Case Study Question 1 : Congestive Cardiac Failure
1. Outline the causes, incidence and risk factors of the identified disease and how it can impact on the patient and family.
What causes heart failure is conditions which damage or excessively work heart muscle, which can result in congestive heart failure (McCance at al. 2010). As the heart weakens over time, it cannot properly perform its jobs such as filling with and pumping blood. Hence, heart cannot deliver enough oxygen and nutrients to meet body's needs. Responding to it, the chamber of heart cannot choose but to stretch to hold more blood to pump through the body or become stiff and thickened. This helps maintaining blood moving for a while, yet in time, the heart muscle walls weaken and cannot pump strongly. In response to it, the renal causes the body to retain fluid (water) and sodium. When fluid is filled in the extremities, lungs or other organs, the body becomes congested, and hence, congestive heart failure refers to this condition (McCance et al.
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Due to weaken heart, proteins and substances may be released into blood, which brings about toxic effects to worsen heart failure (Dicksten et al. 2008). The common causes of congestive heart failure include coronary heart disease (CAD), cardiomyopathy, and conditions that make heart overwork such as hypertension, valve disease, diabetes, thyroid disease, renal disease, diabetes or hear defects that present at birth (Dicksten et al. 2008). Besides, heart failure can occur when the several disease or conditions are existing at once (Dicksten et. al 2008).
The risk factors of congestive heart failure are similar to atherosclerotic heart disease, therefore, they include poorly controlled high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, stress, and family history. Also, heart valve disease can be a risk...