Congestive Heart Failure
Pathophysiology of Congestive Heart Failure
Congestive heart failure is:
1) inability of heart to deliver sufficient cardiac output to meet physiologic needs
2) both diastolic and systolic phases are abnormal
3) initially, compensatory mechanisms occur(increased catecholamines, increased atrial natriuretic factor, myocardial hypertrophy), but eventual failure of these ensues causing congestive heart failure
4) result is increase in venous pressure with congestion of liver, spleen, and kidney (“backward failure”) and sodium retention, peripheral edema, and pulmonary sequelae (“forward” failure”)
5) a “final common pathway” occurs with coronary artery disease (most common), valve dysfunction, and hypertension
Signs and Symptoms
1) dypsnea
2) orthopnea
3) distended neck veins
4) pitting edema in dependent body parts
5) rales on lung auscultation
6) ascites
7) pleural effusions
8) cough
9) pulmonary edema
10) pulmonary hypertension
11) cyanosis of lips and nail beds
12) weakness and fatigue
13) confusion
14) memory loss
15) nocturia
16) failure of right ventricle
17) abnormally increased atrial filling pressure relative to stroke volume
Characteristic Test Findings
Laboratory
1) increased renin (owing to decreased glomerular filtration rate)
2) increased angiotensin
3) increased aldosterone
4) increased sodium resorption (which causes increased fluid retention)
5) increased catecholamines (to stimulate cardiac contractility)
6) increased...
Source: Inside Surgery - Category: Surgeons Authors: Editor Tags: Cardiology backward failure enlarged heart foward failure myocardial hypertrophy nutmeg liver peripheral edema Source Type: blogs
More News: Amnesia | Arrhythmia | Bilirubin | Blogging | Cardiology | Congestive Heart Failure | Cough | Enalapril | Endocarditis | Epidemiology | Furosemide | Heart | Heart Attack | Heart Failure | Heart Valve Surgery | Hypertension | Laboratory Medicine | Lisinopril | Liver | Men | Nutmeg | Orthopaedics | Pathology | Pulmonary Hypertension | Pulmonary Thromboembolism | Sleep Disorders | Sleep Medicine | Stroke | Surgeons | Toprol | Urology & Nephrology | USMLE