About Heart Disease

Heart Disease

Most of the people in the world suffer from heart disease. In the past couple of decades the number of heart patients have increased tremendously. Th heart is a part of the cardiovascular system and is the most important part of the human body. It is the heart which supply blood to all parts of body cells. The blood pumped by heart carries oxygen which the cells and required. Before knowing about heart disease one must know how people get heart disease. Heart disease is not like a flu or cold which can transfer from one person to another by touching. Many people does not realize that they suffer heart disease unless any major thing happens. Want to know more about heart disease check put the various types of heart disease like Hypertensive heart disease, Cardiovascular disease, Valvular heart disease, Cardiomyopathy, Inflammatory heart disease, Coronary heart disease and Heart failure.

Hypertensive heart disease is a common type of heart disease that most of the people suffer from. This type of heart disease is caused because of high blood pressure. Cardiovascular disease effect the blood vessels and the heart. This heart disease mostly effect arteries and veins. The men who suffers from this type of heart disease their heart muscles are mostly effected but in women it effects the blood vessels. Valvular heart disease as the name suggests is mostly related to the heart valves. This heart disease effect aortic valve stenosis and mitral; valve polapse. Cardiomyopathy is also the most common type of heart disease. Cardiomyopathy means heart muscle disease. This heart disease effects the function of myocardium. The people who suffer from this kind of heart disease are at a risk of having sudden cardiac death. Inflammatory heart disease is also very dangerous in which the patient suffer from the inflammation of the heart muscle. Accumulation of atheromatous plaque within the walls of the arteries can cause Coronary heart disease. The heart disease which is caused from any functional cardiac disorder can cause heart failure. From all thee one must have got fair idea about heart disease.

Many people fail to realize they have a heart disease until they face some major problem. The symptoms of heart disease are chest pain, stroke and heart attack. If you find these kind of problems it is suggested to consult the doctor immediately. Get yourself diagnosed properly before opting for any medicine. Some of the common test to be done are If it's not an emergency and a doctor suspects the person could have cardiovascular disease, the doctor can do some tests to find out more about how the heart and blood vessels are working. Some of the tests done for heart disease are Electrocardiogram, Carotid, Echocardiogram, Catheterization and Stress test. All these tests are necessary to do if you want to know about the heart disease. Today maximum number of people are getting effected by the heart disease. In order to avoid all complications of heart disease one must also pay attention to their daily 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.

Irregular heartbeat causes

Irregular heartbeat causes are very diversified, beginning with heart disease and continuing with electrolyte imbalance or other medical conditions unrelated to heart pathology. Many times we wonder what is the meaning of the palpitations: Is it something wrong? Do I need to see a doctor?
In some cases, irregular heartbeat causes remain uncovered, persons with “healthy” hearts experience palpitations (also called arrhythmia in medical practice). However, each person with these complaints should have a medical examination, in order to exclude a disorder that may cause these symptoms, as we will see next.
A normal heart rate is 60 to 90 beats per minute; if heart rate is under 60 beats/minute, then we have a bradycardia and over 90 beats/minute a tachycardia. Arrhythmia occurs with a normal heart rate, but also with a low or rapid heart rate.
In order to understand the next medical terms, some specifications are necessary: sinus node, atrioventricular node and Purkinje fibers are the heart system (the heart pacemakers) which normally conducts impulse to muscle cells and make the contraction possible; a pacemaker is a group of cells capable of generating electrical impulse and heart contraction;
How many types of irregular heartbeat causes exist in medical practice?

• sinus node dysfunction (one of the pacemakers, located in the atrium is no longer working properly): e.g. sinus bradycardia, sinus node stops, sinus node blocks,
• supraventricular extrasystoles (irregular heart beats generated in the sinus node or atrioventricular node, they occur faster then a normally heart beat and are followed by a pause)
• sinus tachycardia, supraventricular tachycardia (rapid heart rate generated above the ventricular tissue)
• atrial fibrillation and flutter (irregular heart beats generated by multiple atrial pacemakers, others then the normal heart pacemakers)
• ventricular tachycardia (rapid heart beats generated in ventricles), extrasystoles (a premature heart contraction generated by a ventricle pacemaker) and ventricular fibrillation (rapid heart rate, incompatible with life, this is a heart rate that determines cardiac arrest)
• atrioventricular blocks (cardiac impulse is delayed or blocked in the atrioventricular node, and will be received by ventricles later or at all)
• torsade of points (a form of ventricular tachycardia that occurs when there is a potassium deficit)

What are the irregular heartbeat causes?

