15 or 20 years ago, a CHF diagnosis was almost tantamount to a death sentence. But times have changed! Diagnostics are getting better at catching problems earlier. Medications are getting better at relieving the strain on the heart, to allow it to near-normal function in many cases, and many new treatments and devices are also springing up (bi-ventricular pacemakers, imbedded defib devices, left ventricular assist devices, etc.) Heart transplants are even becoming more common, more safe, and easier to obtain, if all else fails.
So no, not only isn't it always fatal. I don't think you could say that it is even eventually fatal in a majority of all cases. It does kind of stink though. It's a chronic condition and requires a lot of care and some limits on one's lifestyle.
Congestive heart failure is generally a progressive disease with periods of stability punctuated by episodic clinical exacerbations. The course of the disease in any given patient, however, is extremely variable. Factors involved in determining the long term outlook (prognosis) for a given patient include the nature of the underlying heart disease, the response to medications, the degree to which other organ systems are involved and the severity of other accompanying conditions, the patient's symptoms and degree of impairment, and other factors that remain poorly understood. With the availability of newer drugs to potentially favorably affect the progression of disease, the prognosis in congestive heart failure is generally more favorable than that observed just 10 years ago. In some cases, especially when the heart muscle dysfunction has recently developed, a significant spontaneous improvement is not uncommonly observed, even to the point where heart function becomes normal.
An important issue in congestive heart failure is the risk of heart rhythm disturbances (arrhythmias). Of those deaths that occur in patients with congestive heart failure, approximately 50% are related to progressive heart failure. Importantly, the other half are thought to be related to serious arrhythmias. A major recent advance has been the finding that nonsurgical placement of automatic implantable cardioverter/defibrillators (AICD) in patients with severe congestive heart failure (defined by an ejection fraction below 30–35%) can significantly improve survival, and has become the standard of care in most such patients.
It really depends on each individual person. It won't be the same for everyone but my Great Aunt has had congestive heart failure since she was in her late 60's and she's in her 80's now and she is still doing well and her congestive heart failure is controlled with medications. Good Luck!
Heart failure (sometimes known as congestive heart failure [CHF]) is a serious condition in which the heart is not pumping efficiently. It is a chronic condition that is the result of other cardiac conditions.
In the late stages of heart failure, the heart is unable to meet the body’s demand for oxygen. In addition, it may cause congestion in the lungs or other problems throughout the body. As a result of the lack of oxygen-rich blood flowing to the body, the heart tries to work harder, which only makes the problem worse.
Conditions that could lead to heart failure include:
Coronary artery disease
High blood pressure (hypertension)
Heart attack
Diabetes mellitus
Cardiomyopathy
Heart valve disease (e.g., valvular stenosis or valvular regurgitation)
Infection in the heart valves (valvular endocarditis) or of the heart muscle (myocarditis)
Congenital heart disease (cardiac conditions present since birth)
Severe lung disease (e.g., pulmonary hypertension) or obstructive sleep apnea
Pericardial disease (pericarditis)
It's difficult to predict the life expectancy of anyone diagnosed with CHF - so much depends on medical care and the extent of the illness. Take a look at the information at this link :
No its not always fatal, a friend of the family had it and he had to be in the hospital for a while, but he is fine now. I don't know what the life expectance is for someone who has it but the guy i know who got it is only in his late 40's, and the doctors didn't give him a time limit or n e thing.
Forget anything you have ever been told about Diabetes.
And get this - it has nothing to do with insulin, exercise, diet or anything else you've heard in the past. It's all based on latest breakthrough research that Big Pharma is going Stir Crazy to hide from you.
depends on the degree of heart failure; if mild and treated early the life expectancy can be essentailly normal with proper medical care. 20 to 30 years after dignosis is not uncommon
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Verified answer
15 or 20 years ago, a CHF diagnosis was almost tantamount to a death sentence. But times have changed! Diagnostics are getting better at catching problems earlier. Medications are getting better at relieving the strain on the heart, to allow it to near-normal function in many cases, and many new treatments and devices are also springing up (bi-ventricular pacemakers, imbedded defib devices, left ventricular assist devices, etc.) Heart transplants are even becoming more common, more safe, and easier to obtain, if all else fails.
So no, not only isn't it always fatal. I don't think you could say that it is even eventually fatal in a majority of all cases. It does kind of stink though. It's a chronic condition and requires a lot of care and some limits on one's lifestyle.
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Congestive heart failure is generally a progressive disease with periods of stability punctuated by episodic clinical exacerbations. The course of the disease in any given patient, however, is extremely variable. Factors involved in determining the long term outlook (prognosis) for a given patient include the nature of the underlying heart disease, the response to medications, the degree to which other organ systems are involved and the severity of other accompanying conditions, the patient's symptoms and degree of impairment, and other factors that remain poorly understood. With the availability of newer drugs to potentially favorably affect the progression of disease, the prognosis in congestive heart failure is generally more favorable than that observed just 10 years ago. In some cases, especially when the heart muscle dysfunction has recently developed, a significant spontaneous improvement is not uncommonly observed, even to the point where heart function becomes normal.
An important issue in congestive heart failure is the risk of heart rhythm disturbances (arrhythmias). Of those deaths that occur in patients with congestive heart failure, approximately 50% are related to progressive heart failure. Importantly, the other half are thought to be related to serious arrhythmias. A major recent advance has been the finding that nonsurgical placement of automatic implantable cardioverter/defibrillators (AICD) in patients with severe congestive heart failure (defined by an ejection fraction below 30–35%) can significantly improve survival, and has become the standard of care in most such patients.
It really depends on each individual person. It won't be the same for everyone but my Great Aunt has had congestive heart failure since she was in her late 60's and she's in her 80's now and she is still doing well and her congestive heart failure is controlled with medications. Good Luck!
Heart failure (sometimes known as congestive heart failure [CHF]) is a serious condition in which the heart is not pumping efficiently. It is a chronic condition that is the result of other cardiac conditions.
In the late stages of heart failure, the heart is unable to meet the body’s demand for oxygen. In addition, it may cause congestion in the lungs or other problems throughout the body. As a result of the lack of oxygen-rich blood flowing to the body, the heart tries to work harder, which only makes the problem worse.
Conditions that could lead to heart failure include:
Coronary artery disease
High blood pressure (hypertension)
Heart attack
Diabetes mellitus
Cardiomyopathy
Heart valve disease (e.g., valvular stenosis or valvular regurgitation)
Infection in the heart valves (valvular endocarditis) or of the heart muscle (myocarditis)
Congenital heart disease (cardiac conditions present since birth)
Severe lung disease (e.g., pulmonary hypertension) or obstructive sleep apnea
Pericardial disease (pericarditis)
It's difficult to predict the life expectancy of anyone diagnosed with CHF - so much depends on medical care and the extent of the illness. Take a look at the information at this link :
http://diabetes.health.ivillage.com/newsstories/fd... for more information on this topic : )
No its not always fatal, a friend of the family had it and he had to be in the hospital for a while, but he is fine now. I don't know what the life expectance is for someone who has it but the guy i know who got it is only in his late 40's, and the doctors didn't give him a time limit or n e thing.
Forget anything you have ever been told about Diabetes.
And get this - it has nothing to do with insulin, exercise, diet or anything else you've heard in the past. It's all based on latest breakthrough research that Big Pharma is going Stir Crazy to hide from you.
Visit here : https://tr.im/rBUTf to find out what all the fuss is about.
depends on the degree of heart failure; if mild and treated early the life expectancy can be essentailly normal with proper medical care. 20 to 30 years after dignosis is not uncommon
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