The main cause of heart failure in Puerto Rico is coronary disease, a condition triggered mostly by life habits that are detrimental to health.
By: Luisa Ochoa
Heart failure can generate multiple symptoms in patients, which can even be associated with temporary conditions or conditions that are not related to cardiovascular problems, one of which is asthma.
Among the main manifestations of systolic heart failure are cough, fatigue, general weakness, drowsiness, difficulty concentrating, and breast enlargement or swelling. But there are two differentiating symptoms that give an indication of possible heart failure.
In this regard, Dr. Helder Hernández, electrophysiologist at the San Lucas Episcopal Medical Center, explained in an interview for the Medicine and Health Public, the characteristic symptoms of heart failure and how to identify a patient with this condition.
“Heart failure is a syndrome of signs and symptoms, where the most common are fatigue, swelling of the lower extremities, shortness of breath during physical activity and inability to perform daily activities,” said the specialist.
However, he also added that, “it is confused a lot with asthma, asthma is the condition with which heart failure is most often confused. But there are very specific symptoms of heart failure, such as the so-called orthopnea, which is fatigue when one lies down due to the presence of edema or water in the lungs or getting up suddenly at night because one is drowning.
What is the cause of heart failure in the Puerto Rican population?
Heart failure triggers are often highly variable. It can be triggered by viral, bacterial, and COVID-19 diseases. “During the pandemic there were several cases of myocarditis or inflammation of the heart muscle due to covid.19,” said Dr. Hernández.
This condition also has a genetic origin; Toxic causes such as chemotherapy treatments or medical history of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, cigarette consumption, age, among others.
“The most common cause of heart failure, both in Puerto Rico and the United States and the rest of the world, is coronary disease. So one of the things that we must keep in mind when a patient presents with heart failure is to verify if they have a history of hypertension, diabetes, are over 65 years of age, are obese or are a smoker”, he highlighted.
Regarding the impact of heart failure on Puerto Ricans, the specialist mentioned that “here in Puerto Rico heart failure is very common, more or less 1 out of every 5 patients I see in the clinic have this heart failure condition and more or less correlates with the prevalence in the United States which is around 12 to 14% in the population”.
It should be mentioned that systolic failure is an acute condition of the heart which affects the ability of the vital organ to expel blood to the other organs of the human body, which is why it generates weakness to obtain enough oxygen, which translates into little ability to breathe.
Clinical examination and studies of the heart: essential to detect heart failure
To identify a patient with systolic failure, Dr. Hernández commented that the first thing that is done is a physical examination where the swelling of the jugular vein in the neck is verified; presence of fluid retention at cardiac level; peripheral edema of the legs and strange sounds from the heart when listening to the patient.
“Once we start with the clinical findings, we proceed to more specific tests such as an echocardiogram and an electrocardiogram to see if the patient has had evidence of previous arrhythmias or heart attacks that predispose them to heart failure, then we move on to a nuclear test to see if there is presence of ischemia or a catheterization”, emphasized the doctor.
Today Puerto Rico has technological innovations to monitor patients with heart failure, some of these facilities consist of remote monitoring devices that alert when the patient is going to have an episode or decompensation that predisposes them to hospitalization or emergency care. urgency.
Remote monitoring equipment, innovative alternatives for patients with heart failure
“These devices have been one of the types of management that have positively impacted the prognosis and treatment of patients with heart failure. There is a device called CardioMEMS; is impacted inside the heart and it sends information directly to the clinician or specialist in heart failure through remote monitoring and in this way it can be predicted if the patient is entering the early stages of uncompensated heart failure”, highlighted Dr. Hernández.
These technological advances in cardiovascular medicine can help to permanently monitor patients and intervene early when necessary.
However, Dr. Hernández was clear in stating that prevention is the key to avoiding heart failure, which is why he invited people to change lifestyles, eat a low-sugar and low-salt diet, and see a doctor if have a family history of cardiovascular disease
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