Heart Failure

Up to 6.5 million Americans ages 20 and older suffer from heart failure, a condition that affects the heart’s ability to pump blood effectively. This mismatch of demand from the body and the supply of blood from the heart leads to a host of health problems and symptoms. Heart failure is a progressive deadly debilitating disease that robs people of both length and quality of life. The good news is we can help.  At Vivified Medical in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, board-certified cardiologist Amnon Beniaminovitz, MD, provides cutting edge, science based, complete care for heart failure. Call the New York City office today to schedule heart failure treatment or book your appointment online. 

Are congestive heart failure and heart failure the same?

Congestive heart failure, systolic heart failure and heart failure refer to the same thing –– a chronic condition that prevents your heart from pumping enough blood to live a normal, active lifestyle.  

Your heart still pumps blood if you have heart failure, but not efficiently. As a result, blood builds up in some areas of your body and does not flow sufficiently to other areas , increasing your risk of severe health problems and debilitating symptoms.  

What are the symptoms of heart failure?

Heart failure symptoms include:

• Shortness of breath
• Waking up out of breath in the middle of the night
• Chest pain
• Heart palpitations
• Fatigue during activity
• Weight gain
• A hacking cough
• A bloated or hard stomach

Some people with heart failure don’t experience obvious symptoms. With treatment, some causes of heart failure can be reversed, others can be prevented from worsening. 

Who is at risk of congestive heart failure?

Anyone can experience heart failure, but several underlying medical conditions increase your risk, including diabetes, thyroid disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, coronary artery disease, long standing persistent untreated arrythmia, congenital and valvular heart disease and genetic risk factors.  

Lifestyle factors such as obesity, suboptimal diet, smoking, recreational drug use, alcohol consumption can also contribute to this condition.  

How does a cardiologist diagnose heart failure?

At Vivify Medical we thoroughly review your medical records and past medical history, ask about your symptoms, family history, and lifestyle.  

We then complete a full physical exam including an electrocardiogram and echocardiogram. We may consider additional in-house testing such as stress testing, at home sleep apnea testing and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. We may also place a 5-to-7-day mobile cardiac monitor to assess for underlying arrythmias.   We may order bloodwork and other diagnostic imaging, such as an CT angiogram of the coronary arteries, a cardiac MRI or PET scan.  

How is heart failure treated?

At Vivify Medical, Dr. Beniaminovitz treats heart failure with a science-based, cutting-edge integrative approach. Thankfully with new medications and interventions many forms of heart failure can be reversed. For those forms of heart failure that cannot be reversed many can be managed to greatly reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.  

Call Vivify  Medical today if you’re concerned about your risk of heart failure or book an appointment online.