Congestive Heart Failure
Investigated Disease Process
The disease process that will be examined in this essay is congested heart failure. According to the U.S National Library of Medicine, congested heart failure (CHF) is “a chronic condition in which the heart cannot pump blood properly”, leading to its inability in producing a cardiac output that can effectively meet the circulatory needs of the body (National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine website, n.d.). This investigation will analyze the pathophysiology of the disease, the physical, emotional and financial impact it has on the individual diagnosed with this condition and their families, in addition to the overall influence it has on health care locally, nationally and worldwide.
Pathophysiology
Lying amid the lungs, diagonally in the mediastinum, slightly to the left of your sternum is the heart. The heart is the key player in the intricate architecture of the circulatory system. Blood containing oxygen, nutrients, hormones, red blood cells, white blood cells are transported to tissues of the body through blood vessels called arteries, originating from the heart. The the heart there are four chambers that blood travels through. These chambers consist of two atriums located on the left and right of upper region of the heart and the ventricles located below each atria. The muscle separating the left and right side of the heart is the septum. Deoxygenated blood that travels from the rest of the body by way of the veins enters the heart via the superior vena cava (SVC) and inferior vena cava (IVC). After emptying into the right atrium, the blood travels through the tricuspid valve into a relaxed right ventricle. During the contraction phase of the right ventricle, blood travels though the pulmonary circulation via the pulmonary arteries, through the pulmonary semilunar valve. Once oxygenated, the blood returns to the heart through the pulmonary...