ABSTRACT
Heart failure is one of the leading causes of mortality in the world. At present, there are approximately 26 million heart failure patients worldwide (1). Heart failure is a life-threatening disease and addressing it should be treated as a global health priority. The prevalence and cost of the condition is set to rise due to Ireland’s ageing population and increases in diabetes and coronary heart disease (2).
To a large extent, heart failure is a disease that is managed medically. Medications such as ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers are well established in the treatment of heart failure, reducing mortality and hospitalisations (3). Lifestyle interventions can substantially improve the population’s health, because obesity, hypertension, diabetes and smoking all dramatically increase the likelihood of heart failure. The goals of treatment in patients with heart failure are to improve their quality of life by controlling the symptoms of the disease and to prolong life by slowing the disease’s progression.
Research was carried out on heart failure, its frequency, guidelines to prevent it, the burden it has on the patient, management of the
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Doctors are able to diagnose heart failure by carrying out tests in patients who present with the symptoms. These tests include blood tests and an echocardiogram (ECG). Blood tests can be used to check cholesterol levels and for a substance called natriuretic peptide, which the heart secretes into the blood if it is damaged or overworked. An ECG is used to look in detail at the structure of the heart, such as testing how well the valves are working, systolic function, diastolic function and, most importantly, it measures the function of the left ventricle by measuring the left ventricular ejection fraction, which is an estimate of how much of the blood that enters the left ventricle is pumped out when the heart muscle contracts