Congestive Heart Failure Trivia Quiz

Answer: the heart to pump sufficient blood to the body

The normal heart pumps over 50% of the blood in each heart beat. A heart affected with CHF pumps less then 40% of the available blood. As a result, blood may back up in the heart and the lungs. There is insufficient blood pumped to keep all the body's systems functioning adequately. Often, other systems try to get the heart either to pump more or to beat faster. One negative result of the condition (among many) is that the heart may enlarge from the effort to pump sufficient blood. Also, edema (swelling in the extremities--hand, feet or ankles), shortness of breath, and lightheadedness, may develop as a result of the insufficient blood circulation.

Answer: warm hands

These symptoms vary, depending upon which area of the heart is weakened. They also vary according to the overall health of the patient and the length of time that a person has had the disease. In the early stages, there may be no symptoms at all; later on, symptoms vary from an inability to walk 100 feet without shortness of breath to severe mental confusion due to lack of oxygen in the brain.

Answer: running

Physical exercise tolerated will depend upon what the doctor finds compatible with the state of the cardiac muscle. Generally, doctors work first on changes in diet, reduction in sodium consumption, and a range of medical treatments. These may include 1) ACE inhibitors (or angiotensin-converting enzymes), 2) digoxin (to strengthen the ability of the heart to pump), 3) diuretics, thiazide, loop diuretics, and what are called "potassium-sparing diuretics;" all of these help rid the body of excess fluid and sodium, 4) digitalis glycosides which work to help the heart contract more efficiently, 5) angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) which lessen the workload of the heart and are an alternative to ACE inhibitors, and 6) beta blockers which work particularly well with people with a history of coronary artery disease.

Answer: poliomyelitis

Generally, the causes of CHF stem from a previous coronary event or develop from years of arteriosclerosis.

Some of the diagnostic tests for CHF include nuclear cardiology, radiography, echocardiography and cardiac catheterization.

Answer: teaspoon of salt

The USA Food and Drug Administration minimum sodium requirement is 1,500 milligrams of sodium daily and a daily maximum of 2,300 mg. daily.

The average intake is considerably higher than these recommendations due to the consumption of fast foods, processed, frozen and canned foods. Some studies have pointed out that some breakfasts in restaurants can lead to a sodium consumption of 5,000-6,000 mg.

A teaspoon of sodium is about 2400 mg.

One of the best preventative methods against CHF is to become sodium aware. Additional salt in your body requires your heart to work harder to pump it out.

Answer: obesity

Congestive heart failure is chronic, and it would be unlikely to worsen by a single act of eating or drinking. Narcolepsy is, of course, a sleep disorder causing extreme sleepiness.

Answer: benzodiazepine

Benzodiazepine is the generic name of a class of anti-anxiety agents including lorazepam, valium dalmane, and xanax. Although these may be prescribed to allay anxiety for CHF patients, they are not prescribed to alter coronary performance directly.

Answer: ejection fraction

Normally, a heart will have about 50 to 68 percent ejection fraction. A weakened heart will have an ejection fraction of less than 40 percent. Usually this term is referring to the pumping ability of the left ventricle of the heart. It is a percentage which can be determined in various ways. The lower percentage reveals a substantially weakened heart.

Answer: atherosclerosis

We can all make changes to reduce the likelihood of getting atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis refers to the building up and hardening of fats within an artery anywhere in the body, but is particularly dangerous when it occurs in the coronary arteries.

Long-term care of food and salt consumed will make a change in heart health. Remaining active and reducing stress play an important role in keeping the arteries clear as well.

Answer: warfarin

Warfarin is the name of a blood thinner. Coumadin, Jantoven, Mareven are some other names. Initially, these were on the market as pesticides against rats and mice.
These drugs are highly effective in thinning the blood and preventing the development of life-threatening clots. In order to take them effectively, one must get regular blood tests to keep the blood at a safe level. It is also important to avoid eating foods rich in Vitamin K. For instance, eating spinach while taking coumadin can radically alter the relative thickness of the blood.

Answer: shortness of breath and fatigue

People have described the heart as looking like an upside down pear. The heart has two ventricles and two atria. The two ventricles join at the bottom of the heart. People actually feel the left ventricle pumping.

Overall, the 'normal' heart seems to weigh about 11 ounces and is about the size of a clenched fist.

Answer: orthopnea

"Ortho" is from the Greek and means "straight"; "pnea" or "pnoia" refers to breath. Orthopnea is relieved when standing or sitting upright.

Platypnea is a shortness of breath which is relieved by lying down.

Apnea refers to a stopping of breathing.

Epistaxis is a nosebleed.

Answer: pulmonary edema

Pulmonary edema may be treated immediately with oxygen. Also, a course of diuretics may help remove excess fluids. Most often, a single instance of pulmonary edema may be reversed. The important goal is to determine and treat the cause of the problem.

There seems to be some progress in reducing heart attacks. More and more, one reads about the negative effects of the fast food diet. Cardiologists and internists are devoting considerable attention to diet modification.

Answer: be aware of what you eat and keep active

The future course of a patient with congestive heart failure (CHF) depends on the severity of prior damage to the heart, the degree of atherosclerosis present, and the conditioning of the patient. Equally as important are the direct steps a person takes to change diet, sodium consumption and to remain linked positively to others. People live a long time with CHF as long as they take proper medical steps to address this condition, to modify their life styles, and to maintain personal connections with others.

Answer: cardiac transplantation

Transplantation has advanced a lot since the time of Barney Clark, who in 1982 received first Jarvik 7 artificial heart. A patient now has to be healthy enough to receive a transplant and lucky enough to "find" a compatible heart relatively quickly.

There are two new treatments prior to transplantation: what is called IABP (or an intra-aortic balloon pump), which goes in the aorta, or a LVAD (or left ventricular assist device). The LVAD actually pumps blood from the heart into the aorta. Its primary use is for those waiting for a heart transplant.