Congestive heart failure can be exacerbated by which of the following?

Congestive heart failure can be exacerbated by which of the following?

• A. Increased physical activity
• B. Restricted thoracic cage motion
• C. Hyperventilation
• D. Low salt diet

Answer: (B)

Ventilation and chest wall mechanics can directly influence heart failure symptoms. When the thoracic cage motion is restricted, the chest wall becomes less compliant and the lungs cannot expand well. This lowers tidal volume and can promote atelectasis and poor oxygenation. With less oxygen available and carbon dioxide not cleared efficiently, the body responds with increased sympathetic drive and higher work of breathing, which raises myocardial oxygen demand and worsens the heart’s ability to meet its workload. The resulting rise in pulmonary pressures and greater strain on the heart can tip congestive heart failure into a more decompensated state. In comparison, a low salt diet helps reduce fluid retention and edema, hyperventilation is typically a symptom response to dyspnea rather than a cause of worsening heart failure, and increased physical activity would tend to increase demand on an already strained heart rather than reflect a mechanical impairment of ventilation.

Ventilation and chest wall mechanics can directly influence heart failure symptoms. When the thoracic cage motion is restricted, the chest wall becomes less compliant and the lungs cannot expand well. This lowers tidal volume and can promote atelectasis and poor oxygenation. With less oxygen available and carbon dioxide not cleared efficiently, the body responds with increased sympathetic drive and higher work of breathing, which raises myocardial oxygen demand and worsens the heart’s ability to meet its workload. The resulting rise in pulmonary pressures and greater strain on the heart can tip congestive heart failure into a more decompensated state.

In comparison, a low salt diet helps reduce fluid retention and edema, hyperventilation is typically a symptom response to dyspnea rather than a cause of worsening heart failure, and increased physical activity would tend to increase demand on an already strained heart rather than reflect a mechanical impairment of ventilation.