A group of doctors wants to mobilize on the detection and management of heart failure. A disease whose importance they fear will be “masked” by the Covid-19 epidemic.
- 1.5 million French people suffer from heart failure
- According to a group of doctors, the detection and management of this disease would be “neglected”
Could the Covid-19 epidemic hide, as doctors have worried since the winter of 2020, other health priorities? The answer is yes “! As proof, the alert which has just been launched by a brand new collective of doctors, Optim’IC, on the worrying progression of cases of heart failure. Despite the risks of the disease, no care or early detection exists, according to them, while there are 1.5 million cases in France and this figure should exceed 2 million in 2025.
For this newly created collective, it is urgent to solve the problems of screening and care to prevent a disease, too often neglected, which can be fatal. Indeed, heart failure kills approximately 70,000 people each year in France.
Heart failure is, in a way, a great fatigue of the heart. The heart muscle no longer has the power to propel blood throughout the body. Its frequency increases with age and can occur following a myocardial infarction, angina pectoris… Heart failure manifests itself in the form of a crisis, on exertion and then at rest.
Tiredness and shortness of breath
People with heart failure will experience fatigue as a first symptom, followed by shortness of breath on exertion and even at rest. The consequences can be the appearance of visible edemas in the form of swellings on the legs, the liver, the veins of the neck… Kidney failures can also appear due to the poor evacuation of water and salt in the urine. Rapid and significant weight gain may be observed.
Medicines, diuretics, are used to fight against water and salt retention. This treatment is supplemented by ACE inhibitors (angiotensin converting enzyme) and beta-blockers to limit the progression of the disease. It is also important to modify your lifestyle, limit salt, the quantities of liquids (coffee, tea, water, soup, etc.) as well as your alcohol consumption.
living with the disease
With permanent medical monitoring and a change in lifestyle, it is quite possible to live with this disease. It is even possible to resume physical activities provided you stop when you are too tired. Naps are also recommended.
Member of the Optim’IC collective, the cardiologist specializing in the disease Thibault Damy explained on Europe 1 the paradox of heart failure. According to him, learning about rare diseases would be easier than having information about this pathology. “For these diseases, patients can find out everything on the Internet, and in particular where to go for treatment… For heart failure, it is more of a challenge to know in which hospital you can be treated!”.
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