle Changes

Lifestyle changes involve changing certain behaviors that have negative effects on your heart. These include:

Maintain a healthy weight. Carrying extra weight makes your heart work harder.
Regularly exercise. Although you should first check with your doctor, regular physical exercise helps maintain heart health and promote overall health.
Stop smoking. Smoking is harmful to your heart and other organs of your body.
Manage stress. Stress increases the burden on your heart. Learning to manage stress, lowers this burden.
Get good quality sleep.

Diet

Diet changes involve changing certain things you eat and drink that have negative effects on your heart. For example:

Alcohol. Limit or stop drinking alcohol. Too much alcohol is bad for your heart.
Salt. Limit consumption of salt (sodium). Lower your salt intake. Salt can lead to fluid buildup. Too much salt can weaken your heart’s ability to properly function. Find tips to lower sodium here.
Healthy diet. Maintaining a healthy diet can help with heart disease. A healthy diet is one that doesn’t increase pressure on your heart. Find help with heart-healthy diets here.

Medical Interventions

Medical interventions are also used for a variety of types of heart failure. They include, for example, drugs, devices, and surgeries.

Medicines

Left-sided heart failure

Digoxin to strengthen the heart. Enables the heart to beat stronger and pump more blood. Used in serious cases.
- Side effects include vision issues, digestive problems, and confusion.
Newer medications like sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide (GLP) agonists. These drugs help lower blood sugar in patients with diabetes and may also reduce heart failure hospitalizations.
Sodium reducers. Medicines like diuretics and aldosterone antagonists (e.g., spironolactone) that lower the amount of blood the heart must pump.
- Side effects include low blood pressure, kidney disease, and worsening heart failure symptoms. Aldosterone antagonists can cause kidney disease and high potassium levels.
Medicine to relax blood vessels. Relaxing blood vessels makes it easier for your heart to pump blood. Drug examples include angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers. 
- Side effects include low blood pressure, cough, and short-term reduced kidney function.
Medicines to slow heart rate. Medications like beta-blockers and ivabradine make it easier for the heart to pump blood. This can help prevent long-term heart failure from getting worse.
- Side effects include irregular or slow heart rate, high blood pressure, and vision problems (halos, decreased vision).

Right-side heart failure.

Medications to remove extra sodium and fluid from your body, and medicines to relax your blood vessels.

Medical Devices/Surgeries

Pacemaker. A biventricular pacemaker (aka cardiac resynchronization therapy) can help both sides of your heart contract at the same time to relieve your symptoms.
Heart pump. A mechanical heart pump, such as a ventricular assist device or a total artificial heart. You may use a heart pump until you have surgery or as a long-term treatment.
An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). An ICD checks your heart rate and uses electrical pulses to correct irregular heart rhythms that can cause sudden cardiac arrest.

Surgeries

There are also numerous heart surgeries available to patients with general Cardiovascular Disease. See the section here for information.

CarePlanIt’s Approach

CarePlanIt classifies every issue into one of five key areas: health, housing, finances, end-of-life chores & family communication. Once done, the CarePlanIt framework allows you to create an optimized process of addressing the challenge. You minimize your family’s time and costs while maximizing your chance at reaching an ideal solution. Although all five categories work together, it’s important to make an initial categorization.

Heart failure is a “Health” issue that is evaluated by the chronic effects of the disease. Whereas you might get better or return to full functionality after a stroke or heart attack, congestive heart failure is permanent. CarePlanIt’s classification of health issues can help you better understand the impact of heart disease on your life. In short, both chronic and temporary effects of heart disease need to be managed properly or devastating complications can arise. The senior, their spouse, and the entire family need to understand these implications. Depending on the severity of the condition, staying at home may be challenging, even impossible.

We can also help you navigate issues relating to the need for assisted living or nursing care. Review our Sections on Health and Housing.

Quick Ideas

To prevent the disease

> Keep moving, exercising and stretching

> Don’t smoke or vape

> Maintain a healthy weight

> Eat healthily

> Treat and stay on top of any other diseases you have (high blood pressures, high cholesterol, etc.)

To treat:

> The above lifestyle changes can help

> Medication like Benazepril (Lotensin), Captopril (Capoten), Enalapril (Vasotec), Fosinopril (Monopril), Lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril), Moexipril (Univasc), Perindopril (Aceon), Quinapril (Accupril)

Additional Resources On Congestive Heart Failure

A great article on heart failure from the CDC is here.