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Left-Sided Heart Failure Research Paper

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Left-sided Heart Failure Condition where the left side of the heart is unable to pump an adequate amount of blood to the body, and can be life-threatening. Pathophysiology With left-sided heart failure a patient can suffer from fluid in the lungs, shortness of breath and pulmonary edema, and fatigue. Since the heart can not pump the adequate amount of blood to the rest of the body, there is a lack of oxygen in the body and this results in fatigue. Left-sided heart failure causes an increase in pressure within the vessels in the lungs, which can lead to an accumulation of fluid within the lungs, which leads to shortness of breath and pulmonary edema. There is a wide variety of causes of left-sided heart failure with include consuming too much alcohol, suffering from a heart attack, infections of the heart muscle, increased blood pressure, hypothyroidism, narrow heart valves, and any disease that can cause damage to the heart muscle. Left-sided heart failure in children is often caused by birth defects including abnormal …show more content…

Treatments include changes in your lifestyle such as reducing sodium, avoiding alcohol, and increasing exercise, taking medication for blood pressure, and possible surgery or carried cauterization. Patients can also take medications such as beta-blockers, digitalis, diuretics, as well as others. Beta-blockers can prevent death in some patients, digitalis slows the rhythm of the heart while increasing the patients heart beat, and diuretics will reduce the amount of fluids retained in the body. In certain cases pacemakers can be recommended or if medications are unsuccessful on their own, a patient may receive a heart pump. As a worst case scenario, a patient may require a heart

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