Heart disease and heart failure are two life-threatening conditions that could indicate a deep-seated problem that affects the most crucial organ in the body, the heart. However, they’re not the same thing. The most important thing is to know how to manage a victim of a heart attack, and this is where CPR classes will help.
Heart Disease
Unlike a cardiovascular disease, which affects the blood vessels and the circulatory system, heart disease manifests as disorders or defects in the heart. It’s responsible for one of four deaths in the United States and Western Europe. Risk factors include smoking, family history, hypertension, obesity, and extended sitting.
There are many types of heart disease. Here are the major ones:
- Arrhythmias
- Dilated cardiomyopathy
- Myocardial infarction
- Mitral valve prolapse
- Pulmonary stenosis
- Mitral valve regurgitation
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
- Coronary artery disease
Common symptoms of heart disease include chest pain (angina), shortness of breath, sweating, and heart palpitations. The above forms of heart disease can cause a heart attack.
Since this is a life-long condition, you have to learn how to manage it by lowering the intake of cholesterol-rich foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining healthy body weight. Where necessary, your doctor administers medications and arranges surgery to remedy the condition.
Heart Failure
Heart failure is a condition where the heart muscles weaken and fail to pump blood properly. It can be acute (sudden) or chronic (life-long). Because the heart doesn’t pump blood normally, hormones and the nervous system intervene by raising blood pressure. High blood pressure causes the heart to beat faster and secondly, retain both water and salt.
If fluids accumulate, the condition becomes congestive heart failure. Notable signs include shortness of breath, fatigue, rapid or irregular heartbeat, persistent cough, abdominal swelling, rapid weight gain, reduced appetite, and chest pain.
Some of the major causes of heart failure include:
- Heart valve disease
- Thyroid disease
- Narrow arteries
- Congenital heart defects
- Viral infections
- Arrhythmia (irregular heartbeats)
- Cardiomyopathy
- Chemotherapy
- HIV/AIDS
- Alcohol abuse
You’re likely to be put under medication for the rest of your life and to undergo corrective heart surgery to fix a defective valve. If you’re experiencing irregular heartbeats, a cardiologist can implant an ICD to correct irregular heartbeats and to facilitate defibrillation.
CPR Training – Does It Help?
Yes, it does. CPR training makes you aware of the signs of heart attack and prepares you for an emergency. From caregivers attending to invalid patients to individuals who have family members with heart disease, CPR classes equip you with life-saving skills. You learn how to respond to a victim or heart failure and keep them alive until paramedics arrive.
According to the American Health Association (AHA), the first link in the chain of survival is early access, which involves calling 911 or activating emergency services. The next link it to perform CPR on the victim until an AED arrives. Once the EMS unit arrives at the scene, they can administer medication and use breathing devices or administer defibrillation shocks, if necessary.
More than half of the cases of heart attacks occur outside the hospital. It could be at home, at the workplace, or on the road. Wherever it strikes, you have a small window of 10 minutes to respond. Failure to act could mean sudden death.
