When the heart stops pumping to its regular beat

A diastolic heart insufficiency is the result of the heart not being able to fully relax or stretch any more. This often develops through the cardiac wall swelling up or losing its elasticity, which comes from chronic high blood pressure or a scar from a heart attack. The heart ventricles can no longer fully inflate and the ejected blood volume is decreased. Through the loss of pumping capabilities, the systolic as well as the diastolic heart insufficiencies can both result in a decrease of blood pressure, a lowered efficiency and shortage of breath. As soon as the body’s oxygen supply is too low, the patient’s skin, lips and mucosa turn blue – also known as cyanosis.

The body tries to compensate for the lowered blood pressure and increases the heart frequency, contracting the peripheral vessels and increasing the kidney’s water reabsorption. Long-term, these mechanisms can strain the heart even more and worsen the heart insufficiencies. Water retentions and edema are crucial symptoms for a heart insufficiency. If the insufficiency affects the left side of the heart, the blood is retained in the lungs. Through a larger volume in the lung vessels, water is pressed from inside the vessels into the lung tissue, which leads to a lung edema. Symptoms for such an edema are shortness of breath or coughing fits at night. A heart insufficiency in the right side causes the blood to be retained in the systemic circulation, leading to a peripheral edema in the legs or blood congestions in the liver and spleen, which can strongly affect both organs’ functions and damage them in the long-run.

Depending on the severity, there are several therapeutic measures that can be taken against a cardiac insufficiency. The main goal with therapy is to support and relieve the heart. Less severe cases can be treated through cardio sports, weight loss or a low-salt diet. Through medical treatment, doctors try to counteract the compensatory vessel constrictions and normalize the heart rhythm, as well as strengthen the beating volume. So-called diuretics are offered against edema, as they have a dehydrating effect. A cardiac insufficiency is often discovered by accident or much too late, after severe symptoms have occurred. It is nevertheless crucial to take action as soon as possible to prevent further heart damage. The typical symptoms of water retention lead to an increase in weight, while at the same time, many patients who suffer from heart insufficiencies are generally overweight. Further weight gain can often be mistaken for an increase in fat tissue.

In this case, examining a patient with the seca mBCA can offer valuable insights into the cause for weight gain. The device can precisely measure the patient’s body composition and detect the smallest shifts in intra and extracellular spaces. The measuring technique of a seca mBCA device is based on the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), which offers a precise and noninvasive differentiation between the various body compartments. Gaining weight through an edema would become visible using the BIA, especially through an enlargement of the fat free tissue. The seca mBCA can differentiate between fat-free mass, muscle mass as well as water retention by using the BIA as well as the phase angle. An exact reason for gaining weight can be determined and a heart insufficiency can be detected early on. This proves that checking the patient’s body composition can also be helpful for cardiac insufficiencies and how the
seca mBCA offers a quick and effective screening method. Analyzing the body composition can lead to early detection and, during the course of treatment, can offer important insights into the water supply and possible water retentions. This helps to effectively treat the patient with optimal monitoring.

In case you are interested in finding out more about using the seca mBCA for heart insufficiencies, this link will lead you to a detailed case study.