Congestive Heart Failure Research Paper

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Congestive Heart Failure: Drowning in Disease The heart is essentially drowning. Heart failure is the inability of the heart to produce adequate cardiac output (Huether & McCance, 2012). Nearly 2% of all Americans have some form of heart failure (McLaughlin, Hoy, & Glackin, 2015). Heart failure can occur as left-sided heart failure, right-sided heart failure, high-output heart failure, or a combination thereof (Ignatavicius &Workman, 2016). While there is no cure for heart failure, treatments are centered on controlling the decline of the cardiac muscle and maintenance of the symptoms (Huether & McCance, 2012). This paper focuses on left-sided heart failure, or congestive heart failure, and the implications of living with the disease. Pathophysiology…show more content…
The amount of oxygenated blood that is pumped out of the heart in one minute is called cardiac output (Huether & McCance, 2012). Cardiac output is affected by contractility, preload, and afterload (Huether & McCance, 2012). These three factors makeup what is known as stroke volume, the amount of blood pumped out of the heart with each beat (Huether & McCance, 2012). If the stroke volume is decreased, the cardiac output is decreased, which means that the heart is not producing enough oxygenated blood to circulate throughout the…show more content…
It is one thing to be a nurse who is treating a patient with a chronic disease. It is a whole new ball game when you are living with CHF and know that it will probably kill you one day, whether directly or indirectly. CHF affects your entire life, down to how many times you urinate every day. I have a co-worker who was recently diagnosed with CHF, and it has caused her to cut back on her hours until she can get the disease under control. I could not handle the feeling of congested lungs for the rest of my life. I would feel like I was drowning, and it would drive me crazy. I would be anxious and frustrated with my body. I would be frustrated about carrying oxygen with me everywhere, and I would crave salt everyday just because I am on sodium restrictions. I would really hate have to go to the bathroom so frequently, and I would be nervous about going on long car trips or anywhere without easily accessible
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