There are different disorders that can be a cause of irregular heartbeat causes including:

• Coronary artery disease ( coronary vessels that supply heart tissues with blood are blocked, usually by atheroma, the consequence of this blockage will be heart ischemia-the oxygen deprivation of heart tissues- and this can be one of the irregular heartbeat causes),

Atheroma is a swelling of the artery walls determined by an accumulation of lipidis.

• A heart attack it is common among  irregular heartbeat causes,
• Electrolyte imbalances (such as sodium, magnesium or potassium): e.g. a high level of potassium can result in cardiac arrest,
• Heart muscle changes (fibrosis-a conjunctive tissue deposit in the heart muscle- can also affect cells responsible for electrical impulse generation- the pacemakers),
• Healing process after heart surgery,
• Heart failure it is also one of the  irregular heartbeat causes, because in this condition one of the mechanism that heart uses to compensate for its diminished function is sinus tachycardia (if it can’t pump a proper amount of blood, it tries to pump a smaller amount but faster),
• Infection or fever is one of the irregular heartbeat causes, many times associated with sinus tachycardia,
• Anemia, in severe cases produces sinus tachycardia, the heart tries to pump the blood faster, in order to compensate for the lack of red blood cells and hemoglobin, the oxygen carrier,
• Thyroid disease-e.g. hyperthyroidism is associated with rapid heart beats, while hypothyroidism with low heart rate,
• Emotional stress produces irregular heartbeats, specially in people suffering from heart diseases,
• Usage of caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol are related with irregular heartbeat causes.

The usage of drugs is an important problem of the nowadays society, also with a great impact on our body: many times the usage of drugs was mentioned as one of irregular heartbeat causes and there were cases when cocaine consumption determined heart attacks and death.

If you think you have irregular heartbeat causes please see your physician.

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 palpitations anxiety

What is heart palpitations anxiety?

Anxiety and stress are maybe the “third millennium disorders” and it has “no age” as doctors from all medical specialties have to deal patients suffering from these conditions, both young and old. In some point of our life we all suffered or will suffer from stress or anxiety and many of us deal these conditions by themselves for a long time before they finally decide to sick medical help. Those words are so often used today that it may seem they are part of our life and we must accept them as a normal reaction. But this is not how it really is, because anxiety can change our lives dramatically and make us feel sick, unable to perform our daily duties or even things that used to give us pleasure. Many times when we speak of this disorder we think of heart palpitations anxiety, as it is a frequent symptom in people suffering from anxiety. Next we will find out what anxiety and heart palpitations anxiety really mean and how to deal it.
Anxiety is a medical condition defined as a psychological and physiological state characterized by  feelings of fear, worry, dread, psychological tension or stress that can determine emotional, cognitive, somatic and behavioral changes. This disorder can determine multiple symptoms and among them heart palpitations anxiety are more frequently.
How it feels to suffer from heart palpitations anxiety? Living with heart palpitations anxiety is definitely not easy or comfortable. During heart palpitations anxiety u may feel that your heart beats are too fast or irregular, or that your heart stops for a small period. U may feel dizzy or experience shortness of breath (or suffocation sensation) or even faint. In people that already suffer from heart disease, abnormal heart beats can affect the oxygen supply of the heart muscle and determine chest pain or even a heart attack.
Next we will present the case of a 34 years old women suffering from heart palpitations anxiety:
A 34-year-old female presented with a history of anxiety for the past 20 years. When she was 14, her teacher used to embarrass her in front of the class by making her to stand-up until her face turned red and all the class would laugh. In time she becomes very nervous and fearful about social situation and activities that could draw attention to her. In the highschool she had panic attacks everytime she supposed to make presentation and communicate in peers. She describes she experienced profuse sweetening, heart palpitation and rapid heartbeats, burning in the stomach and the need to get away. These symptoms persisted during university and at the age of 25 she finally sought for professional help. The clinical psychologist diagnosed the patient with social phobia, panic disorder, and mild agoraphobia. She underwent  once- or twice-weekly sessions of psychological therapy with great improvement, slowly she could integrate into the social activities and seemed to be “cured”, convincing her therapist to stop the therapy. After 3 years as she attended the medical school, symptoms reappeared, and they were even worse then the first time and she had to seek the help of a psychiatrist and follow a medical treatment.

