Top 5 Signs Your Blood Sugar Is High

High Blood Sugar and Diabetes

Blood sugar control is at the center of any diabetes treatment plan. High blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, is a major concern, and can affect people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes . There are two main kinds:

Fasting hyperglycemia. This is blood sugar that's higher than 130 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter) after not eating or drinking for at least 8 hours.
Postprandial or after-meal hyperglycemia. This is blood sugar that's higher than 180 mg/dL 2 hours after you eat. People without diabetes rarely have blood sugar levels over 140 mg/dL after a meal, unless it’s really large.

Aortic Valve Repair, Replacement and Surgery

Aortic valve surgery is usually done on patients who have a leaking aortic valve. In many cases, surgery to repair, or replace, the existing valve is the only option. The faulty valve, in severe cases, is not functioning properly and in is allowing blood to regurgitate. When talking about aortic valve repair, replacement and surgery there are a few options. First off, the surgery could consist of repairing an already existing valve. This will most often consist of a surgeon reinforcing the aortic valve to ensure that is working correctly. Reinforcing the valve will give it the strength it needs to open fully or close completely. The next option is aortic valve replacement. The valve will either be replaced with an artificial valve or a valve made out of donated human tissue or animal tissue. The doctor will make the call on which kind of valve replacement is right for your situation.
Aortic Valve Repair

* Repair of the structural support. This is when the surgeon will shorten the cords that support the valves. When theses valves are shorter it will allow the aortic valve to close completely.
* Reshaping is where the aortic valve is cut and then sewn back together in a new shape. Reshaping the aortic valve will allow it function properly. When the valve becomes misshaped it cab have difficulty regulating blood flow.

Aortic Valve Replacement

* A mechanical valve will be put in place of your natural aortic valve. These mechanical valves are made out of polymers or metals. The mechanical valves are very safe and will ideally last for a lifetime.
* Using human donated tissue or animal tissue is a permanent solution to a faulty aortic valve. The tissue will be used in place of the pre-existing aortic valve. Surgery that involves using tissue is very effective at first but gradually becomes weaker and weaker as time goes by. The aortic valve will need to be replaced every 10 to 20 years if tissue is used.
* A small incision of 3 or 4 inches will be made on the chest. The incision will act as the entry point that the surgeon will use in order to insert the new aortic valve.

Aortic valve repair, replacement and surgery should be a serious consideration if your aortic valve is leaking or not functioning properly otherwise. Make sure to work with a qualified surgeon in order to get the best, most effective results.

What is a Heart Attack?

What is a Heart Attack?

Have you ever asked yourself the question what is a heart attack? We all know that it can be deadly and that you need immediate attention if you are having one. However, many people do not know exactly what is going on with the heart during a heart attack. Unfortunately, if more people knew exactly what a heart attack was, as well as the warning signs, then there would not be so many heart attack related deaths.

A heart attack is when the blood flow to part of the heart muscle becomes blocked. When the blood flow becomes blocked it must be restored quickly or the part of the heart that is deprived of blood can die. If you think that you, or someone around you, is having a heart attack then it is important to seek out help immediately. If treatment for a heart attack is started within one hour of when the symptoms start then there is a better chance of the treatment working. Since the heart is the muscle that supplies the rest of your body with oxygen rich blood it is crucial that it is functioning properly. Even a few moments without blood flow to the rest of the body can cause major damage to other organs.

Every year over a million people in the United States have heart attacks. Most of the heart attacks can be attributed to the lifestyle of the person. For instance things such as smoking cigarettes, a lot of stress and a poor diet can contribute to the likelihood that a heart attack will occur. The above mentioned factors can put unnecessary strain on the heart muscle thus causing you to have a heart attack. It is important to call an ambulance if you feel like you are having a heart attack. Since the symptoms can come on suddenly it is best to not wait around before getting help. If you wait too long it may be too late.

Over half of the people who suffer a heart attack die. This is because they did not recognize the warning signs and seek out immediate help. Many people could make a full recover from a heart attack if they would just act a little bit quicker. When the heart is involved it is important to know the details. Being able to answer the question what is a heart attack will ensure that you know what is going on if you begin to feel symptomatic.

Experiencing Heart Symptoms? Read This for Tips

Experiencing Heart Symptoms? Read This for Tips

Heart attack symptoms or also known as a myocardial infarction is the death of heart muscle from the sudden blockage of a coronary artery by a blood clot. Coronary arteries are blood vessels that supply the heart muscle with blood and oxygen. Blockage of a coronary artery deprives the heart muscle of blood and oxygen thus causing injury to the heart muscle.

This injury to the heart muscle causes chest pain and chest pressure sensation and if the blood flow is not restored to the heart muscle within 20 to 40 minutes irreversible death of the heart muscle will begin to occur. Muscle continues to die for six to eight hours at which time the heart attack usually is “complete.” The dead heart muscle is eventually replaced by scar tissue.

Heart Symptoms Causes:

Atherosclerosis is process by which plaques of cholesterol are deposited in the walls of arteries. Cholesterol plaques cause hardening of the arterial walls and narrowing of the inner channel of the artery.

Arteries that are narrowed by atherosclerosis cannot deliver enough blood to maintain normal function of the parts of the body they supply. Atherosclerosis of the arteries that furnish blood to the brain can lead to vascular dementia or stroke.

