Could anyone tell me more about congestive heart failure

They have said my grandmother has congestive heart failure. Can someone tell me more about this condition. She is in her 70's.

Congestive heart failure is not the same as a heart attack. It's an age-related condition that means the heart is not strong enough to pump the blood around the body effectively. This results in fluid collecting in the lungs, which can lead to breathing difficulties. There's more information here.

I'm going to add this link to the ones you might want to check out, too: http://www.medicinenet.com/congestive_he...tm#1whatis It does a nice job breaking down what exactly it is, what can cause it, how to deal with it, etc.

Is there any way to avoid it? Or any preventive measure? My mom is really stubborn she refuse to exercise and she is obese. So I'm guessing her veins are clogged. :/ And definitely having a hard time pumping those blood. :/

(03-09-2012 01:52 AM)acronesh Wrote:  Is there any way to avoid it? Or any preventive measure? My mom is really stubborn she refuse to exercise and she is obese. So I'm guessing her veins are clogged. :/ And definitely having a hard time pumping those blood. :/

The best preventive measure is to eat healthily and exercise, in order to lose any excess weight and reduce the risk of heart problems. The trouble is, if she doesn't want to help herself, there's not a lot you can do about it, other than tell her how worried you are that she's harming her health.

I wish I could give you something positive about this. But unfortunately I can't, the bottom line is the condition killed my father. Over time his heart grew weaker with each attack he had and eventually he died in his sleep as a result. Yes, there are new developments coming out, and doctors do monitor patients regularly. The problem is from what I have personally experience, this is not a stubborn persons condition. But unfortunately stubborn people get it. My father refused to take a water pill, he refused to accept that he even had a heart condition. So we had a time and a half getting him to take proper care of himself. Looking back on it now I guess it was an amazing feat that he lived almost ten years with the condition because of how he was. Ask your grand mother if she was prescribed a water pill and if she is taking it, this can be an important factor. Also ask her if she is cutting salt from her diet, not so easy with process foods, but tell her to make sure she isn't adding any salt herself. Also, ask her if she is seeing her doctor regularly and following his advice. There is no known cure for congestive heart failure but there are ways to prolong a person's life with the condition.

(03-07-2012 12:40 PM)KCareConnections Wrote:  They have said my grandmother has congestive heart failure. Can someone tell me more about this condition. She is in her 70's.

Since your grandmother is 70 years old, her health condition will not allow intensive medical treatments. Further, alternative ways like doing exercise and others are also not possible by your grandmother. At this stage, follow the advise of the medical consultant and show utmost care on your grandmother.

One can also cause congestive heart failure by having elevated high blood pressure, which leads to fluid build-up in the lungs. Keeping the blood pressure under controi, avoids such a condition in this case.