Right Sided Cardiac Failure Facts

      Right sided cardiac failure is a medical condition where the right ventricle is unable to pump blood efficiently into the lungs and the left ventricle. This leads to blood accumulating in various parts of the body, which in turn affects the gastrointestinal tract, the liver, and the limbs. The most common cause of right side heart failure is left sided heart failure, wherein the left ventricle cannot pump the requisite amount of blood. This exerts pressure behind the left side of the heart, which eventually leads to right sided heart failure. Other causes include chronic lung disorders like emphysema, pulmonary hypertension, and pulmonary embolism; coronary artery disease; pulmonary and tricuspid stenosis where the pulmonic and tricuspid valves narrow and cause blood in the right ventricle to flow back into the right atrium; tricuspid regurgitation where the tricuspid valve doesn't close properly; and pericardial constriction where the pericardium gets inflamed and prevents the heart from expanding and pumping fully; and an abnormal connection between the right and the left ventricles.
Furthermore, situations like fever, infections, anemia, increased consumption of fluids or salts, kidney diseases may also trigger episodes of right side heart failure. The common symptoms of right sided heart failure include swelling in the feet and ankles or oedema, eczema-type rashes on the legs leading to ulcers that do not heal, and accumulation of fluids in the abdominal region and the liver. Other symptoms include breathlessness, frequent urination at night, palpitations, tiredness, pronounced veins in the neck, and loss of consciousness. Right sided heart failure may be effectively treated with drugs, lifestyle changes, and in severe cases, with implanted devices that stimulate the functions of the heart. Regularly visit your physician so that heart abnormalities are detected early and treatment may begin in the earnest.
Lifestyle modifications like reducing your salt intake, maintaining the ideal body weight, quitting smoking, and reducing alcohol consumption go a long way in preventing the disorder. The most widely prescribed therapy to cure right sided heart failure is to treat left sided heart failure. Valve replacements, angioplasty, and bypass surgery too are prescribed for some patients. There are quite a few drugs too, to help the condition-the most common ones being diuretics or water pills that help reduce water accumulation; furosemide, torsemide, and bumetanide that help treat moderate to severe conditions; digitalis that helps increase muscle contraction of the heart; and spironolactone that is recommended for critical patients. Physicians also prescribe another group of drugs that help stimulate the heart's functions and prolong the lives of seriously ill persons-ACE inhibitors and drugs like hydralazine and long-acting nitrates.
Beta-blockers like carvedilol and metoprolol are known to reduce chances of mortality in some serious cases of right sided heart failure. Implanted devices like cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) are recommended for patients showing signs of heart abnormalities. Right sided cardiac failure is a life-threatening disorder and hence its conditions must be treated immediately and the root causes eliminated aggressively.