The increase in heart failure in the Portuguese is mainly due to the aging of the population, and the disease is often associated with other heart conditions such as hypertension, acute cardiovascular disease, heart valve disease or cardiomyopathy.
This syndrome leads to significant mortality” warns Dulce Brito, professor and cardiologist, adding an explanation: “Heart failure happens when the heart does not perform its function properly and cannot deliver the necessary amount of blood to all organs so that they too can perform their functions.
ABOUT 81% of patients with heart failure believe their disease is under controlresearch data promoted by Spirituc Investigação Aplicada in partnership with the Association for the Support of Heart Failure Patients (AADIC) supported by Bayer.
However, the same study shows that 70% of patients with heart failure say they have had at least one episode of decompensation over the past 24 months, and 21% of these same respondents were hospitalized during this period of time, an average of two admissions per year.
Although the pathology affects about 400,000 Portuguese, the study found that there is still very little knowledge about the disease. heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization in people over 65 years of age.
“Place of the Heart at Home”
An unprecedented survey based on 117 surveys conducted among Portuguese people aged 50 and over was published as part of campaign”The place of the heart of the house, Bayer. This is an action aimed at promoting literacy and encourage people with heart failure to take care of their heartsto stay at home with those they love the most, avoiding hospitalizations.
Approximately 44% of patients were diagnosed during a routine consultation, but about 20% were diagnosed during an emergency episode or hospitalization.
To learn more about this disease that so often goes unnoticed before it’s too late, we had a conversation with professor and cardiologist Dulce Brito.
Here’s everything you need to know about heart failure right now.
1. But what is heart failure?
Heart failure occurs when the heart does not perform its function properly and stops supplying the necessary amount of blood to all organs so that they can also perform their functions.
2. What symptoms should lead a person to suspicion of a disease?
Fatigue, exercise intolerance, dyspnea, discomfort lying down and needing to get up to breathe better, and/or swelling in the legs and feet are the most common symptoms and signs of heart failure.
People start to get more tired than before and don’t understand why and don’t attribute it to possible heart problems.
Obviously, there are other causes that may be related to fatigue, shortness of breath and / or swelling of the legs. However, one of them can be heart failure.
3. Who is at risk for heart failure?
It should be noted that the incidence of heart failure increases with age. That is, as a person ages, namely over 65 years oldthey are more likely to develop heart failure.
Moreover, suffering from other concomitant heart diseases may contribute to decompensation the most heartfelt situation.
4. How does this disease affect the Portuguese?
The impact of heart failure in Portugal is certainly the same as in other countries where the incidence is between 1 and 2% in the general population. The consequences of this situation will depend on the cause and severity of the heart failure itself.
A significant impact on quality of life especially if the situations are serious and lead to frequent hospitalizations due to decompensation.
→ If people living with heart failure lead active professional livesof course, the impact will be even greater as they feel restricted, with restrictions of various kinds, need for various medications and other treatments, and the need for professional absenteeism;
→ if they are older, often have other comorbidities that can contribute to the decompensation of the cardiac situation itself. Hospitalization is more frequent in patients who do not receive adequate treatment or in unstable patients.
In addition, this syndrome entails significant mortality and additional costs due to the frequency of hospitalizations for episodes of decompensation.
According to the survey AADIKabout 40% of respondents believe that CI has a great impact on their lives.
Some patients stress that they have stopped doing some things they enjoy, such as walking or socializing with other people, because they feel very tired (70%), experience anxiety spikes (49%), or are emotionally unstable (45%) .
Expectations are unanimous and focused on creating more effective drugs (35%) to improve quality of life.
5. What can we do to help patients with heart failure spend more time with their families?
Heart failure is a serious chronic problem that deserves close attention. This is because from time to time, when it gets worse, the patient has to go to the emergency room frequently, where intravenous therapy will be given to relieve the heart and lungs.
Whenever one or more persistent symptoms appear, it is important that people consult their doctor. and evaluate your business. In this way, it will be possible to make a diagnosis at an early stage and, above all, to start the most appropriate treatment in time.
Currently, there are already drugs that can be effective in patients with a high tendency to decompensate or who have been hospitalized in the last few months. For individual advice and more information, please contact your doctor.
6. Is early diagnosis possible?
Some patients are diagnosed during an emergency episode or hospitalization because most people have symptoms but do not attribute them to heart failure. As a rule, they feel more tired and think that this is happening for another reason. They usually attribute this fatigue to sleepless nights, excessive stress, or even muscle or joint pain, which eventually causes difficulty moving and muscle pain.
that is, symptoms and signs of heart failure are often nonspecific and associated with other conditions. But it could actually be heart failure!
It is imperative that people go to the doctor and talk about their problem so that their situation is assessed and diagnosed as soon as possible.
Faced with symptoms and warning signs, you should make an appointment and try to rule out the presence of a heart problem that can be treated or even corrected in time.
7. Is the “place of the heart” (or should it be) a home where these patients can be with their families and go about their daily lives unhindered?
The place of the heart should be at home. The hospital is not the best place to “live”, although in some situations it is an absolutely necessary place, for example, when a patient has a nervous breakdown and needs intravenous therapy.
When hospitalization is necessary to control a heart failure situation, the person is away from their world and their loved ones, most of the time in a serious condition and under the influence of various medications until they stabilize. And if this situation (hospitalization) is repeated over time, after months, after a year, and in some cases even more often, then it is obvious that the quality of human life cannot be ideal.
Due to the longer life expectancy of the population, an increase in the number of patients with this pathology is expected in the coming years. Let’s pay attention to symptoms and warning signs and take care of ourselves in time for a better future.
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.