There are almost 5 million people in this country who suffer from congestive heart failure (CHF), and almost half a million more cases are diagnosed each year. The annual health care costs associated with CHF is more than 3 billion dollars to pay for about 750,000 hospital admissions involving nearly 6 million hospitalization days.
This condition occurs when the heart muscle is weakened and no longer pumps as well as it should to supply critical oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. It can occur as a primary disease of the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy) or as a result of other forms of heart disease -- a previous heart attack, narrowing of the arteries, a birth defect, high blood pressure, or a malfunctioning heart valve.
“As the condition worsens, people with congestive heart failure are not able to enjoy a very good quality of life,” explained Juan R. Amell, M.D., medical director and founder of Red Oak Cardiovascular Center. “These patients are often in and out of the hospital, they are easily fatigued, and experience difficulty breathing as fluids build up in their lungs and body tissues because the kidneys cannot dispose of the excess sodium and water properly.”
“Fortunately,” the cardiologist continued, “there is a treatment regimen available today that can help these patients enjoy a significantly better quality of life and we are now using this therapeutic method to treat our patients.”
Red Oak began administering the Primacor Infusion therapy to selected CHF patients in October, 1997 and are very encouraged by the results.
The treatment protocol involves giving the patient intravenous doses of a combination of medications that act in concert to make the heart muscle “squeeze” more efficiently, which decreases the pressure within the pulmonary artery. The drugs include a diuretic to help the body eliminate excess salt and water; an ACE-inhibitor to expand blood vessels and decrease resistance, allowing blood to flow more easily to make the heart work more efficiently; and Primacor, an inotropic medication that strengthens the pumping action of the heart.
One patient to receive the treatment had a pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) in the high 60’s (the normal range is 10 - 20). After completing the Primacor regimen, his PAP measurement was well within normal range. An 86 year old female patient who had been hospitalized four times in one month for CHF showed dramatic results. Her PAP dropped from 48 to 26 in just three weeks of treatment and she felt good enough to walk across a field to play with her granddaughter. In another case, the treatment helped a male patient do well enough to undergo bypass surgery.
“This is not a cure for CHF,” Dr. Amell stressed, “but it does allow patients to be more independent and to enjoy a better quality of life, and it helps keep them out of the hospital, as well.”
CHF TREATMENT GLOSSARY
afterload - the pressure against which the left lower chamber of the heart (ventricle) must eject the blood during a beat. The pressure is made by the amount of blood that is already flowing and the vessel walls themselves. About 90 percent of the oxygen needed by the heart is used in the afterload effort.
congestive heart failure (CHF) - circulatory congestion caused by heart disorders. It develops over a length of time and is linked with salt and water balance and kidney function. Sudden congestive heart failure may occur after a heart attack. Lung congestion may result. The condition may cause chest pains similar to those of a heart attack. Common symptoms of CHF include difficulty breathing, high blood pressure, and swelling of the legs and hands.
hemodynamics - the study of factors affecting the force and flow of circulating blood.
inotropic - pertaining to the force of muscle contractions, particularly contractions of the heart muscle. An inotropic agent increases the ability of the heart tissue to contract easily.
pharmacokinetics - the study of the action of drugs in the body. It includes how the drug is used and gotten rid of, when it begins to act, and how long it acts. It also studies how the drug is changed into other things and what happens to its wastes.
preload - the first stretch of heart muscle fiber as blood begins to flow into the lower heart chambers (ventricles). The amount of stretch affects the force and rate of movement of the heart muscles pulling in after the chambers become filled with blood.
Source: The Mosby Medical Encylopedia