New Treatments for Congestive Heart Failure
Congestive heart failure occurs when the heart pumps an insufficient amount of blood. Once it has been determined that congestive heart failure has occurred, it's important to take steps towards treatment. There are many new treatments available and many more continue to be innovated regularly as medical technology continues to improve.
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Diuretics
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Diuretics are a type of medication that help flush fluid out of a person's body (through production of urine). When a patient is in congestive heart failure, fluid buildup is a problem that can further increase blood pressure and further decrease the heart's ability to pump effectively. Traditionally, only strong blood pressure medications could solve the fluid retention problem in patients. Now, diuretics (which typically have very few side effects) are a very effective and simple way of removing fluid and controlling the symptoms (as well as reversing the effects) of congestive heart failure.
ACE-1 and ARB Medications
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ACE-1 and ARB medications are drugs that help lessen stress on the heart. These drugs have recently been shown to be effective with congestive heart failure patients and clinical trials have shown that these drugs have significantly reduced the mortality rates and hospital readmission rates. Basically ACE-1 and ARB drugs reduce the Angiotensin hormone in the blood, thus reducing pressure and strain on the heart. These drugs are also useful in removing excess fluid from the body.
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Cardiac Rehabilitation
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Traditionally, if a person suffered severe congestive heart failure, they were plagued by symptoms of the disease for the rest of their life. They were left feeling out of shape, breathless and tired on a daily basis. Now, however, cardiac rehabilitation programs are cropping up around the country to help patients get heart healthy again. These programs consist of close monitoring and individually designed workout plans that are tailored to a person's specific heart issues and goals. These programs have proved (in many cases) to help get the heart pumping at a better efficiency and improve a patient's overall quality of life. Moreover, these programs are often covered by health insurance companies.
Weight and Pressure
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A new and simple way of treating congestive heart failure is done by making sure patients have two important tools available to them: a scale and a blood pressure monitor. Weight is a significant risk factor when it comes to patients in heart failure because it can indicate whether or not the heart is functioning properly. Any amount of weight gain or loss that is more than three pounds or so within a two day period can indicate an issue and the patient should contact their doctor. This number usually indicates a fluid buildup. Automatic electric blood pressure cuffs are also distributed to patients to help monitor their blood pressure from home as manual cuffs can be difficult to use, often resulting in misreadings.
Jarvik 2000 Heart Pump
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This pump is surgically implanted into the heart's left ventricle. It helps improve the way the heart pumps in people with congestive heart failure. It can be implanted through a minimally invasive procedure and is a fairly small device. It has a very good success rate and allows patients to go home much more quickly than with other surgical devices. In a number of instances, patients can avoid a heart transplant once fitted with the Jarvik 2000.
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