Left-Assisted Heart Failure: A Case Study

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“Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death and disability in the world” (Lauer, 2012, p. 500). Heart failure is manifestation of cardiovascular disease (Huether & McCance, 2012). It causes a decrease in blood supply to tissue in the body and an increase in amount of pressure inside the heart itself. There are many risk factors associated with the condition. Leading causes include ischemic heart disease and hypertension. Age, obesity, excessive alcohol abuse, renal deficiencies and diabetes are some of the other contributing factors related to onset (Huether & McCance, 2012).
Heart failure can be categorized as left-sided or right-sided and can involve either side or both sides simultaneously (Huether & McCance, 2012). When a patient presents with a history of congestive heart failure but is uncertain which type they have, it is the responsibility of the nurse to make an assessment. “The ability to recognize early and progressive HF signs and symptoms is crucial for both patients and clinicians” (Vincent & Mutsch, 2015, p. 1). A nurse will look for specific symptoms to
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Left –sided heart failure is the more common type and can be of a systolic or diastolic nature. In systolic heart failure, the heart does not generate enough output which results in vital body tissues are not receiving adequately amounts of blood. Diastolic heart failure occurs when cardiac muscle does not completely relax which results in less blood entering the heart. In a physical examination, left-sided heart failure patients may be observed as fatigued, short of breath as well as having frothy sputum and low urine output. The shortness of breath may be exacerbated when lying flat and the patient may describe sleep disruptions associated with this. Pulmonary auscultation will reveal crackling sounds produced by fluid in the lungs (Huether & McCance,