In conclusion, heart palpitations anxiety together with other manifestations of anxiety are not easy to deal and live with, but medical help will allow patients suffering from this condition to have a better life.

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.

High triglycerides symptoms

Triglycerides are a form of blood fat and high triglycerides symptoms can occur at any person who have increased their level.

High triglycerides symptoms specifics

Triglycerides are the main components of vegetable oil and animal oils. Triglycerides from plasma are derived from food fats and carbohydrates. Calories ingested in a meal and not “burned” or used immediately by tissues, are converted into triglycerides and transported to cells to be stored as fat. Triglycerides and cholesterol can not dissolve in the blood circulating throughout your body with the help of proteins that carry lipids. Triglycerides play an important role in metabolism as energy sources. Excess of plasma triglycerides is called hypertriglyceridemia. High triglycerides levels usually do not causes symptoms so patients with hypertriglyceridemia do not go to the doctor for this problem. But sometimes can appear high triglycerides symptoms. People with high triglycerides (over 200 mg/dl) have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. People with diabetes or who are obese are also likely to have high triglycerides.

High triglycerides

The most common causes of occurrence of high triglycerides symptoms are the unhealthy food that individuals consume in daily life. One of the high triglycerides symptoms are eruptive xanthomas. These are deposits of lipids that appear on the skin especially on the skin around the eyes, elbows and knees in triglyceride levels over 1000 mg/dL. They often appear in groups and may cause pain at acute levels. Another high triglycerides symptoms is acute pancreatitis. Pancreas is an organ located in the abdominal cavity and which is behind the stomach. It has two functions: exocrine and endocrine function. Exocrine pancreas produces enzymes for digesting fats, proteins and carbohydrates, so they can be absorbed by the intestine.
If levels of triglycerides are very high for an extended period of time, high triglycerides symptoms may be abdominal pain because of liver or spleen enlargement.They can be discovered at a routine abdominal ultrasound. Doctors must seek the cause of hepatomegaly or splenomegaly.
High triglycerides symptoms can be treated by non-pharmacological methods or with drugs. Non-pharmacological methods refer mainly to lifestyle changes. First, if the patient with high triglycerides symptoms consumed excess alcohol, he must reduce alcohol to lower triglyceride levels. Patients should also reduce the consumption of fatty foods (butter, cream, margarine, bacon but other foods that contain high levels of fat). Another method of non-pharmacological treatment of high triglycerides symptoms refers to the practice of physical exercise. Patients with hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia may be overweight and then doctors recommend them to lose weight and thus decrease of triglycerides and cholesterol levels.

Treatment of high triglycerides symptoms

Doctors may also prescribe drugs to disappear high triglycerides symptoms. These are gemfibrozil or nicotinic acid. Gemfibrozil is a medicine that lowers blood cholesterol levels and that decreases the production of triglycerides from the liver. Nicotinic acid may also lower cholesterol and triglycerides levels.

 Conclusion

When patients go to the doctor for high triglycerides symptoms, they should be treated because in time can lead to several complications.

Pinched nerve symptoms

Pinched nerve symptoms may result after injury or damage to a nerve and can occur in any part of the human body. Pinched nerve may result from direct pressure or compression on a nerve. Nerves are some organs that transmit information from the brain in our body and from our body in the brain. Nerves are distributed throughout entire the body and they are of two types: motor nerves and sensory nerves. Motor nerves allow the brain to send information to the body and command organs of the body. Sensory nerves transmit information from the body to the brain for processing and then to give an answer. Thus, patients may feel pain, numbness or burning feeling. This may be some pinched nerve symptoms.

Pinched nerve symptoms and locations

Pinched nerve symptoms depend on the location of nerves in human body. These appear in the part of the body that is affected. There are some pinched nerve symptoms that are common regardless of the nerves. This are pain (patient feels pain in the region innervated by that nerve), burning feeling (patients complain of burning sensation in the affected region) and change in symptoms based on body position (if the patient changes position the pain may disappear). Another pinched nerve symptoms are fecal incontinence (patient can control the stool) and urinary incontinence (inability to control urination). Also may appear decreased sensation in the affected area or numbness (patients feel affected region with tingling, feel that region asleep) and weakness (loss of strength). Feeling of weakness may occur in the whole body or a part of the body.

