With 550,000 new cases every year, heart failure currently affects 5 million people nationwide–often rendering them exhausted and short of breath even when resting.
But there’s hope. With regular checkups, effective medication management, lifestyle changes and other treatments, many heart failure patients live active and fulfilling lives after their diagnosis.
“Heart failure occurs when the heart can no longer pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs,” says Norri Hernandez Ay-Ad, R.N. As heart failure clinical coordinator at Anaheim Memorial, she’s on the frontline of technological breakthroughs that are helping patients live longer, more vital lives. “Medical advances such as implantable biventricular pacemaker defibrillators, which jump-start the heart and coordinate its contractions, have reduced death rates by 43 percent,” she says.
“But education remains a key component of treatment.” The heart failure program at Anaheim Memorial fulfills this role. It offers services ranging from education on symptom management to help controlling risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and cholesterol. Monitored exercise sessions and support groups are also available.
Additionally, patients have access to one-on-one consultation with nurse specialists, dietitians, pharmacists and other clinical experts. Central to this process is an understanding of the causes and treatment of heart failure.
“Once the heart’s ability to pump declines, it begins to enlarge and beat faster to compensate for diminished pumping capacity,” says Norri. If the heart’s left ventricle (lower chamber) no longer pumps effectively, fluid backs up into the lungs. This causes shortness of breath. If the right ventricle is the culprit, fluid builds up in the legs and ankles, causing swelling. “The initial symptoms are usually subtle, but over time they become quite problematic,” explains Norri.
Because heart failure is almost always the result of an underlying condition, Anaheim Memorial heart specialists first focus on detecting the root cause. Among the most common are previous heart attacks, cardiac viral diseases, faulty heart valves and high blood pressure. Once determined, the underlying cause is corrected, if possible. Diagnosis also includes a physical exam, lab tests, a chest X-ray, EKG, echocardiogram and other screenings including a nuclear scan and cardiac catheterization to measure how much blood is pumped from the ventricles with each heartbeat. The resulting number is known as an ejection fraction. “The heart normally ejects about 55 to 75 percent of the blood from the ventricles with each beat,” says Norri. “Heart failure occurs when the amount of blood ejected per beat falls below 40 percent.”
Pharmaceutical therapy is the mainstay of heart-failure treatment. Because combinations of drugs are most effective, understanding the role of each medication is important. Anaheim Memorial’s heart failure team works closely with patients to educate them about their regimen. “New drugs have made a substantial difference in longevity and quality of life,” says Norri. “But nearly half of heart failure patients return to the hospital within six months of being discharged because they don’t take their medication properly or have lifestyle issues.”
The heart-failure program is an integral part of Anaheim Memorial's HeartCare Center–one of Orange County’s leading cardiac programs.