Atherosclerosis can remain silent in a lot of people for years or decades. It can begin as early as the teenage years but symptoms or health problems usually do not arise until later in adulthood when the arterial narrowing becomes severe.

Smoking cigarettes, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and diabetes mellitus can accelerate atherosclerosis and lead to the earlier onset of symptoms and complications, particularly in those people who have a family history of early atherosclerosis.

Coronary atherosclerosis is the atherosclerosis that causes hardening and narrowing of the coronary arteries. Diseases caused by the reduced blood supply to the heart muscle from coronary atherosclerosis are called coronary heart diseases (CHD).

Coronary heart diseases include heart attacks, sudden unexpected death, chest pain (angina), abnormal heart rhythms, and heart failure due to weakening of the heart muscle.

Conclusion:

At the first sign of heart attack symptoms acting fast can save lives and limit damage to the heart. Treatment is most effective when started within 1 hour of the beginning of symptoms. If you think you or someone may be having a heart attack it is advice to call your emergency numbers within a few minutes or 5 at the most of the start of symptoms.

In case the symptoms stop completely in less than 5 minutes still call your doctor. Take a nitroglycerin pill if your doctor has prescribed this type of medicine.

If you’re looking for a natural solution to prevent heart attack and stroke, the we recommend you to check EDTA Oral Chelation Therapy, which has proven to be very effective in removing arterial plaque that accumulated on your arteries wall.

What causes heart attacks? Myocardial Infractions Explained

Heart attack

Heart attack, or myocardial infarction as they are commonly referred to by doctors, occur when blood flow to a part of the heart that  is blocked for an extended period of time leading to the damage or death of tissues in that area which can lead to the heart muscles getting damaged and dying. And that is what causes heart attacks.

The main cause of heart attacks is the blockage of the coronary arteries that deliver blood to the heart. This blockage is caused mainly by the buildup of a substance called plaque which is mainly made up of cholesterol and other cells along the walls of the arteries stopping the flow of blood to the muscles starving them of oxygen and causing them to die. The actual causes of heart attacks are not well known, but they can be triggered by heavy physical activity, being active outside in the cold weather or by severe emotional and physical stress.

Causes of heart failure:

One contributing factor for heart attacks is coronary heart disease. This is governed by your heart disease risk factor. These are habits or conditions that increase your risk of getting coronary heart disease and these factors also increase the risk of coronary heart disease worsening.

The main heart disease risk factors are high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, smoking, unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity. Any one of or any combination of these factors greatly increases your likelihood of getting coronary heart disease.

Heart problems are another factor that causes heart attacks. These are related to cardiac heart disease. The main one is the clogging of the coronary arteries due to the buildup of plaque.

Heart failure is when the heart stops functioning properly leading to the heart attack. It’s caused when blood flow is restricted to the cardiac muscles; this means the muscles are deprived of oxygen which they need to function. The muscles gradually stop working and may die, this means that the heart can’t pump blood properly and hence causing heart failure.

Heart failure is normally preceded by certain signs that if spotted in time, can be vital in preventing a heart attack. The most common signs are shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing, tightness around the chest, and buildup of fluids in body tissues, dizziness, nausea, fatigue and anxiety. These signs once seen should be acted upon immediately to avert any impending heart attack.

what causes heart attacks

Here are some facts about heart attacks that show how major an issue it is;

In the US in 2008, heart attacks accounted for 616000 deaths, almost 25% of the deaths, making it the leading killer in the US. It accounts for 25.1% of the deaths in whites making it the leading cause of death among white adults and is estimated to cost the US government $108.9 billion in treatment, medication and lost productivity.

Having answered the question what causes heart attacks with these causes and signs of an impending heart attack, one sees the need to change their lifestyle to lower their risk of heart attack and live a healthy productive life.

Causes of Heart Disease

Causes of Heart Disease

Coronary artery disease, the most common form of cardiovascular disease, is one of the leading causes of death today. But thanks to many studies involving thousands of patients, researchers that have been able to shortlist certain factors that are the Causes of Heart Disease in a person. These are called risk factors. These risk factors contribute to two categories: major and contributing. The major Causes of Heart Disease are:

High Blood Pressure (Hypertension): High blood pressure increases your risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Though other risk factors can lead to high blood pressure, you can have it without having other risk factors. Blood pressure can vary with activity and with age. A healthy adult who is resting generally has a systolic pressure reading between 120 and 130 and a diastolic pressure reading between 80 and 90.

High Blood Cholesterol: this is another risk factor that causes of Heart Disease is high blood cholesterol. Cholesterol is a fat-like substance carried in your blood. This is found in all of your body cells. Your liver produces all of the cholesterol your body needs to form cell membranes and to make certain hormones. Extra cholesterol enters your body when you eat foods that come from animals

Diabetes: Heart problems are the leading cause of death among people with diabetes, especially in the case of adult-onset. If you know that you have diabetes, you should already be under a doctor's care, because good control of blood sugar levels can reduce your risk. If you think you may have diabetes but not sure, you must consult your doctor for tests.

Obesity and Overweight: Extra weight is thought to lead to increased total cholesterol levels. High blood pressure, increased risk of coronary artery disease. Obesity increases your chances of developing other risk factors for example, heart disease, especially high blood pressure, diabetes and high blood cholesterol.

Smoking: Most people realize that cigarette and tabacco smoking increases your risk of lung cancer, but fewer realize that it is one of the causes of Heart Disease and also other peripheral vascular disease.

