Heart failure

WHEN THE HEART CAN NO LONGER KEEP UP

Heart failure is the name of the condition: the heart can no longer meet its tasks, those affected become short of breath, they retain water in the body and become weak. What to do when the heart can no longer keep up? Expert tips from heart specialist Alexander Hierl.

At rest the heart pumps about 5 litres of blood per minute through the vessels. Under load this can increase many times, to more than 20 litres per minute. A diseased heart can no longer deliver this maximum output — this is heart failure. In Europe, with about 10 million people affected, it is one of the most common internal-medicine diseases. It is the third most common cause of death after coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction, ahead of lung cancer and stroke. Depending on severity, symptoms such as shortness of breath and sweating occur, at first only with heavy physical exertion, and in advanced stages already with light exertion or even at rest. Further symptoms can include fatigue and exhaustion, weight gain due to fluid retention (for example leg oedema), frequent urination at night (nocturia), and blue lips (cyanosis).
To establish the diagnosis the physician will usually perform an ECG, a chest X-ray and cardiac ultrasound. Once the diagnosis of heart failure is established, individually adapted therapy is required. In every case, weight reduction and light endurance training are among the basic recommendations.