Vishal Rastogi, Additional Director, Cardiac Sciences, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, New Delhi stated, “Heart failure is a growing concern in India. In our hospital, we see about 20 patients visit the hospital with heart failure-related complications every month. However, there are several barriers to early diagnosis and care, including certain misconceptions and lack of awareness.”
“Educating people on heart failure would help facilitate increased understanding and ability to identify symptoms and risk factors; thus, enabling timely detection. This can support the effective management of heart failure in its early stages. Thereby alleviating patients’ symptoms and reducing hospital visits, empowering them to live longer with an improved quality of life.”
Myth: Heart failure is identical as a coronary heart assault.
Fact: While coronary heart failure and coronary heart assaults, each fall beneath the class of cardiovascular ailments, they differ immensely. A coronary heart assault refers to a sudden blockage of blood circulate to your coronary heart. On the opposite hand, coronary heart failure is a persistent, progressive situation whereby the guts is unable to pump blood effectively.
However, a coronary heart assault could cause coronary heart failure, alongside numerous different coronary heart failure threat elements, together with different coronary heart ailments, hypertension, lung or kidney illness, diabetes, weight problems or unhealthy life-style patterns.
Myth: Heart failure has no warning indicators.
Fact: There are a number of signs related to coronary heart failure that one ought to concentrate on, along with figuring out threat elements, resembling household historical past and comorbid circumstances, that may predispose you to elevated threat of coronary heart failure.
The commonest indicators embrace breathlessness or dyspnea, fatigue, tiredness, elevated time taken to get well after an train, and ankle swelling. Slightly much less typical signs embrace wheezing, nocturnal cough, bloating feeling, confusion, palpitations, despair, dizziness, an irregular pulse, lack of urge for food and a brief lack of consciousness (syncope).
Myth: Heart failure solely impacts the aged, not the youthful inhabitants.
Fact: Although coronary heart failure is extra generally prevalent among the many aged, the youthful inhabitants also can develop coronary heart failure. Moreover, analysis means that Indians are affected by cardiovascular ailments almost a decade sooner than their western counterparts.
Younger coronary heart failure sufferers (18-55 years of age) usually have a better incidence of comorbidities, resembling weight problems, along with myocarditis, congenital coronary heart illness and cardiomyopathy, which will increase the danger of early coronary heart failure. Thus, their situation can be managed otherwise, addressing these threat elements and assuaging signs to enhance their high quality of life.
Myth: Heart failure is the ‘finish of the street’ and can’t be managed.
Fact: Heart failure doesn’t imply your coronary heart has stopped working and is certainly not the ‘finish of the street’. Although there is no such thing as a particular remedy, it may be handled, and signs can typically be managed successfully.
By successfully managing the illness, together with assuaging or stabilizing signs, sufferers can nonetheless profit from therapy to residing an improved high quality of life. Disease administration is often by way of a holistic therapy plan, comprising treatment or surgical procedures and life-style adjustments, which might embrace train and dietary modifications. Adhering to therapy and life-style adjustments is essential to handle your situation successfully.
Now that these myths have been addressed, you might be higher ready to trace your coronary heart well being! If you or a cherished one is experiencing any coronary heart failure signs — seek the advice of a physician instantly.
Source: IANS