Heredity: Heart disease tends to run in families. For example, if your siblings or parents had a heart or circulatory problem before the age of 55. But then you are at greater risk of heart disease than someone who does not have complains for heart disease in their family history.

Age: Older age is a risk factor for heart disease. In fact, about 4 out of every 5 deaths occur due to heart diseases that occur in people older than 65.

In addition to this, there are also certain contributing factor that enhances the causes of Heart Disease. They are: Stress, Sex hormones, Birth control pills and Alcohol. Stress is considered an important contributing risk factor for heart disease. The effects of behavior habits, emotional stress, and socioeconomic status on the risk of heart disease and heart attack have not been proven

Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary Artery Disease

The changing lifestyle of the people are increasing the risk of heart disease. In the past ten years the maximum death is caused by the heart disease. People suffer from various types of heart disease. One of the most common types of heart disease is Coronary Artery Disease. Most of the people in the world suffer from this disease. Any type of the heart disease can be dangerous to health. The heart disease must be diagnosed earlier in order to avoid the complications. As it is a type of cardiovascular disease special care must be paid to your diet and exercise. It is a disease of arteries. It is also called as CAD. It is said to be one of the main causes of heart attack. In coronary artery disease the blood flow is obstructed in the arteries causing heart attack. When the flow of blood is reduced in the arteries the heart muscles get damaged causing heart attack. It can also result in other heart problems like chest pain. In many cases the disease develops over year and only comes in notice when the patient suffers from heart attack. If the disease is diagnosed in early stage then it can be cured to certain extent thus reducing the complications.

If coronary artery disease becomes more complicated it can largely reduce the supply of oxygenated blood to the heart. The signs and symptoms of coronary artery disease are shortness of breath, chest pain and heart attack. Many people ignore shortnesses of breath but it can be dangerous causing heart attack. Shortness of breath is one o the main symptoms of coronary artery disease. Shortness of breath means the you cannot pump enough blood to the heart. This can also cause fatigue and swelling of arms and ankles. Chest pain is also a common symptom of coronary artery disease. The patient suffering from chest pain can experience heaviness in the chest or pressure in the chest. If the patient suffers from frequent chest pain then he or she must be diagnosed. Heart attack has become very common and maximum number of people are falling pray to it. The maximum number of death in the world is caused by heart attack. In many cases the heart attack happens suddenly without any symptoms and signs. The number of deaths caused by coronary disease is increasing with each year. In United States the disease affecting millions of people.

The complications in coronary artery disease give rise to heart attack, arrhythmia and angina pectoris. Coronary artery disease is the result of atherosclerosis. When a plaque is formed in the arteries it causes atherosclerosis. If the patient is getting early symptoms of coronary artery disease an immediate check up must be done to avoid further complications. If the disease is detected earlier it can reduce many risk. There are lot of tests and surgery done to treat the disease. Those suffering from the disease must put more emphasis on the diet.

Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy

Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy

Large number of people are falling victim to heart disease. One of the main reasons of the increase in the number of heart patient is the changing lifestyle. Various types of heart disease are effecting people in large number. The symptoms of each type of heart disease is different. One of the most common types of heart disease is Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy. It is a disease of the heart muscle. This is caused when the heart muscle becomes weak. Cardiomyopathy or heart muscle disease is a major public health problem. There are 3 million people in United States currently living with cardiomyopathy. Almost 400,000 people are diagnosed with heart disease each year. This disease has become a prime factor in contributing quarter million deaths in the world. In the past few years the incidence of cardiomyopathy is increasing like anything. Many complications of the disease can be overcome if the patient understand their disease. The patient suffering from Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy must take active participation in treating the disease. The heart muscle become very weak in most cases of alcoholic cardiomyopathy.

There are many disorders which cause numerous types of cardiomyopathy. But whatever may be the type ultimately the same thing happen which is the inefficiency of the heart muscle. It reduces the capacity of the heart to meet the needs of the body. The heart failure happens when the heart can no longer pump enough blood. The cases of Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy is increasing day by day. The main cause of cardiomyopathy is the coronary artery disease. The damage to the heart can be on the region of the heart muscles. One must get themselves diagnosed properly. Go for a proper diet and god exercise which can help the patient to avoid certain complications. As alcoholic cardiomyopathy is caused by excessive consumption of alcohol for long time. It is caused by the direct toxic effects of alcohol. In that case the heart become inefficient and the heart become unable to pump the blood. Not only heart is effected by the Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy but other body parts can also be effected by this. The symptoms of alcoholic cardiomyopathy are decreased alertness or concentration, Shortness of breath, decreased urine output, loss of appetite; ankle, feet, and leg swelling; cough containing mucus, irregular or rapid pulse, breathing difficulty while lying down, overall swelling, weakness, fatigue, faintness, etc. The moment patient is experiencing these symptoms it become necessary to take him to the hospital.

One of the most important treatment for alcoholic cardiomyopathy is to improve the lifestyle and take care of the diet. Stop consuming alcohol. The commonly used medications must be used daily like beta blockers, diuretics and ACE inhibitors. The patient who are suffering from congestive heart failure must o for a surgical insertion. The patients of alcoholic cardiomyopathy must frequently consult the doctor and must continue with the medications. With latest drugs and technology coming up now one can easily diagonise the alcoholic cardiomyopathy.

