The Legend of Heart Failure

By Foluke Omosule

Foluke Omosules father seemingly had it all: lots of money, lots of women, and lots of smarts.

But the business-savvy Nigerian also had a bad heart, and even after doctors warned him that he needed to change his lifestyle, he continued eating and drinking whatever he wanted.

Even when his daughter tried to intervene, he refused to modify his behaviors, and died prematurely when he should be enjoying his children and grandchildren. However, with rigorous treatment and a willing patient, the outcome could have been much different.

Foluke, a long time registered nurse, who spent over twelve years in cardiology service, explains who is most likely to develop heart failure in this handbook. The book will help you:

take steps that could prevent the disease in the first place;
find the treatment regimen that will work best for you;
cope with the psychological effects of a negative diagnosis.

Youll also get a heart failure medical checklist, an appendix of terms, and answers to common questions that many people are too afraid to ask.

With early detection and determination, its never too late to take advantage of a second chance to live a healthy lifestyle and win the fight against heart failure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jun 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781491766934

Foluke Omosule

Foluke Omosule is the author of a memoir titled Behind the Glass Door: The True Reflection and the Legend of Heart Failure. She currently lives in Holland, Illinois.

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Copyright © 2015 FOLUKE OMOSULE.

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ISBN: 978-1-4917-6694-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-6693-4 (e)

iUniverse rev. date: 08/05/2015

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1   Heart Failure Overview

Chapter 2   How it all began

Chapter 3   Communicating with patients

Chapter 4   Healthcare Recipient Roles in Heart Failure

Chapter 5   Coping Mechanisms and Treatment

Chapter 6   Lifestyle Changes and their Psychological Effects

Chapter 7   How My Father lost it all

Chapter 8   The Failing Heart progresses slowly

Chapter 9   Amending a Failing Heart

Chapter 10   Heart Failure Education: Everyone Needs It

Chapter 11   Healthcare can Save or Destroy Lives

Chapter 12   Medically speaking, not so great

Chapter 13   What’s lacking in clinics?

Chapter 14   Heart Failure Legacy Prevention

Chapter 15   America the Great

Chapter 16   Advance Options in Heart Failure Treatment2

Chapter 17   Whose Risk is it?

Chapter 18   Just So, You Know: The Effects of Drug and Other Toxins on the Heart

Chapter19   Heart Failure Survival: What it means

Chapter 20   When to seek Medical Help

Chapter 21   Everyone’s Heart can fail

Chapter 22   Heart Failure Check-List

Appendix A   Physiology of the Cardiovascular System

Appendix B   Commonly prescribed medication for chronic or new onset heart failure

Appendix C   Common Diagnosis of Heart Failure

Appendix D   Health Care Team Roles

Sources

In memory of those who lost their lives to heart failure due to lack of knowledge, and in honor of the families, they left behind, to mourn their loss. 550,000 people are diagnosed each year with heart failure and over 1 million people are admitted to inpatient settings every year for treatment. This number can reduce with awareness and education on preventive treatment measures. Knowledge is power and the ability to utilize it is exceptional.

The Legend of Heart Failure is a handbook for everyone interested in heart failure and its debilitating effects. The author, Foluke Omosule, used her father’s life to bring awareness to the disease in other to help others realize that health is priceless. She understands how fragile humanity is, and how one life can end without warning due to poor lifestyle choices.

She tried to understand how her famous father skid through life and healthcare institute, and why no one helped him make better lifestyle choices regarding his health. He lost his life prematurely to heart failure when it can prevent with proper diet, exercise, and medication compliance. Heart failure is a public health issue and everyone is at risk of getting it. However, with early detection and goal specific care plans, the prognosis is usually good.

This book also brings awareness to some of the issues faced by her father, which hindered his compliance with his treatment. She overviewed her father’s life journey and how it led to his heart failure diagnosis so others may see where they are in their fight against heart failure and how they can prevent it.

The ultimate goal of this book is to serve as a guide for those people struggling to choose between a healthy or unhealthy lifestyle. "The Legend of Heart Failure is unique in the sense that it showcases real life situations and tips on how to manage the disease. Foluke Omosule is a Registered Nurse that has spent years working in a reputable heart failure program institution. She has a certificate in heart failure education from Southern Indiana University and a Master’s of Science in Nursing with a focus in public health from Benedictine University. To help others in making healthy decisions, she chose to share her knowledge through this book.

