Congestive Heart Failure

Our Approach

The physicians at Franciscan Health can diagnose, treat and guide you along the way though lifelong management of a heart failure diagnosis.

With a congestive heart failure diagnosis, it is common for several medication to be prescribed, depending on the your type of heart failure and severity of the symptoms. Medications can include:

• Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, which boost blood flow by widening blood vessels
• B-blockers, which slow the heart rate and cut hypertension
• Digitalis, which helps the heart contract more strongly
• Diuretics, which promote urination to prevent fluid retention in the body and especially the lungs

Bypass surgery may be recommended if blocked arteries are leading to heart failure. Heart valve replacement surgery may be recommended to correct another leading cause. In very select cases, your doctor may put you on the list to receive a heart transplant.

How is congestive heart failure diagnosed?

To diagnose congestive heart failure, your doctor will take a detailed medical history and, with a stethoscope, listen for fluid buildup in the lungs and heart. Additional tests that may be done to diagnose or rule out congestive heart failure can include:

• Blood tests may be conducted to check for kidney function.
• An X-ray will show whether the heart is enlarged and whether fluid has accumulated around it.
• An electrocardiogram can identify heart rhythm issues, and an echocardiogram can determine which chamber is causing the problem.
• An ejection fraction measures how much blood is being pumped from the chambers, and helps classify the type of heart failure.

What is congestive heart failure?

With congestive heart failure the heart beats weaker than normal decreasing the amount of blood that moves through the body while increasing in pressure inside the heart. Your heart may respond by enlarging to hold more blood to pump or by becoming stiff. The heart muscle walls eventually weaken and become unable to pump efficiently.

Heart failure may be a misnomer because the organ hasn't failed. However, congestive heart failure is a serious condition because the heart pumps more weakly and less efficiently than it should. Heart failure often develops as the result of coronary artery disease or hypertension, which exact a toll on the heart's ability to function properly.

In congestive heart failure, the heart's pumping chambers, called ventricles, are unable to either contract or relax fully. The ventricle can become stretched, and the heart's ability to pump blood to the rest of the body is impaired. Blood congests, or backs up, into other parts of the body, such as the lungs, liver or legs. There are several types of heart failure located in any of the heart's chambers, but most often the disease originates in the left ventricle. Faulty heart valves, arrhythmia and heart muscle damage (cardiomyopathy) also lead to heart failure.

What are the symptoms of congestive heart failure?

Symptoms can be mild or severe and chronic or sudden. Congestive heart failure symptoms can include:

• Shortness of breath, especially when lying down
• Coughing and wheezing
• Fatigue and weakness
• Swelling in the ankles and abdomen from retention of fluids
• Weight gain, also from fluid retention
• Dizziness and confusion
• Increased urge to urinate, especially at night