Heart failure is a long-lasting, progressive ailment where the heart muscle could not pump sufficient blood to meet the demands of the body for oxygen and blood. Generally, the heart could not keep up with its workload.
Types of heart failure
Left-sided
The pumping action of the heart drives oxygenated blood once it moves starting at the lungs up to the left atrium to the left ventricle where it is pumped to the entire body. The left ventricle supplies most of the pumping power of the heart, thus it is bigger than the other chambers and vital for normal functioning.
If an individual has left-sided heart failure, the left side of the heart should strain harder to drive the same amount of blood.
Right-sided
The pumping action of the heart drives the expended blood that moves back to the heart via the veins to the right atrium up to the right ventricle. Take note that the right ventricle drives blood out of the heart into the lungs to be restored with oxygen.
If an individual has right-sided heart failure, it is usually due to left-sided failure. Once the left starts to malfunction, there is increased fluid pressure that is driven back via the lungs which damages the right side of the heart. Once the right side loses its pumping power, blood backs up in the veins of the body. This results to congestion or swollen ankles or legs as well as swelling inside the abdomen particularly the liver and GI tract.
Congestive heart failure
This is a form of heart failure that necessitates immediate medical attention. Once the flow of blood out of the heart is diminished, the blood that returns via the veins backs up, resulting to congestion in the bodily tissues. This often results to swelling. Generally, there is swelling in the ankles and legs but can also occur in other parts of the body.
Oftentimes, fluid builds up in the lungs and disrupts with breathing, resulting to shortness of breath particularly when lying down. This is called as pulmonary edema and can progress to respiratory distress if left untreated.
In some cases, heart failure can also affect the ability of the kidneys to dispose of water and sodium. The retained water also increases the swelling in the bodily tissues.