Can heart failure cause suffocation?

Written by Xie Zhi Hong
Cardiology
Updated on November 28, 2024
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Heart failure is caused by various reasons leading to the heart's blood supply being relatively or absolutely insufficient, causing a series of pathological and physiological disorders in patients. Patients often manifest symptoms like difficulty breathing, tightness in breath, and even a feeling of suffocation. However, generally, the symptoms caused by heart failure are not these. This is because suffocation occurs due to airway narrowing or the narrow space around the patient, leading to insufficient oxygen intake, causing a series of syndromes. Therefore, although people with heart failure feel suffocated, they are not actually suffocating; it is just a manifestation of inadequate circulatory supply.

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Can childbirth lead to heart failure?

Childbirth refers to the delivery of a fetus through vaginal delivery or cesarean section, and it represents a significant strain on a woman’s heart. Regardless of the type of delivery, there is a possibility of leading to heart failure to some extent. Especially during the second stage of labor, pregnant women often exert greater effort, significantly increasing the load on the heart. If there is poor heart function or pre-existing cardiac disease, it could lead to heart failure. In some cases, if the heart disease is severe and cannot withstand delivery, a cesarean section must be chosen. However, cesarean delivery can also lead to heart failure, mainly due to a large amount of blood flowing back to the peripheral circulation from the uterus after the fetus is delivered, causing a significant increase in the preload on the heart and easily leading to the onset of heart failure.

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Causes of Acute Heart Failure

The main causes of acute heart failure include coronary heart disease, valvular disease, hypertension, and cardiomyopathies, such as toxic cardiomyopathy or hypothyroidism-related cardiomyopathy, as well as idiopathic cardiomyopathy. Myocarditis and arrhythmia-related causes can also lead to heart failure, but there are often triggers present clinically. Common triggers include poor treatment compliance, arrhythmias, anemia, infections, myocardial ischemia, excessive fluid intake, poor dietary control, and increased cardiac output, such as during strenuous activity and pregnancy, which can lead to increased cardiac output and cause heart failure. Conditions such as excessive fluid volume, hypertension, hyperthyroidism, and pulmonary embolism can also trigger heart failure.

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Written by Wang Li Bing
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Acute heart failure typical symptoms

The typical symptoms of acute heart failure include sudden severe difficulty breathing, increased respiratory rate, and patients generally presenting a forced sitting position, with pale, grayish complexion and cyanotic lips. They often have profuse sweating, restlessness, frequent coughing, and coughing up pink frothy sputum. The condition can be critical, leading to consciousness disturbances due to lack of oxygen. Once acute heart failure occurs, active treatment is essential. The most common clinical approaches include strengthening the heart, diuresis, and vasodilation for symptomatic active management.

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Why does heart failure cause ascites?

Heart failure is relatively common in clinical settings, primarily divided into left heart failure, right heart failure, and global heart failure. The clinical manifestations of left heart failure are mainly reflected in symptoms of pulmonary congestion. It can present as varying degrees of dyspnea, cough, expectoration, palpitations, and fatigue. Right heart failure is mainly due to obstruction of the inferior vena cava flow, leading to increased venous pressure and capillary pressure. This causes plasma components to extravasate and ultimately leads to the formation of ascites. Global heart failure includes the symptoms of both left and right heart failure. Therefore, it is essential to seek medical attention promptly after heart failure occurs.

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Causes of acute heart failure include

Most patients with acute heart failure have a history of heart disease, and the common causes mainly include: 1. Acute myocardial necrosis or damage, such as acute coronary syndrome, peripartum cardiomyopathy, and myocardial damage caused by drugs or toxins, including sepsis-induced myocardial damage. 2. Acute exacerbation of chronic heart failure due to infection or other stressful factors. 3. Acute hemodynamic changes, mainly including conditions like cardiac tamponade, hypertensive crisis, aortic dissection, and acute valvular regurgitation, all of which can lead to acute heart failure.