Knowing About Congestive Heart Failure

Your Phoenix cardiologist wants to educate you on congestive heart failure and its symptoms. The function of your heart is to pump blood so that that the body can be nourished. In the presence of heart failure, it doesn't actually mean that your heart has already stopped working. Heart failure means that your heart cannot pump blood in order to meet the requirements of the body. So when blood supply is not enough, other organs may not also function well. This happens when the muscle of the heart is already weaker than what is normal. In cases where a physiological defect is present in the heart, it can contribute to that prevention of blood flow from getting out and thus, hamper circulation.

When the heart fails to circulate blood in a normal way, the kidneys will also receive less blood. Since this is the body’s filtering system, less fluid is filtered out of the circulation and into the urine. Thus, the extra fluid that is left in the circulation will build up in the liver, the lungs, around the eyes, and sometimes even, in the legs. This is also termed as fluid "congestion" where different parts and organs and of the body retain the fluid that is not thrown out. It is for this reason that doctors call this condition "congestive heart failure".

In older children afflicted with congestive heart failure, they may experience extreme tiredness and will have trouble keeping up with playtime. They may even have no energy even to eat. It is also true with infants suffering from congestive heart failure. They generally show symptoms during feeding such as fatigue, sweating and fast breathing. These kids will not be able to gain weight well and they remain thinly unless treated. They also retain fluid in the body, causing their feet, the legs or around the eyes to swell.

If you or a child is showing these symptoms of swelling, do not delay consulting with a doctor. Dr. Anne Marie Feyrer Melk serves the Scottsdale and Phoenix areas for patients who are having trouble with their heart health. Call Dr. Melk at (480) 941-0800.