Other locations of pinched nerve symptoms

This may occur in the upper limb and can be caused by carpal tunnel syndrome (compression of the median nerve) or by cubital tunnel syndrome (compression of the cubital nerve). They are two nerves that innervate the upper limbs. Sometimes the pain may be to the neck and then the pinched nerve symptoms appear in the arm. If the nerve affected is in the low back, the pain can usually down to the leg. Usually can identify which nerve is affected because of where the pain occurs. One of the affected nerves is the sciatic nerve and this is a disease called sciatica.
When a person has some of the symptoms that have been discussed above, he must go to the doctor to diagnose a possible pinched nerve. The doctor will begin by asking the patient about the symptoms, work history and family medical history. Then the doctor will exam the affected part of the body involved for more information. Depending on these results the doctor can do additional tests.  If the pain is on the back or in the neck, the patient must make an X-ray of the spine for a possible differential diagnosis of arthritis.
Pinched nerve symptoms may be treated with rest or ice applied to the affected region. Various medications can be used for treatment of pinched nerve. Anti-inflammatory medications may reduce the inflammation. Another treatment for pinched nerve symptoms is physical therapy and as an extreme solution is surgery
Pinched nerve symptoms may persist and can give severe complications. These are peripheral neuropathy, carpal tunnel syndrome or cubital tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow (commonly found in tennis players and that is a condition in which the outer part of the elbow becomes painful).

              In conclusion pinched nerve symptoms may appear in different situations and patients with  this condition can be totally recovered.

Heart pain in women

Heart pain in women: a symptom that begins to trouble most frequently after menopause, when due to the absence of  estrogen hormones, women lose their „natural” protection against cardiovascular events. According to the studies made among patients with heart attack, heart pain in women is not a hallmark symptom as it is in men. This means that during a heart attack, heart pain in women is less likely to occur and we must pay attention to other signs and symptoms if we don’t want to miss a heart disorder. Although women lose their protection against cardiovascular disease after menopause, estrogen replacement must be indicated only in well selected cases, because this treatment can determine breast or endometrial cancer, blood cloths and stroke etc.

How can estrogen hormones prevent heart pain in women?

It is simple. Estrogen has an important role in lipid metabolism: these hormones decrease the level of LDL-cholesterol and increase the HDL cholesterol (also called „the healthy” cholesterol as it protects against atherosclerosis). Estrogens tend to decrease serum cholesterol concentrations and to increase serum triglyceride concentrations. The overall effect of these changes, together with the effects on blood vessels, is to protect against atherosclerosis and heart pain in women before menopause. As atherosclerosis is the most important cause for heart attacks and chronic heart ischemia (heart disease caused by insufficient oxygenation of the heart tissues, which occurs when blood vessels are blocked by atherosclerosis) it is clear now why estrogen is so important and how can this hormone prevent heart pain in women.

Heart pain in women, what does it mean?

Heart pain in women or chest pain are very often among old patients and challenge the doctor to consider a lot of differential diagnosis, although sometimes it is almost impossible to separate them. For example, a pathology of the spine that presses nerve roots can determine an intense pain, sometimes unbearable, radiating towards the abdomen or chest and can easily mimic a heart pain. An esophagitis with burning sensation in the chest, can be mistaken as a heart symptom, but it responds well to the medication used in ulcer treatment and the duration of symptoms is variable. Heart pain in women doest mean necessary that it is a heart attack, sometimes it is caused by a heart muscle infection or disorder. Other causes for heart pain are abnormal dilated blood vessels called aneurism or chest trauma. In some patients, during heart attack, the pain is felt in the upper part of the abdomen and it can be confused with a stomach or liver disease (like ulcer, gastritis etc.).

How do we manage heart pain?

Heart pain it is always a very disturbing symptom, described by patients as a sensation of pressure on the chest or constriction, but sometimes, associated with palpitations (irregular heart beats), shortness of breath, fatigue, sweating, agitation or even fainting. In conclusion, heart pain in women and men  can be treated with beta-blockers (drugs that increase heart tissues oxygenation, an example of such a drug is metoprolole), calcium channels blockers (make heart blood vessels larger; e.g. amlodipine) or the well known nitroglycerin.

7 weeks pregnant symptoms

Pregnancy is a fascinating news for the future parents, as a child is a blessing for every family and a miracle of life. But every miracle has its own price and the nine month until it is brought to real life can be very exhausting for the mother as she has to make important changes in her life, together with the changes made in her body.
This article is mainly about the 7 weeks pregnant symptoms but we should specify that many times women find out they are pregnant after they are investigated for tiredness, morning sickness, nausea and vomiting (many times confused with a digestive disorder). Once they find out they are pregnant they begin to be worried about what is going to happen next, “is the baby all right?” ”doesn’t he/she suffering from a malformation”, “when will he/she move?”, “how does it feel when u have contractions”, “how will I gave birth, where?” etc. These are only a few questions young mother ask more often, but there are many others.