Normal heart sounds

Normal heart sounds are produced by heart valves movements during cardiac cycle (events that take place during a heartbeat). There are two  normal heart sounds which are usually heard during heart auscultation: sound 1 and 2. Before we go farther with explanations, it is better to clarify a few elementary terms in order to understand the rest of the description.
Our heart has four chambers called ventricle and atrium, atrium are the heart chambers located in the upper part, while ventricles are located in the lower part:

• there is a right atrium connected to the right ventricle, in this part of the heart there is blood with carbon dioxide, brought by cava veins from tissues; then blood from right atrium flows through tricuspid valve ( it is like a door between the right chambers of the heart, which is open only in specific moments of the cardiac cycle) into right ventricle,
• the left part of the heart has also two chambers-atrium and ventricle, they are separated by mitral valve and contain blood with oxygen, brought from lungs.

So-called right and left heart are separated by a wall called septum, in abnormal situation this wall can be interrupted letting blood to flow from one part of the heart to the other and this situation can also generate ab normal heart sounds, a murmur that we hear during auscultations.
When we listen heartbeats with a stethoscope we can hear the two normal heart sounds 1 and 2, followed by a pause. Next, we will explain a few terms about cardiac cycle: every cardiac cycle has two phases-the contraction called systole and a pause caused diastole. Why are these two phases of the cardiac cycle so important? The atrium contraction will make blood to flow into the ventricle, while ventricle contraction will „throw” the blood into the main arteries, aorta (this artery with its branches supplies with blood and oxygen all the tissues of the body) and pulmonary artery (the blood with carbon dioxide resulted from cell metabolism is brought to lungs to be oxygenated). The pause we hear is nothing else but the time that hearts needs to relax in order to fill the chambers with blood; in this pause heart muscle also receives blood, because as any organ its function depends on the oxygen supply. All these „events” happen very fast and the indirect prove for these are  the normal heart sounds we hear in the auscultation.

Normal heart sounds description

Finally, we get to the point where we can define the meaning of the normal heart sounds 1 and 2. Sound 1 is a low frequency sound heard at the beginning of the ventricular contraction (also called heart systole), and results from mitral and tricuspid valve closure. Once these valves are closed, the ventricle contraction starts, also the pressure in this chamber increases and the blood will flow into the main arteries. Another normal heart sound is sound 2, a high frequency sound, resulted from aortic and pulmonary arteries valve closure, and signifies the beginning of the heart diastole (the pause that follows heart contraction).
Other sounds we may detect in heart auscultation are sound 3 and 4; these are not considered normal heart sounds, with a few exceptions. Sound 3 is heard in the first part of the diastole (heart pause) and may be the result of tachycardia, heart failure etc. Sound 4 appears in the last part of the heart relaxation, in patients with hypertension, myocarditis (heart muscle dysfunction) or mitral valve narrowing
Normal heart sounds are heard in specific areas of the chest called auscultation areas. Another aspect we have to mention is that normal heart sounds can be more intense in younger persons, due to a thinner thoracic wall or in conditions of stress or in effort, because the blood speed increases.
Normal heart sounds indicate a healthy heart?
 Normal heart sounds are not necessary associated with a normal heart function, that’s why, beside this basic examination, doctors look for other signs, investigations, medical history and symptoms.

Please let the doctor decide if you have normal heart sounds, and never try to treat yourself.

Symptoms of congestive heart failure

 
 









Symptoms of congestive heart failure have a great impact on a person’s life, considering this is a progressive and eventually fatal medical condition. Nowadays, in the economic well developed countries, people die because of the heart problems, more then they do from any other cause. It is important to know that symptoms of congestive heart failure have a fluctuating evolution: there are episodes with severe symptoms, followed by long periods of time when the situation is stable, nevertheless, even if people recover from the acute phase, they can’t return to the previous level of functionality. Also, it is very important to mention that is difficult to predict how much time is left to live once the diagnosis is established, because sudden death isn’t uncommon in these patients. Heart failure is not just a disease of an one individual, but a disease that affects the entire family.

What do you know about symptoms of congestive heart failure?

If you are one of the patients suffering from congestive heart failure, you should be informed about the symptoms of congestive heart failure and when to sick medical help. Every readmission to the hospital will increase mortality; there are medical articles that suggest a 20-30% increase of this risk with every readmission. You may experience shortness of breath during effort (exertion dyspnea), during night (nocturnal paroxysmal dyspnea) or even when you rest( in the advanced stages of the congestive heart failure). At the beginning, shortness of breath occurs only during great effort, but in time, daily activities that once were performed very easily, like dressing, shaving, eating etc, can produce shortness of breath and force the patient to give up on his/her social life and depend on other person’s help. Another form of rest dyspnea is orthopnea, meaning that you can’t breathe while lying in the bed and you require elevation of the head with pillows.
Other symptoms of congestive heart failure are palpitations, rapid heart beats, fatigue, fainting, blue coloring of the lips or limb extremities, accumulation of water in the limbs tissues (this  condition is called edema) lungs, pleural and abdominal cavities, heart murmurs.
Because heart can’t deliver enough blood to muscles, patients will experience weakness and heaviness in the limbs. A low blood flow to the kidneys will determine oliguria (diminished amount of urine), this condition appears in advanced stages, when the cardiac output is severely reduced.
Cerebral manifestations of low cardiac output are also symptoms of congestive heart failure: headaches, insomnia, confusion, memory impairment, anxiety or nightmares. In more severe cases, patients experience other symptoms of congestive heart failure that require special medical care: hallucinations, delirium, disorientation.
In the end, we will present a list with a few symptoms of congestive heart failure, which may guide patients to require medical help (they were published in a guide for caregivers, by The Washington Home Center for Palliative Care Studies):

• gain of 3 pounds or more within a few days or a week,
• increased swelling in hands, ankles or feet,
• difficulty breathing at any time or coughing at night,
• decreased urination,
• confusion, dizziness, or faintness,
• nausea or vomiting,
• increased fatigue,
• muscle cramps or weakness,
• any distressing symptom.

