What Is Congestive Heart Failure?

Heart failure is caused when the heart muscle becomes weak and cannot pump blood efficiently through the body, which means the body does not get the blood it needs and causes the abdomen, legs and lungs to fill up with fluid.

Heart failure is caused by coronary artery disease, heart attacks, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythm, alcohol or drug abuse, serious viral infections, chemotherapy, congenital heart defects, abnormal heart valves, severe lung disease, and heart muscle disease.

Common symptoms of heart failure include: 

• shortness of breath
• chest pain
• increasing tiredness
• swelling in the legs
• rapid weight gain (3 pounds in 3 days)
• decreased appetite or nausea
• cough/congestion
• decreased urine output
• abdominal distention and bloating

When to Get Help

Call 911 if you have:

• Severe chest pain
• Fainting spell
• Rapid and/or irregular heartbeat
• Call your physician if you have:
• Any questions
• Gained or lost 3 pounds in 3 days
• New or your symptoms are worse

CHF is a serious condition, but there are things you can do to help prevent or manage the disease such as eating right, lowering your salt intake, weighing yourself daily to check for sudden gains, consistently taking medication your physician may prescribe and, of course, not smoking.

Stroke

What Is Stroke?

A stroke, also called a “brain attack,” is an interruption of the blood supply to any part of the brain. It happens when blood flow to a part of the brain is interrupted because a blood vessel in the brain is blocked or starts to bleed.

If blood flow is stopped for longer than a few seconds, the brain cannot get blood and oxygen. Brain cells can die, causing permanent damage. While there are two classifications of stroke both have similar risk factors and symptoms.

Risk factors include: high blood pressure, diabetes, family history, heart disease, high cholesterol, head injuries, drugs and alcohol, aging and certain medications (including birth control under some circumstances).

The symptoms of stroke depend on what part of the brain is damaged. In some cases, a person may not even be aware that he or she has had a stroke. Symptoms usually develop suddenly and without warning, or they may occur on and off for the first day or two. Symptoms are usually most severe when the stroke first happens, but they may slowly get worse.

Symptoms 

• Muscle weakness in the face, arm, or leg (usually just one side)
• Numbness or tingling on one side of the body
• Sudden, severe headache
• Trouble speaking or understanding others who are speaking
• Problems with eyesight to varying degrees
• Sensation changes that affect touch and the ability to feel pain, pressure, different temperatures, or other stimuli
• Changes in hearing
• Change in alertness (sleepiness, unconsciousness and coma)
• Personality, mood or emotional changes
• Confusion or loss of memory
• Difficulty swallowing
• Changes in taste
• Difficulty writing or reading
• Loss of coordination
• Loss of balance
• Clumsiness
• Trouble walking
• Dizziness or abnormal sensation of movement (vertigo)
• Lack of control over the bladder or bowels

To Help Prevent a Stroke:

• Avoid fatty foods. Follow a healthy, low-fat diet.
• Do not drink more than 1 to 2 alcoholic drinks a day.
• Exercise regularly: 30 minutes a day if you are not overweight; 60 - 90 minutes a day if you are overweight.
• Get your blood pressure checked every 1 - 2 years, especially if high blood pressure runs in your family.
• Have your cholesterol checked. If you are at high risk for stroke, your LDL "bad" cholesterol should be lower than 100 mg/dL. Your doctor may recommend that you try to reduce your LDL cholesterol to 70 mg/dL.
• Follow your doctor's treatment recommendations if you have high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease.
• Quit smoking.

Aspirin therapy (81mg a day or 100mg every other day) is recommended for stroke prevention in women under 65 as long as the benefits outweigh the risks.

It should be considered for women over age 65 only if their blood pressure is controlled and the benefit is greater than the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding and brain hemorrhage. Ask your doctor if aspirin is right for you.

Chest Pain

What Is Chest Pain?

Chest pain is discomfort or pain that you feel anywhere along the front of your body between your neck and upper abdomen.

Many people with chest pain fear a heart attack. However, there are many possible causes of chest pain. Some causes are mildly inconvenient, while other causes are serious, even life-threatening. Any organ or tissue in your chest can be the source of pain, including your heart, lungs, esophagus, muscles, ribs, tendons, or nerves.

Heart problems that can cause chest pain:

Angina is a type of heart-related chest pain. This pain occurs because your heart is not getting enough blood and oxygen. The most common symptom is chest pain that occurs behind the breast bone or slightly to the left of it. It may feel like tightness, heavy pressure, squeezing, or crushing pain. The pain may spread to the arm, shoulder, jaw, or back.

• Heart attack pain can be similar to the pain of unstable angina, but more severe.
• Aortic dissection causes sudden, severe pain in the chest and upper back.
• Inflammation or infection in the tissue around the heart (pericarditis) pain in the center part of the chest.
• Lung problems that can cause chest pain:
• Pneumonia, which causes chest pain that usually feels sharp, and often gets worse when you take a deep breath or cough
• A blood clot in the lung (pulmonary embolism), collapse of a small area of the lung (pneumothorax) or inflammation of the lining around the lung (pleurisy) can cause chest pain that usually feels sharp, and often gets worse when you take a deep breath or cough
• Asthma, which generally also causes shortness of breath, wheezing, or coughing

Other causes of chest pain:

• Strain or inflammation of the muscles and tendons between the ribs
• Inflammation where the ribs join the breast bone or sternum (costochondritis)
• Shingles (sharp, tingling pain on one side that stretches from the chest to the back)
• Anxiety and rapid breathing

Chest pain can also be related to the following digestive system problems:

• Heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux (GERD)
• Stomach ulcer (burning pain occurs if your stomach is empty and feels better when you eat food)
• Gallbladder (pain often gets worse after a meal, especially a fatty meal)

Signs It’s Time Contact a Medical Professional

Call 911 if:

• You have sudden crushing, squeezing, tightening, or pressure in your chest.
• Pain radiates to your jaw, left arm, or between your shoulder blades.
• You have nausea, dizziness, sweating, a racing heart, or shortness of breath.
• You know you have angina and your chest discomfort is suddenly more intense, brought on by lighter activity or lasts longer than usual.
• Your angina symptoms occur at rest.
• You have sudden sharp chest pain with shortness of breath, especially after a long trip, a stretch of bedrest (for example, following an operation), or other lack of movement that can lead to a blood clot in your leg.
• Know that your risk of heart attack is greater if you have a family history of heart disease, you smoke, use cocaine, are overweight, or you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes.

Call your doctor if:

• You have a fever or a cough that produces yellow-green phlegm.
• You have chest pain that is severe and does not go away.
• You are having problems swallowing.
• Chest wall pain persists for longer than 3 to 5 days.

Preventing Chest Pain

• Make healthy lifestyle choices to prevent chest pain from heart disease.
• Achieve and maintain normal weight.
• Control high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
• Avoid cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke.
• Eat a diet low in saturated and hydrogenated fats and cholesterol, and high in starches, fiber, fruits, and vegetables.
• Get at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise on most days of the week.
• Reduce stress.