Heart attacks and heart failure are still among the most significant threats to our wellness.
There are a number of things we can do to prevent the problem.
First, we should define what we mean by heart failure.
"Heart failure is also known as congestive heart failure and very simply put, it's when the heart muscle is not pumping as well as it should be. The result is that the body is unable to get blood to the parts of the body that need it," said Beth Davidann of Castle Medical Center.
How does someone know when they might be suffering from heart failure?
"Certainly, shortness of breath is very common, weakness or tiredness. Specifically, breathing problems when they're lying on their backs and sometimes waking up with coughing. Also a rapid weight gain that can't be explained by eating a lot," Davidann says.
Those suffering from heart failure may also experience dizziness or fainting. Castle Medical Center prides itself on having an array of professionals to deal with heart failure patients.
"That includes doctors and nurses but we also have pharmacists that can explain sometimes the dizzying array of medications that need to be taken at certain times or understanding why they need to take the medications," Davidann says.
Just as important as medication, according to Davidann, is diet. There will be changes in nutrition for the heart failure patient. Medications, changes in diet, daily monitoring of weight, lifestyle changes like exercise and stopping smoking.
And Davidann's wellness center holds instruction courses.
"In the case of our Wellness Center, we'll actually be preparing some low sodium foods and having a chance to eat them and finding out that it can be not so bad to eat in this new way of eating and actually taste some of the foods to make the transition more comfortable," she says.