For more info on symptoms of congestive heart failure check with your doctor.

Decompensated heart failure

Decompensated heart failure is the term used to define heart incapacity of pumping enough blood in the main arteries, according to the organism needs. What distinguishes decompensated heart failure from a compensated heart failure is the fact that defensive mechanisms are not efficient anymore and the blood amount delivered to the tissues is no longer sufficient, which determines a variety of symptoms as we are going to reveal next.
How do you know you have a decompensated heart failure and if u need to go to the hospital? Decompensated heart failure has different manifestations, as following:

•  when the left heart is inefficient, blood will stagnate into the heart chambers forcing them to enlarge or increase the number of muscle fibers in order to increase cardiac force; this is a defensive mechanism, which will compensate for a while the inefficient function of the heart. Once this mechanism is no longer able to control the situation, blood will stagnate in the lungs, increasing the pressure in the pulmonary vessels and from this point on, pulmonary edema (accumulation of water in the lungs) and pulmonary hypertension may occur. All these manifestations are a sign that the heart can no longer compensate its diminished function, so we are facing a decompensated heart failure.
•  in right heart insufficiency, cardiac muscle won’t be able to pump blood into the pulmonary arteries, so the blood will flow back in the venous system, determining accumulation of water in different tissues (lower limbs, abdomen-ascites, pleural space).

In clinical practice, people with decompensated heart failure will experience important shortness of breath, being unable to breathe while lying (a condition known as orthopnoea), blue color of the lips and limbs extremities, fatigue, palpitations or rapid heart beats, incapacity of performing daily activities. In more advanced cases, hypotension, fainting, ischemia of lower limbs, stroke or renal failure may occur, these manifestations being the consequence of the low blood flow in the arteries that feed the brain, kidney, or limbs.

What is the cause for decompensated heart failure?

There are many causes for decompensated heart failure, the most important ones are the following:

•  hypertension-if patients don’t follow the treatment, high blood pressure will increase the labor of an already weak heart, making it impossible to accomplish body needs,
•  salt intake-will favor water accumulation in the body, increasing blood volume and requesting a higher cardiac labor,
• infections: respiratory infections, heart wall infections like myocarditis,
• heart attacks, arrhythmia,
• weight gain is common cause of decompensated heart failure,
• patients that no longer respect their heart medication,
• patients that continue to smoke, drink alcohol, with high levels of blood lipids etc.

What are the steps to follow in decompensated heart failure ? People in this condition must be admitted to hospital, carefully watched, investigated for different conditions that might have provoked decompensated heart failure and follow a well established therapy (diuretics and cardiotonic medication will be needed in order to eliminate the overload of water and increase cardiac muscle force).
People with heart failure will have a different number of hospital admissions, followed by „free” periods of time, when the symptoms will be stable. However, the compliance to medical recommendations will determine how fast this disease will evolve, together with the other conditions we enumerated above. Despite the correct treatment and compliance of the patient, heart failure will progress until the only option left is cardiac transplant, but the speed of this evolution can be controlled by avoiding the conditions that favor heart failure to decompensate.

Please call your doctor to find out mode about decompensated heart failure.

Heart murmurs in adults

What are heart murmurs in adults?

We all read or heard talking about heart murmurs in adults, and many of us are curious to find out if  they have this dysfunction. A few know the true meaning of this condition, that’s why when our physician tells us we have  heart murmurs either we think we suffer from a devastating disease, either we ignore it, but none of this reaction is normal.  Next we will clarify the meaning and the cause for heart murmurs, in order to prepare people that might be diagnosed with this disorder to understand and deal their condition properly.
Heart murmurs in adults refer to the abnormal sounds heard by doctors when they listen to the heartbeats with a stethoscope. In medical practice, hearing  heart murmurs in adults raises the suspicion of heart valve pathology, but sometimes these abnormal heart sounds can occur in other conditions like a defect in the heart wall, anemia, fever etc. When there is no heart modification that can explain the murmurs, they are called functional. Because this condition can occur in other pathologies beside hear disorder, everytime we suspect a heart murmurs in adults we should check its presence with an echocardiography examination.
Heart murmurs affect both children and adults and are recognized as the “noise” heard between the two normal heart sounds. If the murmur occurs after the first heart sound is called systolic, which means it occurs during heart contraction, and if it occurs after the second heart sound is called diastolic and this means it occurs while heart is in its relaxation period. The classification into systolic and diastolic is important because it indicates whether we are facing a valve stenosis (narrowing of the heart valve) or insufficiency (the valves fail to close properly, letting blood to flow back into the heart chambers). There are other classifications for heart murmurs in adults, but those medical terms are more important for the specialists.

 Why do heart murmurs in adults occur and how we deal with them?

