Hyderabad : The term heart failure is a condition wherein the blood pumping capacity of the heart is significantly reduced. Generally, people attribute heart failure to sudden non-functioning of the heart, given the name of the condition. However, heart failure can be of Sudden onset or More commonly is a slow process where the heart muscles gradually weaken, and the pumping function declines.

Heart attack, on the other hand, refers to blocked coronary circulation, wherein the blood supply to the heart muscles reduces drastically produces damage to the Heart muscle and relatively low awareness about the disease profile, it is imperative to push for timely screening and seeking advanced clinical intervention.

Dr M Srinivas Rao, Head of Department – Cardiology, Senior Consultant Cardiologist at Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad said, “Both Heart attack and Heart Failure incidence and prevalence in growing enormously in India. Heart Failure patients in India are younger by 10-years, and most of the burden lies below 65years of age, as compared to the patients from high-income countries. Since heart failure has high mortality, prevention of heart failure is extremely important by addressing the risk factors for development of heart failure.”

The commonest cause of heart failure is Ischemic heart disease (Reduced blood supply to the heart on account of blocks in the arteries supplying the heart muscle), other conditions that lead to heart failure are uncontrolled hypertension, malfunctioning valves of the heart, diabetes, obesity and primary disorders of heart muscle.

Symptoms of heart failure are:

1. Breathing problems – These can occur due to the fluid that accumulates in the lungs and surrounds the tissues, causing breathlessness and asthma-like wheezing or dry cough.

• Water Retention – Patients may observe swelling in their feet ankles and legs and finally in the abdomen. Due to this they might also gain weight even if they’re eating less.

• Fatigue – The pumping of the blood reduces, oxygen supply to muscles also decreases causing severe fatigue. When a person exerts too much, they might experience weakness and fatigue.

Some patients also show symptoms like heart palpitation, problem in concentrating, dizziness, fainting spells and difficulty in sleeping. Ignoring these symptoms can have fatal consequences in the future.

“Early diagnosis is critical for the treatment of heart failure as it can become fatal if it reaches into the advanced stage. There are various ways in which heart failure is diagnosed. The doctor will first ask about the patients’ medical history and symptoms then does physical examination, checking for heart enlargement, irregular heart sounds, abnormal sounds in lungs, signs of water retention like swelling of the liver, abdomen, and feet, etc. He might then confirm heart failure diagnosis through some blood tests, chest X-Rays, Electrocardogram (ECG), Echocardiogram, Cardiac Catheterization, Electrophysiology (EP) study etc.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is one of the treatment options for some heart failure patients. It helps the heart to beat more like a normal heart, resynchronizing it by using electrical pulses timed together,” added Dr M Srinivas Rao.

Heart failure is a life-threatening medical condition in which a person’s heart muscle does not pump enough blood to meet bodily requirements. cardiologists believe that associated comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and previous history of coronary artery disease can put a patient at a higher risk of suffering from heart failure.