The main 7 weeks pregnant symptoms

What are the 7 weeks pregnant symptoms ? Before we enumerate  the 7 weeks  pregnant symptoms we should mention some information about the baby. At this age, your baby will measure about 4-5 mm, but by the end of the week he/she will grow significantly to about 13 mm. Even if the changes in your body aren’t so obvious, you will feel pregnant as other symptoms occur. One of the 7 weeks pregnant symptoms is weight gain, even if at this point it is just 1 or 2 pounds.
Other 7 weeks pregnant symptoms-the baby’s growth: the uterus has doubled its size, the neural tube is closed and the development of brain begins in this week, also nasal cavities and mouth are forming. The heart is already formed and the heart valves are about to be completed, the future lungs are growing and the intestines and digestives system begin to take shape, as other glands. By the week 7, limbs are visible on the echography, even the future fingers and toes and by the end of the week a smooth layer of skin will develop.
The 7 weeks pregnant symptoms include varied signs and symptoms as we will see next. One of the most frequent manifestations among 7 weeks pregnant symptoms is morning sickness (a symptom that usually occurs between 2-8 weeks after conception). This is one of the 7 weeks pregnant symptoms but can occur even from the first week and will diminish in time. As it happens frequently in medicine, there are exceptions: some women don’t have morning sick, nausea or vomiting during pregnancy, while others deal these symptoms throughout all of their pregnancy. The morning sickness will grow stronger in  weeks, the nausea will be moderate, also vomiting frequently occurs. Digestive symptoms must be carefully managed, as pregnancy is often associated with appendicitis, cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder) or urinary stones.

Other manifestations among 7 weeks pregnant symptoms:

• fatigue-a symptom that can occur early in the pregnancy, even from the first week. Pregnant women feel more tired, even if they don’t make any effort, and the need of lying down and sleep is more intense, but this doesn’t mean they are sick; it is simply one of the changes related to pregnancy.
• headaches-hormonal imbalance related to pregnancy is the cause of these symptoms that can occur early in the pregnancy and usually tend to go away in the second trimester. Lack of sleep or dehydration, smoking, strong odors, chocolate, coffee, stress tends to play also a role in this. Some of the women experience intense headaches or even migraine (before taking any medication, you should consult your doctor to see the risks and benefits)
• excessive salivation-it is more frequent in women that experience morning sick.
• metallic taste-it is a less frequent 7 weeks pregnant symptoms, caused by hormones imbalance, and usually goes away in the second trimester.
• frequent urination- it is normal and it is caused by hormones imbalance. Also the amount of blood is larger in pregnant women, so the kidneys have a lot more to work.
• swollen or tender breasts, darkening of areolas -may start after 1-2 weeks after conception.
• lower backaches
• food craving or food aversion to certain types of food that can last the entire pregnancy not just for 7 weeks pregnant symptoms.

As we saw above, 7 weeks pregnant symptoms vary from one woman to another and seem unbearable for outsiders, but these symptoms are all forgotten once the mother holds her “miracle” in her arms.

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.

Heart palpitations after eating

Heart palpitations after eating are one of the causes of heart palpitations seen in patients. This may be normal under certain conditions, but if it is associated with other symptoms can be a problem for the patients.
After you read this article you know which are the mechanisms, symptoms, causes, treatments and preventions of heart palpitations after eating.
Heart palpitations after eating are fast heart beats that occurs after eating and may or may not feel the patient. Heart palpitations may be due to cardiac or extracardiac. Very important is the severity of the heart palpitations after eating. They can be without hemodynamic significance (just heart palpitations and anxiety)  or hemodynamically significant, considered severe (with low blood sugar, syncope, chest pain and difficulty of breathing).

Mechanism of heart palpitations after eating  

After eating a meal, need for blood in the stomach and surrounding organs increases and thus aids digestion. In this process of digestion and absorption of food, increased heart rate may be undetectable or may be felt as palpitations. If you want to see if you have heart palpitations    you have to measure your pulse rate. This can be done at any hand with the index and the middle finger of the wrist from the other hand. If the pulse rate is over 90 -100 beats and it is maintained over this values,  the patient should consult a doctor.

