Heart Failure Flashcards
Heart Failure
the inability of the heart to pump sufficient blood to meet the needs of the tissues for oxygen and nutrients
Pump Problem - heart cannot pump the volume needed to maintain the body’s needs.. end organ damage
any condition that impairs the ability of the ventricles to fill or eject blood can cause HF
Left Ventricular Failure
low cardiac output state; results in high after load (will vasoconstrict to cause perfusion causing higher after load bc of higher resistance it is working against)
disturbance of the contractile function of the left ventricle resulting in low cardiac output state
Left ventricular failure S/S
decreased peripheral perfusion, pulmonary edema (crackles), dyspnea and hypoxemia (SOB), eventually leads to right sided
left sided heart failure S/S
tachypnea, tachycardia, cough, bibasilar crackles, gallop rhythm, increased pulmonary artery pressure, hemoptysis, cyanosis, pulmonary edema
fatigue, dyspnea, orthopnea, paroxysmal noctural dyspnea
Right ventricular failure
Fluid overload - right ventricular pump failure
JVD, high CVP, edema, hepatomegaly, GI symptoms (feeling of fullness)
Right Heart Failure S/S
peripheral or sacral edema, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, hepatojugular reflux, ascites, JVD, increased CVP, pulmonary HTN
weakness, anorexia, indigestion, weight gain, mental changes
Systolic Heart Failure
decreased contractility during systole, low ejection fraction (
Diastolic Heart Failure
heart does not “relax” in the appropriate time during diastole, stiffness throughout diastole
PROBLEM WITH FILLING!
Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP)
NP is released from cardiac ventricles in response to increased wall tension
HF causes increased wall tension bc of excess preload in the ventricles causing increased wall stretch
if BNP>100, dyspnea is r/t cardiac vs pulmonary failure
if BNP>400 = cardiac failure
> 100 = some degree of HR
Clinical findings r/t HF and pulmonary edema
extreme breathlessness/anxiety feeling of suffocation* pink frothy sputum* thrashing, feeling of drowning tachypnea, accessory muscle use, nasal flaring diaphoresis, cool skin, cyanosis lung sounds, loud I/E gurgling/wheezing
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Genetic; stiffening of LV, known correlation to sudden cardiac death
Dilated cardiomyopathy
both ventricles dilated; ischemic vs. familial vs. aquired
Restrictive cardiomyopathy
myocardial fibrosis with ventricular wall rigidity
Valvular heart disease
structural and/or functional abnormalities
stenosis vs. regurgitation
risk for emboli b/c of turbulent blood flow