 As we explained above, in most of the cases heart murmurs in adults occur when there is a heart pathology:

• heart valve narrowing or closure impairment, in this case the blood flow becomes turbulent and makes a noise that we call it murmur,
• a defect in heart wall-a congenital defect that occurs in children, allowing blood to flow from one side of the heart to the other, determining blood with oxygen and blood with carbone dioxide to mix. Sometimes this condition can remain undiagnosed until late adulthood, because it is a small defect and doesn’t cause symptoms, but in many cases is diagnosed soon after birth, being recognized as a prolonged murmur (noise) heard during heart auscultation and needs surgical correction. Another type of heart murmur heard in children is the one determined by the ductus arteriosus persistence (a connection between aorta and pulmonary artery in the uterine life).
• other condition like anemia or fever can determine heart murmurs in adults, because they determine turbulent blood flow, but this murmur disappears once the condition is treated.

How do we  with deal heart murmurs in adults ? In patients suffering from valve pathology periodically monitoring is important because in time they can lead to heart failure, in order to prevent this, surgical replacement of the valves can be performed. Heart wall defect can also be repaired providing a normal life for these patients, while the causes for functional heart murmurs in adults once treated determine these abnormal heart sounds to disappear.

Heart murmurs in adults are a serious medical condition,  if you think you have it call your doctor.

Ejection fraction heart failure

What is ejection fraction heart failure?
Ejection fraction heart failure it is a term used to describe the amount of blood that heart can deliver to the main arteries. In medical practice, doctors measure the ejection fraction heart failure because this examination offers details about heart function and helps to determine if  there is a heart failure or not. Once the heart function is impaired, the ejection fraction begins to diminish and the systemic consequences of heart failure begin to occur. In early stages, the body will try to compensate the changes appeared due to heart function decrease, but in time these will become obviously.
What are the signs of ejection fraction heart failure?

When you are suffering from heart failure it is important to recognize the problem and look for a doctor as soon as possible, only in this way you can receive the correct treatment which will help the heart to function better and delay farther deterioration. At the beginning, people with diminished ejection fraction heart failure will feel more and more tired, but usually this symptom is wrongly associated with getting old, gaining weight, anemia or simply overlooked. Many people will find it is normal to feel tired during effort, without noticing that a few months ago they were able to perform the same effort without getting tired. Only when tiredness is getting worse and they have to deal it in common daily activities like walking, they begin to feel is something wrong and look for medical help, but in that moment their ejection fraction heart failure is already diminished. There are a lot of people living with diminished ejection fraction heart failure without knowing about this until they have routine medical examination or until symptoms get worse. In time, tiredness is accompanied by shortness of breath, blue coloring of lips, hands, feet, legs begin to swallow due to edema. It is important to report these symptoms to your doctor, because this will help him suspect your heart is not working normally. Diagnosing heart failure is not the last step before patients can start taking medication, it is also very important to find the cause for ejection fraction heart failure deterioration: is it a heart attack, a heart valves pathology, infections of heart walls, ischemia (heart cells don’t receive enough oxygen) ? etc.

Is there any treatment for diminished ejection fraction heart failure?

There are many drugs available that can help heart function better, but there is no cure for this, once the heart failure occurs, heart function and ejection fraction will deteriorate in time. What we can achieve by medication is to delay the progress of heart function impairment, ameliorate symptoms and increase the quality of life. One mistake made by many patients is to think that once they take the prescribed medication, their heart will continue to function normally from that point on, forgetting to fallow a correct diet, without salt and fats, continuing to drink alcohol, smoke, gain weight,  etc.

In patients diagnosed with heart failure, periodically heart function evaluation is very important and one examination that can offer information about the evolution of heart function is ejection fraction heart failure.

Decreased cardiac output

What is a decreased cardiac output?

Decreased cardiac output is a synonymous term used for heart failure or heart insufficiency. In patients suffering from decreased cardiac output or heart failure, the amount of blood that vessels „offer” to the tissues is not enough for the metabolic demands. Decreased cardiac output means that heart can’t function at its proper parameters, even if the heart muscle labor increases and all types of compensating mechanisms are used.
How can doctors tell us if we have a decreased cardiac output?
Decreased cardiac output determines a diminished ejection fraction (a smaller amount of blood is delivered to the aorta and its branches) and can be discovered when your doctor performs an echocardiography. Measuring the ejection fraction periodically will offer information about the heart failure evolution, but is not always correlated with the severity of symptoms. For example, there are patients with severe decreased cardiac output (about 24%) that still can perform common activities without having shortness of breath, chest pain, palpitations or getting tired, while other patients with a higher ejection fraction (and therefore a higher cardiac output) have all the symptoms listed above.

Decreased cardiac output- clinical case report:

