Heart failure is associated with a bunch of factors that make the heart weak or too stiff. Heart failure occurs because of its inability to pump adequate blood supply to the body. The human body requires a consistent blood supply to function properly and the heart does the same job by pumping the blood and making it flow throughout the body. Have a quick look below to know the causes of heart failure.
As we age, the blood-pumping ability of the heart slows down; however, this is not the reason for heart failure. The lifestyle factors such as not eating heart healthy foods, physical inactivity, smoking, higher stress level, being overweight increase the risk of heart failure to a greater extent.
Heart failure happens either in the right or left ventricles of the heart. It can also occur in both of the ventricles. Generally, heart failure is classified as systolic (heart muscles become weaker) or diastolic (heart muscles become stiffer).
What are the causes of heart failure?
Some people have issues with the blood-pumping ability of their hearts and making available enough blood to the bodily functions while some have weak or hard heart muscles making less blood flow to the heart. There is always more than one condition behind heart failure. Most often the coronary artery disease (CAD) is the reason for heart failure where arteries that supply blood & oxygen to the heart narrow down. The following conditions may act in combination and having one or more of them greatly increases the risk of heart failure.
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) – This is the most common reason for heart failure. Fatty acids and cholesterols deposit in the heart’s arteries that block or reduces blood supply to the heart muscle. The outcome is chest pain (angina) and if the blood flow is completely blocked the result is a heart attack.
Abnormal Heart Valves – Heart valves do not completely open or close as the heart beats. This makes the heart pump the blood harder than normal to maintain the flow of the blood. Heart valve disorder is a result of infection (endocarditis) which is also caused by birth defects. Hard pumping eventually leads to heart failure.
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) – High blood pressure makes the heart pump much harder. Over time, the hard pumping enlarges and weakens heart chambers. Therefore, high blood pressure (HBP) develops a greater risk of heart failure and hence the physicians suggest to maintain blood pressure below 130/80 mm Hg.
Heart Muscle Disease – There are multiple reasons for heart disease. In dilated cardiomyopathy, heart muscles become thin, and in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, heart muscles become thick because of which the heart doesn’t pump blood well. In myocarditis, heart muscles get inflamed that again affects the heart’s blood-pumping ability. Consumption of drugs, alcohol, and infections can cause heart muscle disease.
Congenital Heart Disease – Sometimes, heart chambers and valves are defective since birth. Therefore, to keep blood moving, the other parts of the heart need to work harder. Over time, the heart is unable to pump an adequate supply of blood to the body resulting in heart failure.
EMF Exposure – Longer exposure to the electromagnetic field generated by wireless communication devices creates structural and functional disorders in the cardiovascular system such as irregular heartbeat and heart palpitations. This may lead to myocardial infarction (heart attack) by “nuclear changing of cardiomyocytes”. >> Shop for certified radiation protection products here >>
Lung Disease – A severe lung disease increases the heart’s work to supply the available oxygen throughout the body.
Sleep Apnea – A sleep disorder in which breathing pauses for while frequently. A frequent pause in breathing causes severe fatigue and can also lead to heart failure.
Diabetes – Diabetic patients have elevated lipid levels in their blood and therefore they develop the risk of atherosclerosis (deposits of cholesterol and fatty acids in the heart arteries) and hypertension. Both of the above conditions can cause heart failure.
Obesity – The heart of the obese person needs to pump harder to circulate the blood. Hard pumping causes heart failure over time.
