Right Sided Heart Failure Symptoms

The heart is one of the most important organs in the body. The human heart is the central organ of the circulatory system. This is one organ that never rests, as it continuously works to supply oxygenated blood to the entire body. The heart is divided into four chambers, two atria on the top and two ventricles below. The ventricles are the chambers of the heart that help to pump out blood from the heart to the rest of the body. When the heart fails to pump blood to various organs of the body, it leads to congestive heart failure. Right sided heart failure is when the right ventricle fails to pump out blood. There are many right sided heart failure symptoms which can help a person diagnose this condition. However, before we go onto the symptoms, let us see what causes right sided heart failure disease.

Causes

Although there cannot be one single cause of heart failure, there can be many risk factors or indirect causes that can be pointed out. These include:

• Ischemia or ischemic heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Obesity
• Diabetes mellitus
• Myocarditis
• Connective tissue diseases and immune system diseases
• Drug and alcohol abuse

Right Sided Heart Failure Signs

Edema
One of the most common right sided heart failure symptoms is edema. Edema occurs because of the failure of the right ventricle to push enough blood into all parts of the body. This leads to congestion of the capillaries that are present in the peripheral parts of the body. This in turn, causes a build up of excess fluid in the body, which manifests edema and swelling under the skin. This is one of the prominent signs of congestive heart failure and is usually seen in the peripheries and the dependent parts of the body, like the foot or the ankle or in the back region for people who are bed ridden. The capillary congestion could also lead to pronounced and distended veins in the neck. In very severe cases, there may be development of ascites symptoms, which is a condition where there is swelling and accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity.

Frequent Urination at Night
One of the other symptoms is frequent urination at night, which is also known as nocturia. This is usually seen as an effect of the edema, wherein the fluid that gets accumulated on the ankle and legs returns into systemic circulation when the person is sleeping or is in supine position. This leads to the kidneys filtering out the excess fluid by producing urine, which makes the person get up at night to urinate.

Hepatomegaly
This is a condition where there is an increase in the size of the liver. Liver enlargement occurs due to congestion of the blood vessels of the liver, that is, the vessels supplying blood to the hepatocytes. This leads to excess load on the liver, due to which it does not manage to function properly, and so to compensate for this, the person develops an enlarged liver and also shows signs and symptoms of jaundice. Due to congestion of the liver and the abdominal region, this area of the body does not receive adequate amount of blood. This leads to other symptoms, like loss of appetite, nausea and subsequent weight loss.

Other Symptoms
There are many other symptoms that may be seen in an individual. These include shortness of breath, arrhythmia, palpitations, anxiety, fatigue and weakness, etc. The most concerning of these symptoms is shortness of breath, which occurs due to the congestion of vessels that carry oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart. This leads to pooling of fluid in the lungs, which leads to breathing problems.

These were the various symptoms that can help in diagnosing this condition at the earliest. This is a very serious condition, that could lead to dire consequences if not dealt with at the earliest. The more the heart gets stressed, the less efficient will it be, which in turn will translate into less amount of blood reaching various organs. Hence, to prevent a calamity like multi-organ failure, it is best to ensure that your heart health is perfect, because a healthy heart would mean a healthy body!