Symptoms And Treatment Of Congestive Heart Failure For People In Nashville, TN

The heart is the most vital organ in the body because it has the most tiresome job of providing blood to all parts of the body, from the tips of the toes to the scalp in the head. Heart is the most important part of the circulatory system which enables every cell in the body to receive nutrients and eliminate their waste products. It is important to keep the heart healthy in order to keep heart disease at bay. It is a heart disease which leads to the occurrence of a cardiac arrest or heart attack. The best way to deal with cardiac emergencies is by going for an American Heart Association CPR class Nashville. CPR stands for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation which comprises of chest compressions and rescue breaths. Proper administration of the techniques can restore the life of a cardiac arrest or heart attack victim. These techniques were brought to the fore by the American Heart Association who came out with the techniques in the face of the rising number of death cases among people due to cardiac arrests.

For training, it is advisable to go for an AHA accredited training site in order to gain quality training in the hands of certified instructors. If you are a resident of Nashville in Tennessee, you can enroll for a program at the AHA accredited CPR Nashville where at the end of the training classes, a student will be eligible for a certification after successfully passing a skills test and a written exam. 

Congestive Heart Failure:

The heart basically is made of four muscle chambers- the two atria and the two ventricles. The right atrium receives the blood coming from the body. The blood goes down to the right ventricle where it is pumped to the lungs for oxygenation which then goes to the left atrium. After that the left ventricle pumps blood to the entire body. The left ventricle has the hardest job of squeezing blood to the entire body that is why it is considered to be the strongest muscle of the four. Congestive heart failure is a condition where it becomes difficult for the heart to provide enough blood to the body. 

Cardiomyopathy, which is a disease of the heart causes congestive heart failure, it can also be a weakened heart which can be due to old age or occurrence of numerous heart attacks. High blood pressure can also contribute to this condition.

Symptoms- The symptoms depend on which part or side of the heart is weakened. One needs to learn about how the different parts of the heart work and their functions in order to easily understand how failure would be affecting the body and the symptoms that they will show. The weakening of the left side of the heart causes decrease in the supply of blood pumped to the whole body with the symptoms being build up of fluid in the lungs which means there would be shortness of breath, difficulty breathing when lying down and increased breathlessness. 

Build up of fluid would be in the extremities with the weakening of the right side of the heart which causes swelling on the lower parts of the body especially on the upper part of the legs and eventually the abdomen.

Treatments- The main treatment for congestive heart failure would be resorting to a healthy lifestyle. The diet and water intake should be adjusted. There should be limited sodium intake because sodium increases the retention of fluid in the body which increases the risk of edema. Consult your physician with regards to your fluid intake which should be decreased as well. Include some form of exercise in your daily routine but the amount of physical activity should be adjusted to the capacity of the patient’s body, so it is important that you consult a doctor and follow his or her instructions.

There are some nutritional supplements as well which can make your heart stronger and can help mitigate the worrisome symptoms of congestive heart failure. 

In order to enroll for an American Heart Association CPR class Nashville program at CPR Nashville, either register online or call on 615-397-9316 for registration.