Can heart failure be reversed with the proper treatment?

You may know that heart failure isn’t a sudden failure of the heart in most cases. It usually develops slowly over time. That leads to the question: Can heart failure be reversed?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 6.7 million people in the U.S. have heart failure, making it one of the most common heart health conditions. It’s especially prevalent in certain parts of the country, including Louisiana and surrounding states.

If you’re diagnosed with heart failure, does that mean you’ll always have it—or can the disease be stopped in its tracks? Keep reading as the Touro team answers that question.

Making sense of heart failure

Heart failure, also called congestive heart failure, occurs when the heart can no longer pump blood efficiently. Chronic heart failure happens gradually over time as the heart weakens. Less commonly, heart failure can also be acute, meaning it occurs rapidly.

The condition is usually triggered by heart damage from another heart health condition, such as coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat or cardiomyopathy, which causes the heart muscle to stiffen or thicken.

Heart failure can affect either side of the heart or both, causing several different symptoms in the heart and throughout the body.

Why heart failure is called a progressive disease

Heart failure typically isn’t sudden. Chronic heart failure causes the heart to gradually weaken and lose its ability to pump blood throughout the body. That’s why it is known as a “progressive” disease, meaning it worsens (or progresses) over time.

At first, heart failure may cause few noticeable symptoms. Usually, the first symptom is shortness of breath after walking, climbing stairs or completing another routine activity.

As the heart weakens, other heart failure symptoms develop. Someone who has left-sided heart failure may experience breathing difficulties, fatigue, cough, weakness and an inability to sleep when lying flat. In contrast, someone who has right-sided heart failure may have nausea, abdominal pain, swelling in the lower body, a need to urinate more frequently and unexplained weight gain.

How to treat heart failure

Many people who have chronic heart failure are diagnosed in an early stage of the disease and begin treatment. Heart failure treatment focuses on alleviating symptoms and slowing the progress of the disease.

Because heart failure is a long-term diagnosis, treating heart failure isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it plan. A heart failure treatment plan will evolve as the heart weakens and new symptoms emerge.

First-line treatment for heart failure includes making recommended lifestyle changes, such as a reduced sodium intake and other dietary adjustments, smoking cessation, an exercise regimen, and stress management. Other treatment options for heart failure vary depending on which side of the heart is affected.

Right-sided heart failure may be treated using medications to remove extra fluid and sodium from the body and medications that relax blood vessels, such as ACE inhibitors or an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB). Left-sided heart failure may be treated using those medications and many others, such as beta blockers to slow heart rate or digoxin to strengthen the heart.

As left-sided heart failure worsens, an assistive device may be needed. Ventricular assist devices work as a mechanical heart pump until you can have surgery or as a long-term treatment option. Other implanted devices include biventricular pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators, or ICDs.

Is reversing heart failure a possibility? While there’s no cure for heart failure, the treatment options available today, including new and emerging treatments such as GLP-1 agonists, can help stop the progress of heart failure in some cases.

What does that mean? You can’t necessarily reverse heart failure, but you can sometimes hit the pause button, allowing you to live life to its fullest with a healthier heart. Early treatment is vital, so check in with a provider if you’re experiencing symptoms of heart failure.

When your heart health is on the line, you want the care of a team of cardiovascular experts. That’s what you’ll find with Touro Heart & Vascular Care.