Читать книгу Predicting Heart Failure - Группа авторов - Страница 50

This technique focuses on the visual appearance of the human patients, where the skin color, general health, face expressions, and nutritional status of the patient are taken into consideration. For instance, sweatiness, paleness, or cyanosis can be the initial signs of a possible heart attack in an acutely ill patient. Cyanosis is a medical condition where a bluish discoloration is seen in the lips, ears, nose, fingernails, as well as toenails. This condition is usually known as “blue hands or feet” due to hypoxemia. Hypoxemia is a condition where oxygen levels are lower than normal in the blood. The bluish color is caused by the excess amount of deoxyhemoglobin in the blood when various heart-related conditions prevent blood flow from tissues to the heart and backward. Excess amounts of deoxyhemoglobin in the blood can be due to various heart-related diseases including heart failure, myocardial infections, congenital heart diseases, valvular heart conditions, etc. Moreover, malar flush, corneal arcus, xanthomata, and proptosis are manifestations in the face of the patient suffering from heart disease. Malar flush is a facial manifestation where the cheeks turn a plum-red color. The malar flush symptom is closely related to valvular heart disease called mitral stenosis. Mitral stenosis is a condition where the mitral valve’s area is less than 2 cm² (the normal area is about 5 cm²) during diastole. Reduction in the area causes carbon dioxide retention and leads to vasodilation (widening of blood vessels) of the arterioles present in the cheek. In the xanthomata condition, the eyes, palms, or tendons will experience a yellowish deposit of lipids. The excess yellowish deposit is due to high-level blood lipids and fats. The tendon xanthomata is a sign of high-level LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol in the blood as well as atherosclerosis. Proptosis refers to a change in the eyeball movement, especially to a protruded eyeball. In non-acute patients, one important sign is cachexia, as it is a clear sign for the prognosis of heart failure [1]. Cachexia is a wasting disorder where the patient experiences severe weight loss as well muscle loss.