Patient/caregiver was educated on pathophysiology of diastolic heart failure as follows:
- Diastole is the phase of heartbeat, when the heart muscle relaxes During relaxation, the heart chambers get filled with blood.
- Systole is the phase of heartbeat, when the heart muscle contracts. During contraction, the heart chambers pump the blood into circulation, to all the vital organs of the body.
- Diastolic heart failure is an abnormal condition of the heart, in which the heart muscle progressively becomes rigid and stiff and the heart chambers are unable to
- Inability to relax compromises the ability of heart chambers to accommodate inflow of blood, thus decreasing the volume of blood in the chambers.
- As heart is inadequately filled during diastole, the volume of blood pumped by the heart during systole also will be compromised and inadequate.
- If this situation is not controlled and the damage continues further, progressively reduced volume of blood pumped by the heart to vital organs, such as, heart, brain, and kidneys.
- Inadequate blood supply to vital organs, in due course of time, contribute to progressively compromised vital organ function.
- So, poorly managed diastolic heart failure, over a period, can lead to systolic heart failure.
- Also, increasing rigidity of heart muscle and reduced ability of the heart chambers to accommodate inflow of blood, make the heart muscle progressively weaker and reduce ability to contract effectively.
- When the heart muscle is in failure and not functioning optimally, blood backs up and accumulated in the heart chambers, lungs, and peripheral veins.
- Progressive back-up of blood can result in symptoms of heart failure such as, acute weight gain, fluid retention in the chest leading to difficulty in gas exchange in the lungs, poor oxygen pick-up in the lungs, swelling of the extremities with pitting edema, and compromised exercise tolerance with exacerbation of shortness of breath.
