HEART FAILURE SYNDROME

Heart failure is a condition where the heart becomes weak and cannot efficiently pump blood to nourish the body, causing blood to circulate through the body and heart slower than in a normal person.

This is a clinical syndrome that has its roots in structural or functional abnormalities of the heart, which can be treated but not completely cured. Heart failure is often a complication of other health conditions that damage the heart and can threaten the life of the patient.

The symptoms of heart failure include:

🔹 Shortness of breath when exercising, exerting oneself like walking, climbing stairs, lifting heavy objects, or even when resting, or when physically or mentally stressed.
🔹 Sudden bouts of breathlessness at night accompanied by coughing.
🔹 Fatigue, dizziness, exhaustion.
🔹 Aching or heaviness on the right side (right lower rib).
🔹 Swelling of the feet, ankles, or abdomen.
🔹 Abnormal rapid heartbeat.
🔹 Slow recovery after exertion.

The causes of heart failure can be due to:

🔸 Coronary artery disease.
🔸 Myocardial infarction that causes some areas of the heart to die, forming scar tissue that reduces the heart's ability to contract.
🔸 Alcohol-related heart disease.
🔸 Chronic hypertension, which puts pressure on the heart and makes it work harder for a long time.
🔸 Congenital heart disease.
🔸 Heart valve disease causing valve malfunction or stenosis.
🔸 Chronic diseases such as thyroid disease, kidney failure, diabetes.
🔸 Prolonged arrhythmias.
🔸 Use of cancer treatment drugs or other specific drugs.
🔸 Myocarditis.
🔸 Other factors such as smoking, diabetes, obesity, and exposure to toxic substances.
🔸 Aging.

To diagnose heart failure, doctors often perform several methods such as:

▪️ Based on family history, clinical examination, discussion of symptoms of heart failure.
▪️ Ancillary methods such as electrocardiogram (ECG), chest X-ray, echocardiogram, magnetic resonance imaging, coronary angiography through the heart valve help diagnose the cause, prognosis, and monitor the treatment of heart failure.

In reality, heart failure is dangerous and leaves unforeseeable consequences. However, most people today are indifferent and lack the necessary knowledge. So, in your opinion, which is more dangerous, heart failure or cancer?

According to the sharing of MSc. MD. Phung Ngoc Minh Tan, preliminary statistics in Scotland were conducted to compare the mortality rates between heart failure and the 4 most common types of cancer in males (prostate, lung, bladder, and colorectal) and females (breast, colorectal, lung, and ovarian). The results showed that after 5 years of follow-up, the mortality rate due to heart failure was around 50%, which is comparable to those of the common types of cancer (except for lung cancer with a poor prognosis: around 50% mortality after 6 months of diagnosis).

Therefore, heart failure is not less harmful than cancer. Heart failure is almost the final destination of structural heart diseases. Therefore, early screening and timely treatment are necessary to achieve the best possible outcomes.