Fighting Heart Failure

According to the American Medical Association journals, heart failure affects nearly 5 million Americans each year, with more than 300,000 people dying of this fatal disease. While the statistics may sound grim, there are many ways to educate yourself and simple lifestyle modifications can be made that will prevent you from becoming one of them.

Many people aren't aware that they have a chronic heart health problem until it's too late. Heart failure, in the form of a heart attack, sends surprised patients to the emergency room because they were not keeping up with routine checkups. Just as you take your car in for an oil change every 3,000 miles, so should you visit your doctor every year to test for abnormalities and treat entirely preventable diseases. While there may not be a 100% guarantee that you can avoid normal degeneration of the body, there are many things that you can do to add ten to twenty years onto your life and remain healthy and happy for the vast majority of your days.

To check if you may have heart health problems, your general practitioner can run several tests to be sure. Many people avoid getting tested in advance because they fear invasive pokes and prods, but most of these screening tests are very non-invasive. For instance, one test, which is a "stress test," has you walking on a treadmill for a specific interval of time through several intensity levels, while an IV-injected tracer moves through the blood, indicating possible obstructions or strain.

Another test, the EKG, simply monitors your heart rhythms through electrical wires with adhesive ends stuck to your chest, arms and legs. An "Echocardiogram" is simply an ultrasound image taken of your chest, which is as painless as a photograph. Most people are familiar with the usual hypertension/blood pressure test done with a cuff around your bicep. The most invasive test, which is recommended for people with a genetic predisposition, is the "Catheriterization," which is a small tube inserted into the artery, which may open an obstruction or insert dye to see where the problem spots are.

If you've suffered heart failure, then chances are you'll need medication to reverse some of the hits your body has taken. One class of drugs, ACE-Inhibitors, are often referred to as the first line of defense and include brand names like Capoten, Vasotec, Lotensin, Mavik, Monopril and Aceon. ACE-Inhibitors work by causing blood vessels to expand, thus lowering blood pressure and heart strain. If your circulation is generally poor, resulting in fluid buildups, then your doctor will likely prescribe a diuretic or water pill such as Lasix, Midamor or Diuril. Another category of drugs, Vasodilators, cause the blood vessel walls to widen. Beta-Blockers, like Lopressor and Tenormin reduce the heart's tendency to beat too fast, which keeps the heart rate normal and lowers blood pressure. Health experts agree that ingesting potassium and calcium are also necessary supplements if you're on any kind of heart medication.

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