Course Description
Many non-clinicians wonder why a patient is chronically short of breath and yet clinicians say the cause is heart failure. Many non-clinicians expect the etiology should have something to do with the lungs and yet clinicians point the problem in the heart instead. What is heart failure? Why does it cause shortness of breath? Heart Failure occurs when the heart becomes less effective in pumping blood to the rest of the body. When this happens, blood often backs up and fluid can build up in the lungs, causing shortness of breath. Despite its name, heart failure does not mean that the heart has literally failed. If the heart stopped working, of course the person would be dead. Rather, this points to a clinical condition where the muscles and/or structures of the heart may have some impairment and now presenting some limitations on the mechanical action of the heart in pumping out blood to the rest of the body. According to the Cleveland clinic, more than 6 million people in the US have CHF. It is the leading cause of hospitalization and re-hospitalization among the elderly.
Learning Objectives
- Present an overview of what heart failure disease is.
- Explain how the heart functions.
- Look into the possible causes of heart failure.
- Understand how heart failure can lead to shortness of breath.
- Explain the common presenting symptoms of a patient with acute congestive heart failure.
- List common tests to diagnose the severity of the patient’s CHF condition.
- List common health maintenance recommendations of patients with heart failure.