Pharmacotherapy/Treatment Of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)
Heart failure is a situation whereby the heart works less efficiently. Blood and nutrients move through the heart and body at a slower rate thereby increasing the pressure in the heart. It occurs when the heart chamber expands more to hold more blood or become too stiff and thick. If the kidney responds to this condition, salt and water is retained in the arms, legs, ankles, feet, lungs and other organs. This is known as congestive heart failure (CHF). Congestive HF or decompensated HF occurs in patients where there is increased blood pressure resulting from weak pumps in heart failure reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) also called systolic HF and stiff pumps in heart failure preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) also called diastolic HF. In either case, there is a backfill of pressure in the lungs as the ventricle cannot eject enough blood out of the left ventricle. This leads to increased pulmonary pressure that pushes fluid out of capillaries and into alveolar space (causing pulmonary ...
