Heart Failure

Heart failure, sometimes referred to as congestive heart failure, occurs when the heart does not pump blood sufficiently to meet the body’s needs.  Heart failure classifications include systolic, diastolic and valvular. Systolic heart failure arises from a weaken heart, often enlarged heart. The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is the percent of blood that the heart pumps with each heartbeat. The LVEF is reduced in systolic heart failure. The inability of the heart to relax properly or the stiffness of the heart characterizes diastolic heart failure. While the left ventricular ejection fraction may remain normal, stiffness of the heart prevents it from filling properly leading to heart failure. Valvular heart failure arises when leaky (insufficient) or narrowed (stenotic) heart valves prevent normal blood flow through the heart. The common endpoint of these forms of heart failure is the impairment of the heart to pump blood to meet the body’s needs. Symptoms that occur in heart failure include shortness of breath, swelling of the legs, fatigue, activity intolerance and weight gain from fluid retention. Fortunately, the treatment of heart failure has progressed greatly over the years so as to improve not only symptoms but survival. Buckeye Heart & Vascular Institute offers imaging modalities to diagnose the type of heart failure and its causes quickly and accurately.  Our physicians and providers have years of experience diagnosing/treating heart failure and remain on the cutting edge of new therapies. We can’t wait to improve your quality of life and longevity.