Can acute heart failure be cured?

Written by Zhou Yan
Geriatrics
Updated on April 12, 2025
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Acute heart failure refers to the acute onset or exacerbation of a clinical syndrome of heart failure, manifested as either acute onset of new heart failure or acute worsening of chronic heart failure. The goal of treatment is to improve symptoms, stabilize hemodynamic status, protect vital organ functions, improve prognosis, and prevent recurrence. Because the ischemia and hypoxia during an acute heart failure episode, along with severe respiratory distress, are life-threatening, urgent intervention is required. However, whether it can be cured depends on the underlying disease. Since the underlying disease is already present, it cannot be completely cured, but clinical symptoms and prognosis can be improved.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
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What is a good diet for heart failure?

Heart failure is one of the most common complications of various organic heart diseases. After the onset of heart failure, it is necessary to use effective medications to treat the primary disease causing the heart failure. At the same time, methods such as cardiotonics, diuretics, and vasodilators should be used to reduce the burden on the heart as much as possible and correct heart failure in a timely manner. Patients with heart failure should rest, keep calm, and avoid overexertion in daily life. Their diet should primarily consist of low-fat and low-salt foods, and they should abstain from smoking and drinking alcohol. They should avoid spicy foods, pickled foods, and overly salty foods. Eating overly salty foods can increase blood volume, increase the burden on the heart, and worsen heart failure. (The use of medications should be conducted under the guidance of a professional doctor.)

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Written by Wang Li Bing
Intensive Care Medicine Department
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Causes of vomiting in heart failure

Heart failure in clinical practice can be divided into left heart failure, right heart failure, and total heart failure. The symptoms of left heart failure primarily manifest as pulmonary congestion, including varying degrees of dyspnea, cough, coughing up pink frothy sputum, palpitations, fatigue, etc. As for right heart failure, it mainly shows as gastrointestinal congestion, with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, etc. Once heart failure symptoms appear, the patient must seek medical attention promptly, actively treat the primary disease, correct the symptoms and signs of heart failure, and then avoid excessive physical activity, infections, and other triggers that could exacerbate heart failure.

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Written by Zhou Yan
Geriatrics
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Can acute heart failure be fatal?

The answer is affirmative. Acute heart failure is a very dangerous and serious clinical syndrome in cardiovascular diseases. Generally speaking, it is characterized by a significant decrease in the cardiac contractile function and an increased cardiac load, leading to a sharp drop in acute cardiac output, a sudden increase in pulmonary circulation pressure, and increased resistance in peripheral circulation. This results in acute pulmonary congestion and pulmonary edema and may be accompanied by insufficient perfusion of tissues and organs and a clinical syndrome of cardiogenic shock. Therefore, it can be fatal, and if not addressed promptly or adequately, it often has a high mortality rate.

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Written by Fan Yan Fu
Cardiology
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Why do we need to supplement potassium for heart failure?

Potassium ions are very important in the cardiac muscle cells, playing a critical role in maintaining the stability of the electrical activity of these cells. Thus, in conditions like heart failure or other cardiovascular diseases, it is essential to keep potassium levels within a certain range in order to reduce serious cardiac events. When potassium levels fall, cardiac electrical activity can become disordered, potentially leading to a sudden cardiac arrest. This is particularly the case in heart failure where the cardiac muscle cells are in a diseased state, making them more sensitive to low potassium levels. Thus, they are more prone to sudden cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death. Therefore, for cardiovascular diseases, particularly heart failure, there is a high priority on supplementing potassium, generally increasing it to above 4.0 and even around 4.5 to be safe. Additionally, patients with heart failure often have poor diets, leading to lower potassium intake and consumption of potassium-rich foods, necessitating pharmacological potassium supplementation. Heart failure patients frequently use diuretics, which can lead to higher potassium loss, thus requiring additional potassium supplementation. For these reasons, potassium supplementation is particularly emphasized in patients with heart failure.

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Written by Zhou Yan
Geriatrics
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Triggers of acute heart failure

The triggers of acute heart failure include the following aspects: Respiratory infections are the most common and important trigger, and infective endocarditis is also not uncommon. However, due to its concealed onset, it is easily underdiagnosed. The second is arrhythmia, among which atrial fibrillation is one of the most common arrhythmias in organic heart disease and is also an important factor leading to heart failure. Additionally, rapid arrhythmias can also cause acute heart failure. The third is an increase in blood volume, such as excessive salt intake or excessive or rapid intravenous fluid administration. The fourth is excessive physical exertion or emotional excitement, such as during late pregnancy or childbirth. The fifth aspect is improper treatment, inappropriate use of diuretics or antihypertensive drugs, which can also trigger an episode of acute heart failure. Furthermore, whether it is an exacerbation of existing heart disease or complications with other diseases, such as coronary heart disease with myocardial infarction, rheumatic disease becoming active, or complications with hyperthyroidism or anemia, can all cause acute heart failure.