Other symptoms that accompany heart palpitations after eating

This are nausea, dizziness, fatigue, asthenia, chest pain, shortness of breath  and discomfort in abdominal region felt as feeling bloated. After dinner heart palpitations after eating can may the patient inability to sleep in peace at night and this may be a very important problem for the patient.

Causes of heart palpitations after eating

There are many causes for this condition. One of this is hiatal hernia, which is a condition that upper part of the stomach enters into the thorax. For this, patients with hiatal hernia should avoid lying position for at least two hours after a meal.
Today an important cause for heart palpitations after eating is obesity. More persons are obese due to environmental factors (a sedentary lifestyle, a diet high in sugar, fast food). In this persons suffering from obesity, the heart must work harder to pump the blood to the stomach. Severe anemia is another cause for heart palpitations after eating. In this patients hemoglobin value are very low and may be accompanied by low serum ferritin values. This palpitations are often accompanied with fatigue, asthenia and adinamie.
There are also hormonal imbalances that cause heart palpitations after eating. Patients with hyperthyroidism (disease of the thyroid gland with overproduction of thyroid hormones).

Treatment of heart palpitations after eating

There is no specific treatment for patients with heart palpitations after eating. They must have a lifestyle adapted for prevent heart palpitations. For example:

• Have frequent meals and few quantitative
• Not have a sedentary lifestyle
• Not have a diet high in sugar and caffeine
• To conduct periodic reviews to prevent severe anemia or hyperthyroidism

If heart palpitations after eating continue after prevention methods the patients should consult a doctor.

Leaking heart valve

Mortality and morbidity thought leaking heart valve are  an important part of cardiovascular pathology.  The main changes in  the study of leaking heart valve involves an evaluation of their function and etiology.
So, rheumatic etiology is declining, while the degenerative and ischemic etiology is growing.
Clinical evaluation methods have the same value (family history, physical examination), but some paraclinical methods ( cardiac ultrasound and Doppler) have an important role.

Types of leaking heart valve

Leaking heart valve may occur at the four heart valve: mitral valve, aortic valve, pulmonary valve and tricuspid valve.
The most common type of leaking heart valve is mitral regurgitation. It is characterized by regurgitation of blood in systole ( contraction of heart) from the left ventricle into the left atrium. There are two causes of mitral regurgitation: acute and chronic. The etiology of mitral regurgitation can be inflammatory, but also degenerative and structural. Chronic mitral regurgitation lead to expansion of left atrium.   Echocardiography provides important information in mitral regurgitation.
Another type of leaking heart valve is aortic regurgitation. It is incomplete closure of aortic valve in diastole (relaxation of heart). Aortic valves are affected primary by acute articular rheumatism, infectious endocarditis and degeneration and it can be acute or chronic.
Two other leaking heart valve are tricuspid regurgitation and pulmonary regurgitation. Tricuspid regurgitation is characterized by regurgitation of blood in systole from the right ventricle into the right atrium because of the incomplete closure of the tricuspid orifice.

Leaking heart valve symptoms

Symptoms of patients with   leaking heart valve depends on regurgitation grade and how to install (suddenly or gradually). Patients with small regurgitation can be asymptomatic. There are some  common  symptoms to the patients with leaking heart valve:
-          dyspnea on effort (shortness of breath or air hunger);
-          cough;
-          angina pectoris on effort (chest pain on effort) or at rest;
-          heart murmur;
-          heart palpitations (heart beats more than 90 per minute);
-          asthenia and adinamie;
-          fatigue;
-          rarely may occur syncope;
-          pale skin on  clinical examination.

Leaking heart valve diagnosis

Positive clinical diagnosis is based on present of heart murmur (systolic or diastolic) with different characters. Most used methods for diagnosis leaking heart valve are echocardiography, chest radiography, electrocardiography and Doppler exam.

Treatment and evolution of patients with leaking heart valve

Treatment of asymptomatic patients with leaking heart valve is not necessary. To the patients with symptoms should avoid exercise and salt. There are also treatments with drugs and surgery for leaking heart valve.
Evolution and prognosis of leaking heart valve depend on the importance blood reflux, of how to install (acute or chronic) and of the etiology. Patients with small or average regurgitation may remain asymptomatic a long time, but patients with complications (infectious endocarditis, atrial fibrillation) have obvious symptoms. Patients with acute leaking heart valve have serious prognosis.