Heart failure: prevention, treatment and research (2023)

FAQs

How is heart failure prevented and treated? ›

You can control or eliminate many of the risk factors for heart disease by making healthy lifestyle changes and by taking the medications prescribed by your doctor. Lifestyle changes you can make to help prevent heart failure include: Not smoking. Controlling certain conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

Surgery. Medicines are the main treatment for heart failure, but for some people surgery may help. Operations that can help with heart failure include: heart valve surgery.

But new guidelines issued in April 2022 by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association have added another drug class to the treatment list: a group of diabetes drugs called sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors. To continue reading this article, you must log in.

Beta blockers.

These drugs slow your heart rate and reduce blood pressure. Beta blockers may reduce signs and symptoms of heart failure, improve heart function, and help you live longer. Examples include carvedilol (Coreg), metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol-XL, Kapspargo Sprinkle) and bisoprolol.

Heart failure caused by damage to the heart that has developed over time can't be cured. But it can be treated, quite often with strategies to improve symptoms. Successful treatment depends on your willingness to get involved in managing the condition.

The four "pharmacologic pillars" of heart failure management are diuretics, beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)inhibitors, and lanoxin, according to Pat Manion, RN, MS, CCRN, CEN, trauma coordinator at Genesys Regional Medical Center in Grand Blanc, MI.

Treatments. Although heart failure is a serious condition that progressively gets worse over time, certain cases can be reversed with treatment. Even when the heart muscle is impaired, there are a number of treatments that can relieve symptoms and stop or slow the gradual worsening of the condition.

There's no cure for heart failure. Treatment aims to relieve symptoms and slow further damage. TheI exact plan depends on the stage and type of heart failure, underlying conditions and the individual patient.

Choose an aerobic activity that you enjoy such as walking (outside or on a treadmill), stationary cycling, swimming, and rowing or water aerobics. Ask your doctor before lifting weights. Exercise should be done regularly to gain the benefits; national guidelines suggest most days of the week if not everyday.

The new IVL technology allows physicians to fracture the problematic calcium more easily, safely expand the artery, place a stent and restore blood flow without unnecessary complications.

What is the first line treatment for heart failure? ›

Loop diuretics should be used as first-line agents, with thiazides added for refractory fluid overload. Diuretic treatment should be combined with a low-salt diet,⁸ a β-blocker, and an ACE inhibitor. The practitioner should begin with oral furosemide, 20 to 40 mg once daily.

Lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, cutting down on salt, and exercising regularly, can improve your condition. Medications are also available to help your heart better pump blood. Complementary and alternative therapies can be helpful, too, when used along with standard medical treatment.

Can heart failure improve with exercise? It's important to remember that exercise will not improve your ejection fraction (the percentage of blood your heart can push forward with each pump). However, it can help to improve the strength and efficiency of the rest of your body.

The good news: Yes, you can improve your ejection fraction. Plus, there are many benefits of doing so. Treating heart failure can help improve your heart's function and get more blood flow around the body. As a result, this may reduce your heart failure symptoms, including shortness of breath and fatigue.

A proportion of patients will have remission of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEFrem), defined by resolution of symptoms, normalization of left ventricular ejection fraction, and plasma concentrations of natriuretic peptides and by the ability to withdraw diuretic agents without recurrence of ...

Chronic heart failure is a long-term condition for which there's currently no cure. However, with medication, many people are able to maintain a reasonable quality of life.

The goals of therapy of HFrEF are to reduce morbidity (ie, reduce symptoms, improve health-related quality of life and functional status, and decrease the rate of hospitalization), and to reduce mortality.

Years ago, patients were told to rest and give up activities. But, now, research shows that normal activity is safe for most people with heart failure. Being active may help relieve your symptoms.

Can your heart go back to normal after heart failure? ›

While the phrase may sound like a death sentence, the good news is that many people whose hearts are considered to be failing can make a virtually complete recovery.

The heart is unable to regenerate heart muscle after a heart attack and lost cardiac muscle is replaced by scar tissue. Scar tissue does not contribute to cardiac contractile force and the remaining viable cardiac muscle is thus subject to a greater hemodynamic burden.

