The heart is an important muscle in the body: the body depends on the heart muscle to pump oxygen and nutrient-rich blood throughout the circulatory system. There are four chambers in the heart, which collect the blood from the body and send it back out to the lungs and the other parts of the body. When a heart muscle valve fails, the circulation of the blood is reduced, and this creates big problems for the person (Savarese & Lund, 2017). In Arizona, there are 223 cardiovascular deaths per 100,000 people that occur annually (United Health Foundation, 2019). Since congestive heart failure is not a seasonal issue but rather a lifestyle issue, these figures are fairly constant from year to year. This is in line with national figures, as there are 5 million people in the US with congestive heart failure (Savarese & Lund, 2017). Congestive heart failure can affect people of all ages, from children and young adults to the middle-aged and the elderly. Breaking these figures down, one finds that 1.4 million people under the age of 60 have congestive heart failure. 2% of the middle-aged population (ages 40 to 59) have congestive...

The largest group experiencing congestive heart failure is the elderly population (ages 60 to 69), and 5% of this population is impacted by this disease (Savarese & Lund, 2017). Congestive heart failure annual incidence is near 10 per 1,000 population in the elderly population. This disease is also is responsible for 11 million physician visits each year, and more hospitalizations than all forms of cancer combined (Savarese & Lund, 2017). Overall, congestive heart failure...…how to maintain control over the situation instead of permitting the situation to control them. Prevention is actually 99% of the solution.
Self-care is also an option. The first step in self-care is knowing the symptoms and being on the lookout for signs of distress. Once diagnosed with congestive heart failure one can engage in self-care by following the guidelines provided by one’s health care provider. One should limit salt and fluids, monitor one’s weight, and adjust one’s lifestyle to better prevent further damage to the heart. Medication is commonly used to treat congestive heart failure and can include a range of drugs, from angiotensin converting enzymes inhibitors such as Captopril to angiotensin receptor blockers like Valsartan; beta blockers and diuretics may be used along with other drugs (Conrad et al., 2018; Savarese & Lund, 2017).

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