After the theoretical part of this article listed above is time to pass to a more practical part, in order to understand what the decreased cardiac output manifestations are and how it can affect people life and daily activities.
Next we will present a case of a 63 years old patient suffering from heart failure, with a decreased cardiac output, so we can have a better image of how life is for a person diagnosed with this disorder.
Case report:
A 63-year-old Caucasian man had a 40 years medical history of diabetes, treated with glyburide 10 mg twice/day. He was also known with coronary heart disease and heart failure (left ventricular ejection fraction 25% determined by echocardiogram, NYHA class II-III), hypercholesterolemia, and chronic renal insufficiency (serum creatinine 1.4-1.8 mg/dl). His drug therapy included aspirin 325 mg/day, digoxin 0.125 mg/day, simvastatin 20 mg at bedtime, metoprolol 50 mg twice/day, and nitroglycerin 0.4 mg sublingually as needed. At that clinic visit, the patient had no other complaints and his heart failure appeared stable. Nine days later he came to the clinic with an increase in weight of 3.6 kg (baseline weight 78.6 kg) complaining of shortness of breath. Physical examination revealed bibasilar rales (pulmonary sounds heard during breathing which may indicate infection, pulmonary edema, allergy or bleeding etc.), +S₃ gallop (abnormal sound heart during heart auscultation, which indicates heart failure), and increased jugular venous distention (JVD-because right heart has a decreased function, blood will flow back into the veins that bring it into the heart chambers), but no lower extremity edema. Again, he reported adherence to drug therapy and no dietary indiscretions.  After treatment adjustment he was released from the hospital, but returned 2 weeks later reporting that his weight increased, and legs edema occurred, while his wife confirmed he had a high sodium intake. Chest radiograph was consistent with pulmonary edema. Fluids were immediately restricted, and the patient was given bumetanide 5 mg intravenously twice/day. By hospital day 2 the patient had lost 4.1 kg by diuresis and  on hospital day 5 his heart failure was stable.
In conclusion, decreased cardiac output is the main manifestation of heart failure and has a great impact in patients’ life (as we saw in the case above).

If you think you have any of the following symptoms of decreased cardiac output contact your hospital.

Inflammatory bowel disease symptoms

Inflammatory bowel disease symptoms are variable, affecting tissues outside digestive system and having an important mark on person’s self esteem; many times patients suffering from this disease are very depressive and unable to perform their activities. When we mention inflammatory bowel disease symptoms we have in mind Chron disease and ulcerative colitis.

Inflammatory bowel disease symptoms list

Inflammatory bowel disease symptoms are represented by digestive symptoms and non-digestive symptoms:

•  diarrhea is the most frequent and annoying symptom among the inflammatory bowel disease symptoms; some patients may have numerous watery stools,
• constipation: this is an often symptom in rectitis, (patients with ulcerative colitis complain of constipation, because this disease affects the rectum at the onset),
• abdominal pain- it is one of the frequent inflammatory bowel disease symptoms, it can be diffuse, or located in the iliac fossa (Chron disease affects, more frequently, the terminal ileum, which is the most distant part of the small intestine, located in the right iliac fossa, while ulcerative colitis affects rectum in most of the cases),
• stool with blood-it is a common finding among inflammatory bowel disease symptoms,
• weigh loss because of the diarrhea, which stops the intestine to absorb nutrients,
• fever, it is the response of the body to the inflammation of the intestine,
• abnormal communication among different parts of the intestine, or among intestine and urinary bladder or vagina (in medical practice this condition is called fistula),
• intestine stenosis (it is one of the inflammatory bowel disease symptoms known as Chron disease)-meaning a narrowing of the intestine lumen,
• blood cells abnormalities: anemia (low number of red blood cells and hemoglobin), a large number of platelets (a condition that predisposes to blood clots),
• deficits of vitamins and other nutrients, due to diarrhea, which favors malabsorption,
• intestine perforation,
• digestive cancer.

Non-digestive inflammatory bowel disease symptoms are represented by different medical conditions: liver disease (cholangiocarcinoma, primitive sclerosing cholangitis), arthritis, myositis (these patients need treatment with cortisone, which can determine, as an adverse effect, myositis), renal failure (due to dehydration), oral ulcerations, stomatitis etc.
How do we diagnose it? Once there is a clinical suspicion, a colonoscopy and intestine biopsy are needed in order to confirm the inflammatory bowel disease and also to distinguish between the two forms of inflammatory bowel disease (for each disease, there is a different histological pattern, the macroscopic aspect and the lesions location are criteria used to confirm which one of the inflammatory bowel disease is responsible for symptoms).
What is the treatment for this disease? Depending on whether there are complications, inflammatory bowel disease can be treated with cortisone (there are schemes of treatment starting with increasing doses of cortisone, which will be diminished gradually once the disease is under control), anti-inflammatory agents (like sulfasalazine), immunosuppressive medication (if the first two types of drugs are not effective) or surgery if there are complications like fistula, stenosis or intestine perforation or if disease can’t be controlled with medication.
What is the evolution of the inflammatory bowel disease? Inflammatory bowel disease symptoms have a fluctuanting evolution; there are periods with symptoms, followed by “free” periods. There are medical scales which can estimate the severity of the disease, using indices like red blood cell sedimentation rate, heart rate, body temperature, numbers of stools per day.

If any of the inflammatory bowel disease symptoms occur do not treat yourself and call a doctor.

Left sided heart failure

Left sided heart failure is the term used to describe the incapacity of the left heart to supply tissues with blood. Left heart has two chambers known as left atrium and ventricle, which communicate thorough the mitral valve. The left atrium (the left upper chamber of the heart) receives oxygenated blood from the lungs, through pulmonary veins and this blood will be delivered to left ventricle (the lower left chamber). The whole amount of blood is pumped by left ventricle in the aorta (which is the main artery of the body) and then into the less large arteries that supply all the tissues and organs (kidney, liver, digestive organs, brain, limbs). Imagine blood flowing in the arteries as a liquid passing through a tube (pipe) and all the factors and interactions between them, which have great influence on the amount of blood that in the end each tissue will get and also the influence on the whole organism: e.g. blood consistency (a viscous blood will allow clots to appear), pressure that blood develops on arterial wall, the influence of arterial walls pressure on blood flow etc.

