The nurse is providing teaching to a client with newly-diagnosed heart failure. Which description(s) of heart failure should the nurse include?
Explanation
• Heart failure is a physiologic state in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the metabolic needs of the body.
• The heart fails when, because of intrinsic disease or structural defects, it cannot handle a normal blood volume or, in the absence of disease, cannot tolerate a sudden expansion in blood volume.
• Heart failure is characterized by manifestations of volume overload, inadequate tissue perfusion, and poor exercise tolerance.