Heart failure

Question 1

What are the signs and symptoms of HF?

Answer 1

SOB, fatigue, swelling in legs, reduced ability to exercise, cough, weight gain, loss of appetite

Question 2

What are the causes of HF?

Answer 2

diabetes, smoking, HTN, fluid overload

Question 3

What is the pathophysiology of HF?

Answer 3

MI or cardiac dysfunctional/structural abnormality impairs ability of left ventricle to fill or eject blood
poor ventricular function/myocardial damage leads to decreased stroke volume and cardiac output
leads to neurohormonal responses
either sympathetic system is activated to increase cardiac workload or RAAS pathway is activated
results in vasoconstriction and sodium + retraction
further stress on the ventricular wall and remodelling leads to heart failure

Question 4

What are some nursing interventions and rationale for HR?

Answer 4

Administer furosemide as prescribed - to help manage fluid overload
Administer O2 as prescribed - to reduce the risk of hypoxia
Start daily weighs to see if they are retaining fluid or are fluid overloaded
Position upright to promote gas exchange and optimise lung
expansion
Elevate legs to reduce the swelling and oedema in the lower extremities