She believes that knowledge is an everlasting gift. Not everyone has the opportunity to inform, but those that can, do so in a way that benefits many people. She is thankful for the opportunity to use writing as her medium to this disease. Heart failure is a chronic disease that develops gradually because of lifestyle choices, complications from other diseases, family history, stress, or other unknown reasons. However, with proper education and positive support family or friend; it could be easily managed or even prevented.

Introduction

How many times have we heard the expression: the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? This means, preparing a delicious salty, fatty, sugary and appealing meal to win his heart. My father was one of those men who could never turn down a good meal. He always fell for women who went out of their way to prepare a killer meal that satisfied his appetite. He was a womanizer with many wives that kept him well fed. My father, a Nigerian, he was considered a wealthy man during his time. His unhealthy life style was never challenge, because he was well educated. Unfortunately, he never had a second chance to live healthy and beat the odd against his failing heart.

Many people like my father die prematurely because their heart failure diagnosis treated very inadequately. However, to those who still have a chance to live healthier life; do so by following heart failure clinical pathway as directed by medical team, because heart failure condition gets worse if left alone. Unlike many things in life which support the cliché that it is not what you know but who you know but heart failure support the opposite. With heart failure, it is what you know and whom you know. Heart failure treatment and management greatly depends on what you know and whom you know. That is, knowledge and a strong medical support system both play a major role in the prognosis of the disease.

A good support system, such as family or friends, plays a major role in compliance with treatment and lifestyle changes. Studies show that family participation is a precursor to improved self-care and a chance of living a higher quality life. Many times people do things without weighing their options and pay a huge price later. For example, if someone has supportive friends and family that encourage them to avoid drinking and smoking because of their negative effects, they will probably be more likely not to start smoking or drinking. The opportunity to hear from those closest to them can persuade them into thinking critically before making any decision. These supportive groups are beneficiary in helping the individual to make the right choice, help with other alternative options, and hold their hands until they are strong enough to make healthy decision on their own. They also bring awareness to the consequences of their behaviors if they fail to adhere to lifestyle changes and suggest superior activities for them to partake.

This book will not replace a doctor’s visit, function as a second opinion, and is not an alternative to actual heart failure treatment. It is a handbook to help readers understand heart failure, how to prevent it, and figure out ways to manage it. It is intend to bring awareness to the root cause of the disease, the struggles that many people face in dealing with it, and the challenges many health care providers face in recognizing it. It is extremely difficult for a trained cardiologist to diagnose heart failure because there is no single event can definitely diagnosis the disease until many other diseases have being ruled out through process of elimination. To manage it effectively, it requires dedication and compliance from the patient. Therefore, it is very important for the patient and the healthcare professional to work closely together for a better outcome. It would put less pressure on both clients and clinicians if the client understood the disease’s process; and how it affects his/her body function.

To have a great outcome in the war against heart failure, everyone needs to develop a healthier routine. Heart failure does not discriminate, which means that everyone is a potential victim. While there are survivors, more work still need to eliminate or reduce the symptoms of this disease. The best weapon to fight heart failure is to understanding the disease process, knowing one’s risk, and knowing when to seek medical help.

Chapter One

Heart Failure Overview

The term heart failure means the heart is functioning at a very low capacity because it has exhausted many or all of its resources that make it function at a full capacity due to untoward events. The main function of the heart is to pump blood and nutrients adequately throughout the entire body so the cells can extract the nutrients it needs for growth and development. But when the heart begins to fail, its capability to pump blood is diminished and fluid starts to build up in every space of the body. This happens because the tubes (arteries) that carry the blood and other organs that maintain the fluid respond negatively in an attempt to help the fluid to move along to the heart. Once the heart reaches the state of inadequacy (inability to pump effectively), the person would start to experience difficulty breathing, unable to walk for long, constant fatigue, swelling in the legs, especially in the ankles, restlessness, requiring use of four to five pillows at night to support breathing, and lack of appetite due to a feeling of fullness or drowning. This experience can be frightening if one does not have knowledge of the disease process; treatment regimen; or how to cope with it.

Knowing about heart failure begins by asking questions about the disease and knowing where to get help. Many people do not have a primary doctor or nurse practitioner, the