Patient/caregiver was educated on pathophysiology of right-sided heart failure as follows:
- Right side of the heart receives used or venous blood from the various tissues and organs. Veins drain this used blood from tissues into the right heart.
- This venous blood will be pumped by the right heart to the lungs, where it picks oxygen.
- Strong contractions of the chambers on the right heart are needed for effective pumping of this oxygen poor blood to the lungs.
- Damaged muscle on right side of heart, secondary to various factors, cannot contract effectively, contributing to poor contractions of the heart chambers.
- Inadequate pumping of blood out of the right heart chambers contributes to increased retention and back-up of blood into the heart chambers on the right side.
- This reduces the amount of blood pumped to lungs for oxygen pick-up.
- Progressive back-up of blood in the right heart chambers can increase the pressure within the right side of heart.
- This increased pressure in the right-sided chambers resists filling of these chambers with venous blood coming from the tissues, as the chambers are already loaded with backed up blood.
- This eventually results in progressive back-up of blood into the veins and tissues and result in symptoms such as, fluid retention in the abdomen with bloating, fluid retention in the extremities with edema, and acute weight gain.
- If this situation is not controlled and the damage continues further, progressive back-up of blood in the right heart leads to reduced volume of blood picking up oxygen in lungs, inadequate blood supply to vital organs and tissues, such as, heart, brain, and kidneys.
- Inadequate blood supply to vital organs, in due course of time, contribute to progressively compromised vital organ function.