Yoga, meditation, and stress reduction are also involved. Diet may be the biggest thing you'd change. The shift will be drastic if you're used to a typical American diet. “Just making moderate changes in your diet may be enough to prevent heart disease, but it won't be enough to reverse it,” Ornish says.

Aerobic Exercise

How much: Ideally, at least 30 minutes a day, at least five days a week. Examples: Brisk walking, running, swimming, cycling, playing tennis and jumping rope. Heart-pumping aerobic exercise is the kind that doctors have in mind when they recommend at least 150 minutes per week of moderate activity.

All of the lifestyle factors that increase your risk of heart attack and stroke – smoking, being overweight, eating foods high in fat and cholesterol and physical inactivity – can also contribute to heart failure.

Sleeping on your right side may be the best option for people with heart failure. Although some people think sleeping on your right side could restrict blood flow back to the heart, there's not enough evidence to prove that it's harmful.

Exercises to avoid if you have heart failure

It's important to avoid exercise that involves heavy weight-lifting, or holding your breath. Don't do any exercises that use your whole body as a weight, such as press-ups or planks. And be careful if you're getting in the pool.

Mar. 2, 2023 — Researchers have identified a new mutation that leads to the cardiac disease arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM). They assessed the effect of this mutation on heart muscle cells and obtained new insights into the underlying mechanism that causes the disease. The results of this study could ...

Q: Is it possible to reverse heart disease or the heart damage it causes? Dr. Tam: With medications, a healthy lifestyle, and dietary changes, the majority of heart conditions can be well-managed and stabilized, which can prevent the disease from getting worse. Certain types of heart disease can be reversible.

Coronary Artery Disease

About 20.1 million adults age 20 and older have CAD (about 7.2%).

Can congestive heart failure be reversed naturally? ›

There is no cure for heart failure but taking medications like diuretics and beta blockers as well as making lifestyle changes like eating a heart-healthy diet, exercising daily, maintaining a healthy weight, managing stress, and keeping your blood sugar and blood pressure levels within a normal range can help you ...

Beta-blockers

These drugs block the action of the hormone norepinephrine (which increases stress on the heart) and produce long-term improvement in heart function and survival and are an essential treatment in people with systolic heart failure.

Hawthorn berry, a traditional remedy for heart problems, is an approved therapy for congestive heart failure in Germany. By improving the heart's ability to metabolize energy and utilize oxygen, hawthorn has been shown to increase the heart muscle's force of contraction.

The best diet for preventing heart disease is one that is full of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, fish, poultry, and vegetable oils; includes alcohol in moderation, if at all; and goes easy on red and processed meats, refined carbohydrates, foods and beverages with added sugar, sodium, and foods with trans ...

In men, this typically starts around age 45, and in women, around age 55. This requires the heart to work harder to get the blood moving, the same way it is harder to pump water through clogged pipes. This extra workload on the heart increases the risk of developing heart failure.

Your health care provider may ask you to lower the amount of fluids you drink: When your heart failure is not very bad, you may not have to limit your fluids too much. As your heart failure gets worse, you may need to limit fluids to 6 to 9 cups (1.5 to 2 liters) a day.

Carnitine. Carnitine is important for cardiac energy metabolism. Clinical trials have shown that carnitine supplementation improved cardiac efficiency, left ventricle ejection fraction, and 3-year survival rates in heart failure patients.

55 to 70% – Normal heart function. 40 to 55% – Below normal heart function. Can indicate previous heart damage from heart attack or cardiomyopathy. Higher than 75% – Can indicate a heart condition like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a common cause of sudden cardiac arrest.

How can I get a bigger ejection? ›

The goals of therapy of HFrEF are to reduce morbidity (ie, reduce symptoms, improve health-related quality of life and functional status, and decrease the rate of hospitalization), and to reduce mortality.

The good news: Yes, you can improve your ejection fraction. Plus, there are many benefits of doing so. Treating heart failure can help improve your heart's function and get more blood flow around the body. As a result, this may reduce your heart failure symptoms, including shortness of breath and fatigue.