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Facts About Hypertensive Heart Disease You Should Know

Hypertensive heart disease refers to a group of disorders that includes heart failure (HF), ischemic heart disease, and left ventricular hypertrophy (excessive thickening of the heart muscle), and it is the number one cause of death associated with high blood pressure.

Heart Failure (HF):
Heart failure doesn’t mean the ticker has stopped working, rather, it means that the ticker’s pumping power is weaker than normal or the heart has become less elastic. Blood moves through the pumping chambers of the ticker less effectively with heart failure, and pressure in the ticker increases, making it harder for your heart to deliver oxygen and nutrients to your body. The heart’s chambers respond by stretching to hold more blood to compensate for reduced pumping power, which keeps the blood moving, but over time, the heart muscle walls may weaken and become unable to pump as strongly. The kidneys, as a result often respond by causing the body to retain fluid and sodium. The fluid builds up in the arms, legs, ankles, feet, lungs, or other organs, and is called congestive heart failure (CHF).

Heart failure may also be brought on by high blood pressure by causing left ventricular hypertrophy, a thickening of the heart muscle that results in less effective muscle relaxation between heart beats, which makes it difficult for the ticker to fill with enough blood to supply the body’s organs, especially during exercise, leading your body to hold onto fluids and your heart rate to increase.

HF Symptoms:
Shortness of breath; nausea; fatigue; bloating; difficulty sleeping flat in bed; irregular pulse; greater need to urinate at night/frequent urination; swelling in the feet, ankles, or abdomen.

Ischemic Heart Disease:
High blood pressure can cause ischemic heart disease, too, which means the heart muscle isn’t getting enough blood. Ischemic heart disease is usually the result of atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries (coronary artery disease), which obstructs blood flow to the ticker. Irregular pulse; fatigue and weakness; chest pain which may radiate to the arms, back, neck, or jaw; chest pain with nausea, sweating, shortness of breath, and dizziness (these associated symptoms may also occur without chest pain) - are some symptoms of ischemic heart disease.

Diagnosing Hypertensive Heart Disease:
Your doctor will look for certain signs of hypertensive heart disease, such as high blood pressure, enlarged heart and irregular heartbeat, fluid in the lungs or lower extremities and unusual heart sounds. Your doctor may perform tests to determine if you have hypertensive heart disease, such as an electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, cardiac stress test, chest X-ray, and coronary angiogram.

Treating Hypertensive Heart Disease:
Your doctor, in order to treat hypertensive heart disease, has to treat the high blood pressure that is causing it. He or she will treat it with a variety of drugs, such as diuretics, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin receptor blockers, and vasodilators. In addition, your doctor may advise you to make lifestyle changes, including:

Diet- You should lower your daily intake of sodium to 1,500 mg or 2 g or less per day, limit total daily calories to lose weight if necessary, eat foods high in fiber and potassium, and limit intake of foods that contain refined sugar, trans fats, and cholesterol- if heart failure is present.

Avoid alcohol and tobacco products.
Keep Your Weight In Check- Monitor your weight which involves daily recording of weight, increasing your level of activity (as recommended by your healthcare provider), resting between activities more often, and planning your activities.

Follow-up Visits- Your doctor, during follow-up visits will make sure you are staying healthy and that your heart disease is not worsening.

CPR procedure comprises chest compressions and rescue breaths. Proper application can revive the life of a cardiac arrest victim.

For a CPR class at CPR Tampa in Palm Harbor, either register online or call on 727-240-9404 to sign up for a course. If you cannot find the class day/time that fits your schedule, check out our Tampa location- 5396 Primrose Lake Circle, Conference Room, Tampa, FL- 33647.

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