The heart is a very efficient pump but sometimes, due to an illness or more commonly an unknown cause, some individuals may develop heart failure also called cardiomyopathy. This is a condition where the heart is too weak to pump blood sufficiently and the ankles, abdomen and lungs may fill with fluid making it difficult to breathe. The diagnosis of heart failure changes everything, because it means having to deal with a lifelong condition. Depending upon the type and severity, medications and other heart failure treatments have been shown to extend the lives of many patients, while others recover remarkably.

The first step to heart failure treatment is to be put on a diuretic such as Lasix immediately to release built up fluid. The next step is to add a prescription for a beta blocker and ace inhibitor. Beta blockers such as Coreg or carvedilol, work by lowering blood pressure and slowing down the heartbeat, thereby allowing the heart to rest. Ace inhibitors such as Lisinopril help to relax blood vessels, which prevent the production of the enzyme angiotensin II that causes narrowing of the blood vessels. Some people can’t take ACE inhibitors and may be prescribed an ARB such as atacand instead. Atacand has been proven to greatly improve heart health. Another very important drug Digoxin also called Lanoxin, may be prescribed because it has great success at strengthening the heart muscle. One newer drug called BiDil is a miraculous medication because it has lengthened the lives of African Americans with long term, severe heart failure. The pill is a combination of hydralazine with inosorbide dinitrate that relax blood vessels, yet also dilate them.

It is not uncommon to be prescribed two or three medications to be taken twice daily, but for some people, heart failure treatments may involve surgery to repair a leaky valve, or bypass surgery to dilate constricted arteries. In some cases, an implantable cardio-converter defibrillator (ICD) may be required. The ICD works by detecting when a heart beats irregularly and then shocks it back to a normal rhythm. Another device is called a CRT, and works by electronically pacing the heart by sending electrical impulses. The CRT is a lifesaver for those individuals who have a problem with the electrical pacing of their hearts that throws the normal pattern out of balance. Some people have such severe heart failure, they require a heart transplant. But because the waiting list is so long, their health will deteriorate as they wait until a donor heart is ready. For these individuals, a heart pump will be implanted in their abdomens and attach to the heart, which then helps the weakened or diseased heart to pump. The heart pump can greatly improve the health of the patient and can be used indefinitely, especially if a person doesn’t qualify for a new heart. Heart pumps have been proven to extend the lives of those who wouldn’t have survived without them. In fact, some people have improved so dramatically, they are taken off the transplant list.

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