What is the cause for left sided heart failure?

Left sided heart failure is caused by different pathologies:

• congenital heart diseases,
• heart attack (the ischemia determines cardiac cells to die and a part of the heart is no longer functional),
• coronary heart disease (a chronic ischemia of the heart tissue, a chronic deprivation of oxygen will determine tissues changes in order to adapt to the new condition and in the end cardiomyopathy and left sided heart failure)
• high blood pressure forces the left heart to increase its labor and force, and the only way this can be possible is to increase number of muscle fibers (but the numbers of vessels will remain unchanged, so the same number of vessels will supply a larger number of muscle fibers, which will determine heart ischemia with all the consequences that result from this condition) and increase inside pressure (this pressure will act on heart walls to and will press the vessels which won’t be able to fill enough and this will lead to ischemia)
• another cause of left sided heart failure is heart valves pathology: leaking valves (an amount of blood remains in the heart chambers creating a blood deficit in the tissues and forcing heart, at the next contraction, to throw in the aorta a larger amount of blood, this means a greater labor, which in time will lead to left sided heart failure) or narrow valves (the heart muscle must defeat the obstacle represented by the narrow valves),
• heart muscle infection will determine cardiomyopathy and left sided heart failure,
• excessive alcohol consumption will determine dilated cardiomyopathy and left sided heart failure,
• thyroid dysfunctions,
• heart muscle disorders,
• major cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heart beats).

What happens in the systemic blood circulation, when there is a left sided heart failure?

Left sided heart failure

Compromise of left ventricular function will result in poor systemic circulation: muscle weakness, cool extremities, fatigue, low tolerance to effort, fainting, chest pain, palpitations, rapid heart beats, dizziness, confusion, memory impairment. Backward failure of left ventricle results in pulmonary congestion (blood will remain in the pulmonary veins creating a great pressure and determining shortness of breath, first on exertion and then at rest), hypoxemia (low level of oxygen in the blood), cyanosis (blue coloring of the extremities, because of the hypoxemia), tachypnea (increased rate of breathing), pulmonary edema (because of the great pressure in the pulmonary veins, the fluid from the blood will go through veins walls into the lung). Valvular heart disease may occur due to the increased pressures in heart chambers and pulmonary veins. Another symptom of left sided heart failure is paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea (sudden and severe breathlessness attack during night, several hours after going to sleep).
If you have signs of left sided heart failure please call an MD for medical advice.

Hyperlipidemia symptoms

What are the hyperlipidemia symptoms ?

Hyperlipidemia represents increasing levels of lipid or lipoproteins in the blood and hyperlipidemia symptoms can be varied from patient to patient. Hyperlipidemia is a metabolic disease and may include changes in cholesterol (blood fat levels), triglycerides (a type of blood fat) or lipoproteins. There are two main types of hyperlipidemia: hypercholesterolemia (which occurs most frequently) and hypertriglyceridemia.  Hyperlipidemia may be a risk factor for atherosclerosis, cardiovascular diseases (coronary artery diseases and peripheral vascular diseases), but can affect other organs such as pancreas.

Hyperlipidemia symptoms

Hyperlipidemia symptoms are usually absent from most of the patients, if this is the only change to the analysis of blood. This can be found at a routine exam that the patient makes. It can remain undiagnosed for many years.
Hyperlipidemia symptoms can include first deposits of cholesterol (known as xanthomas) that form under the skin (especially around the eyes). They may be the only symptom that indicate an increase in blood lipids. They can also form the Achilles tendon and the extensor tendons of the hands. Xanthomas may have varied sizes, from very small to several centimeters. The diagnose of xanthoma can be done by physical examinations and by determining blood cholesterol levels.
Chest pain may be another symptom for hyperlipidemia. This pain can be felt by the patient as chest discomfort located anywhere. Patients go to the doctor for the fear of a heart attack. Hyperlipidemia is a risk factor for atherosclerosis (deposition of fat in the arteries of large and medium) that causes coronary artery diseases manifested primarily through chest pain. Any organ in the thorax may be the source of pain (heart, lungs, esophagus, muscles or nerves).
Another symptom which may be included in the category of hyperlipidemia symptoms is hepatomegaly (increased liver beyond normal size, 12 inches). This may or may not be associated with increased spleen size.
One of the last hyperlipidemia symptoms is abdominal pain. This may occur in the right hypochondrium where it is located the liver or anywhere in the abdomen. Hyperlipidemia occurs in the liver as fatty liver disease caused by the deposition of fat in liver cells. Pain in the abdomen can originate from many organs (stomach, small and large intestines, appendix, spleen, liver or pancreas). Pain may be generalized or may be located in a single point. In many cases patients don’t go to a doctor and expect that the pain to go by itself.
Treatment of hyperlipidemia symptoms

Treatment of hyperlipidemia symptoms can be done with drugs or by dietary changes, weight reduction and exercise. If cholesterol and triglycerides are not very high and patients have no important hyperlipidemia symptoms, doctors advice patients dietary changes by reducing dietary fat, weight loss and moderate exercise daily.
If  lipids values may be lower without drugs then doctors recommend the use statins (drugs used to lower cholesterol) and fibrates (drugs used to lower triglycerides).
Conclusion
In conclusion there are no specific hyperlipidemia symptoms, but if discovered at a routine exam is better to be treated because it can have serious complications.