Healthy Heart: High Blood Pressure and Heart Failure

            Blood pressure, how much do you really know about this “silent killer?” Did you know that it directly accounts for about 60,000 deaths a year in the United States? High blood pressure, known as hypertension, is defined as a systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure of 90 mm Hg. Heart failure is another crucial cardiac disease that impacts about 6 million Americans and is attributed to nearly 300,000 deaths each year. Heart failure is a condition where the heart is unable to pump sufficient amount of blood to the body. Over time, the heart has to work harder to pump the blood, which leads to increased heart rate and size, change in heart rhythm, and accelerating cardiac decompensation overall.

            So how are the two related? You don’t feel hypertension and there are no symptoms, yet it damages your arteries, heart, kidneys, and other organs. If gone untreated, long-term consequences lead to heart failure, as well as other serious problems. In fact, the risk is twice as high for men and three times for women to develop heart failure if hypertension is gone untreated.

           According to the 2007 Blueprint for Healthy Aging in New Jersey, Monmouth county reports that 51.5% of adults have high blood pressure, 60.9% are overweight or obese, 22.5% reported to be in fair or poor health, and 27.4% have not exercised in the last 30 days. These are some of the contributing factors that lead to hypertension and heart failure. Some of the other causes include high salt intake, high stress, smokers, alcohol use, age, gender and ethnicity.

             What are the symptoms of heart failure? General symptoms include fatigue, weakness, weight gain due to fluid retention, and difficult breathing.  This is the most common reason why people over 65 years of age are admitted into the hospital. According to the Affortable Health Act, hospital readmission within 30 days with the same heart failure diagnosis will no longer be reimbursed.

             So what can we do to manage our disease better? For starters, better understanding of care and preventative methods. Work with your physician to set up an adequate nutrition plan that includes limiting fluid intake, low sodium diet and monitoring daily weight. A low sodium diet plan helps to lower blood pressure and in return, reduces heart failure risk. Life style changes are another preventative step; smoking cessation, limit alcohol use, exercise and reduce every day stressors.

            With the Affortable Health Act being passed, it offers free preventative care. Some of the services are blood pressure and cholesterol screening, diet counseling, obesity screening and counseling, and smoking cessation. For more information, contact your healthcare insurance.

             Too many medicines, do I really need to take all of them? Yes. Many work together to give optimum results. Most common medicines used to treat heart failure are:

·         diuretics (water pill)- helps your body to get rid of extra water and sodium, thus lowering blood volume

·         beta blockers – slows down heart rate and relaxes the force that the heart pumps

·         calcium channel blockers – helps slow the heart rate impulse and works to control abnormal heart rhythm

·         angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs)- helps protect against water and sodium retention, and lowers blood pressure

·         digoxin – helps the heart to pump better

·         vasodilators – dilates blood vessels to improve flow, in result lowers blood pressure

·         angiotensin converting (ACE) inhibitors- decreases heart workload and lowers blood pressure, and protects the kidneys

            In conclusion, blood pressure can cause long term harm to your heart, if gone untreated. One of the major damages is heart failure. Jersey Shore Hospital, one of the largest Monmouth county hospitals, offers a Heart Failure Program that uses a multidisciplinary team who work closely with these patients to prevent further hospitalization. They use telemonitoring system which are telephone calls made by nurses. These nurses call every week or as needed to monitor any weight changes, shortness of breath or palpitations. The information is than recorded in their charts and any noted changes are made aware by the physicians. Dietary, medication compliance and ongoing education are other ways that are used to manage heart failure. All it takes to enroll is a referral from a physician. Riverview Medical Center has recently become a Heart Failure Center as well. There are many ways that you can manage you disease, but it all depends on dedication and working closely with your physician.