Heart Failure Treatment

Heart failure, or congestive heart failure, is a medical condition in which the heart has less ability to pump the oxygen-rich blood the body's other organs need. While the heart continues to pump during heart failure, it is not as efficient as a healthy heart, leading to symptoms that may include shortness of breath, swelling of the legs and ankles, fatigue and weakness, loss of appetite, and a persistent cough. The condition affects nearly five million Americans.

Heart failure treatment is determined by a patient's overall health, age and medical history, as well as the underlying factors contributing to heart failure. If heart failure is the result of a valve disorder, valve surgery may be recommended, including mitral valve repair. If there is an underlying disease, heart failure treatment will target that condition.

Heart failure treatment may include:

• Changes in the patient's lifestyle habits to control risk factors, including losing weight, reducing salt and fat the in diet, stopping smoking, controlling blood pressure, abstaining from alcohol and more.
• Heart failure treatment may include medications to decrease pressure inside the blood vessels, to reduce the amount of fluid in the body, to dilate blood vessels and reduce workload on the heart, and to help the heart beat stronger and more regularly.
• A type of pacemaker surgery may be recommended for heart failure treatment. Biventricular pacing/cardiac resynchronization therapy involves a type of pacemaker that controls both pumping chambers of the heart and coordinates contractions to improve the heart's efficiency.
• A cardioverter defibrillator may be implanted. This device senses when the heart is beating too fast and helps return it to a normal rhythm by delivering an electric shock.
• Treatment may require a ventricular assist device implanted in the heart to assume the pumping function for one or both of the heart's ventricles.
• Heart transplantation may be necessary when all other measures fail.