Acute left ventricular failure

As a result of a constant increased load, the heart loses its functions, right ventricular or left ventricular failure develops.

There are a lot of factors that can provoke the occurrence of a pathological process. Most often, heart failure occurs in older patients. In the zone of increased risk, people who are diagnosed with diseases of the cardiovascular system.

Clinical picture and forms

Left ventricular heart failure is when the heart muscle loses its ability to pump blood normally, fluid accumulates and stagnates in the left ventricle. As a result, the internal organs do not receive a certain amount of oxygen and nutrients, which leads to the development of hypoxia, brain damage. Fluid accumulates in the lungs, tissues lose their firmness and elasticity, and the patient's breathing is disturbed. If the patient is not given emergency care, breathing will stop, he will die.

If you know the primary manifestations of the disease, you can significantly increase the chances of a favorable outcome. If, in the chronic form of the pathology, long-term treatment is carried out with the use of various drugs, then acute left ventricular failure requires immediate action, as it can lead to death.

Chronic form

Here is a list of the main symptoms that occur with left ventricular failure syndrome:

• shortness of breath during physical exertion and at rest;
• dry cough;
• foamy discharge from the trachea;
• wheezing;
• enlargement of the veins in the neck.

These are signs that accompany the chronic form of the disease. If at least one symptom appears, you should immediately contact a medical institution for a full examination. The attending physician will carry out the necessary diagnostic measures, the result of which will be confirmation or refutation of the diagnosis.

acute form

Acute left ventricular failure is life threatening.

If emergency care is not provided in time, the patient will die.

The following are also common symptoms of the disease:

• transition of shortness of breath to suffocation;
• swelling of the lungs;
• cardiogenic shock.

In the acute form of pathology in a small circle, stagnation occurs due to dysfunction of the heart muscle. The most dangerous manifestation is cardiogenic shock, when the heart muscle does not contract, blood flow throughout the body is disturbed. The reflex type of sign occurs in response to pain, the arrhythmic type is caused by a violation of the heart rhythm. In true cardiogenic shock, most of the heart muscle is affected. The risk of its development is high in people over 60 years of age, as well as in patients who have had a myocardial infarction and who suffer from hypertension.

Reasons for the development of the disease

The heart throughout a person's life works smoothly, ensuring the normal functioning of all internal organs. It, like any other mechanism, wears out. This is facilitated by an unhealthy lifestyle, unbalanced diet, bad habits, excessive physical activity or their complete absence.

The development of chronic left ventricular failure can be triggered by such factors:

• arterial hypertension;
• myocardial infarction, when part of the heart does not function;
• violation of the heart rhythm;
• inflammatory processes in the tissues of the heart muscle;
• anatomical features of the organ;
• enlargement caused by medication or alcohol abuse;
• valve pathology;
• improper operation of the valves when they close only partially;
• ISHB;
• infections;
• brain pathology;
• extensive surgical interventions.

Acute left ventricular failure most often occurs for the following reasons:

• blockage of the pulmonary artery;
• stenosis;
• damage to the coronary vessels;
• valve dysfunction.

The chronic form of the disease, if left untreated, will definitely cause an exacerbation. According to the clinical course, acute left ventricular failure can be instantaneous, acute, protracted and recurrent. The most dangerous is instantaneous. In this case, there are only a few minutes to save the person. In the absence of immediate emergency care, the patient dies.

In the case of an acute course of insufficiency, the ambulance team has an hour to stabilize the person's condition. If the course is prolonged, the patient will live for up to two more days. The recurrent form arises periodically, releases, then again becomes aggravated. The latter option occurs in patients with myocardial infarction.

Urgent Care

If there is a suspicion of the development of acute heart failure, you should immediately call an ambulance.

This can only be done by a person with a medical education who has previously had to deal with similar cases.

Before the arrival of the brigade, the person must be placed in a sitting position so that the legs hang down from the bed. In no case should you lie down, this increases the chances of a fatal outcome. The patient has difficulty breathing, it is necessary to open the windows to ensure sufficient oxygen supply to the room.

To alleviate the patient's condition, he is given a Nitroglycerin tablet under the tongue. It also requires the introduction of Morphine (1%), and Prednisolone (5 ml), but this is already being done by doctors, because you have to deal with potent drugs. The last drug can be administered only if the patient has a sharp drop in blood pressure, which provoked severe pulmonary edema.

After these measures, the patient is transferred in a sitting position to an ambulance, further therapy is carried out already in the hospital.

The main treatment methods aimed at stabilizing the patient's condition with left ventricular heart failure:

• restoration of normal breathing;
• reducing the load on the heart muscle;
• stimulation of the heart with inotropic drugs;
• decrease in pressure in the pulmonary artery;
• extinguishing foam with ethyl alcohol vapor;
• oxygen therapy;
• IVL with PEEP.

The life of the patient depends on the timeliness of emergency care for acute heart failure. Unfortunately, the mortality rate from this pathology is very high. Some patients do not pay due attention to the symptoms of the disease, others simply do not have the opportunity to call an ambulance, and others do not have the right drug at hand to relieve the syndrome. If a person knows that he is at risk of developing acute deficiency, he should be prepared for this.

Treatment of left ventricular failure

The chronic form of left ventricular failure is treated on an outpatient basis.

Before prescribing any medications, he must conduct a series of diagnostic techniques to establish the exact causes of the development of the disease, determine its type and form.

The main goal of treatment is to restore and maintain the normal functioning of the heart muscle, preventing the formation of blood clots. With the help of special preparations, it becomes possible to significantly improve the quality of life for patients with such a diagnosis.

With this pathology, drugs from different pharmacokinetic groups are prescribed:

1. Beta-blockers help reduce the load on the heart muscle.
2. Diuretics or diuretic drugs stimulate the excretion of excess fluid from the body.
3. ACE inhibitors are necessary to normalize blood pressure and stop the pathological expansion of the left ventricle.
4. Glycosides increase the efficiency of the heart muscle.
5. Nitrates promote vasodilation.

In very difficult cases, the treatment of heart failure is carried out only in a hospital using special techniques. Coronary angiography and stenting are indicated for patients who have suffered a myocardial infarction. These procedures are aimed at restoring patency and dilating the arteries.

If the body has not responded to drug therapy, radiofrequency ablation is used. In cases where the development of insufficiency is caused by valve damage, surgical treatment is performed. With cardiomyopathy, the only chance to prolong the life of the patient is an organ transplant.

Prevention of pathology

In order not to face the dangerous symptoms of left ventricular heart failure, care should be taken to prevent this pathology, especially if there are relatives who have been diagnosed with heart disease. It is much easier to prevent a disease than to treat it later. There is nothing difficult in this.

Basic Rules:

• healthy lifestyle;
• rejection of bad habits;
• normalization of the diet.

Periodically, you need to undergo examinations from specialists of different profiles. This will help to detect pathological changes in the body in time, and successfully eliminate them.

Left ventricular chronic or acute failure is life-threatening and, unfortunately, a very common disease. Already after the manifestation of primary symptoms, it is necessary to begin to deal with the pathology. Do not do anything without prior approval from your doctor. Competent and timely treatment will help to increase the duration and improve the quality of life of the patient.