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Heart Failure, Treatment (view source)
Revision as of 19:39, 25 October 2010
, 19:39, 25 October 2010no edit summary
==Introduction==
==Goals of Treatment==
*Cure
*Cure
*Slow/Prevent Disease Progression
*Slow/Prevent Disease Progression
*Symptomatic Relief
*Symptomatic Relief
Treatments vary from surgical correction of underlying conditions, such as correction of a PDA, to management changes and pharmacological treatments.
===Types of Treatment===
==Management Changes==
#Avoid strenuous exercise
#Reduced Salt Diets (Reduces Preload)
#Potassium Supplements
#Taurine Supplements (Cats with dilated cardiomyopathy)
#L-carnitine Supplements (Dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy)
#Nutraceuticals (e.g. Omega-3 fatty acids, Anti-oxidants, Co-enzyme Q10)
Heart failure patients can suffer from cardiac cachexia due to the high metabolic demands of this condition. Make sure the patient is eating enough calories per day to maintain their body weight.
Heart failure patients can suffer from cardiac cachexia due to the high metabolic demands of this condition. Make sure the patient is eating enough calories per day to maintain their body weight.
==Pharmacological Intervention==
The following terms are usfule when desribing the effects of various pharmacological agents:
*Preload=amount of maximal myocardial stretch (During Diastole)
*Afterload=amount of maximal myocardial tension (During Systole)
Drug treatments can be used to:
*Decrease Preload (Decreases venous tone & fluid volume)
*Decrease Afterload (Increases flow by decreasing arterial tone)
*Increase Myocardial Systolic Function
*Increase Myocardial Diastolic Function
=====Decrease Preload=====
=====Decrease Preload=====